Old English

The Latin deity Mars was occasionally glossed by Old English writers by the name Tīw or Tīg. The genitive
tīwes also appears in the name for Tuesday, tīwesdæg.[4]

Viking Age and post-Viking Age

By the Viking Age, *Tīwaz had developed among the North Germanic peoples into Týr. The god receives
numerous mentions in North Germanic sources during this period, but far less than other deities, such as
Odin, Freyja, or Thor. The majority of these mentions occur in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th
century from traditional source material reaching into the pagan period, and the Prose Edda, composed
by Icelandic skald and politician Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century.

Poetic Edda

Týr among the gods during the events of Lokasenna as illustrated by Lorenz Frølich, 1895

Although Týr receives several mentions in the Poetic Edda, of the three poems in which he is mentioned
—Hymiskviða, Sigrdrífumál, and Lokasenna—only the incomplete poem, Hymiskviða, features him in a
prominent role. In Hymiskviða, Týr says that his father, Hymir, owns a tremendous cauldron with which
he and his fellow gods can brew fathoms of ale. Thor and Týr set out to retrieve it. Týr meets his nine-
hundred headed grandmother ("who hates him"), and a girl clad in gold helps the two hide from Hymir.
[22]

Upon his return from hunting, Hymir's wife (unnamed) tells Hymir that his son has come to visit, that Týr
has brought with him Thor, and that the two are behind a pillar. With just one glance, Hymir immediately
smashes the pillar and eight nearby kettles. The kettle containing Týr and Thor, particularly strong in its
construction, does not break, and out of it the two gods stride.[22]

Hymir sees Thor and his heart jumps. The jötunn orders three headless oxen boiled for his guests, and
Thor eats two of the beasts. Hymir tells the two that the following night, "we'll have to hunt for us three
to eat". Thor asks for bait so that he might row out into the bay. Hymir says that the god can take one of
his oxen for bait; Thor immediately chooses a black ox, and the poem continues without further mention
of Týr.[22]
In Sigrdrífumál, the valkyrie Sigrdrífa imparts in the hero Sigurd knowledge of various runic charms. One
charm invokes the god Týr:

'You must know victory-runes

if you want to know victory. Carve them

into your sword's hilt, on the blade guards

and the blades, invoking Tyr's name twice.'

Jeramy Dodds translation[23]

In Lokasenna, the gods hold a feast. Loki bursts in and engages in flyting, a contest of insults, with the
gods. The prose introduction to the poem mentions that "Tyr was in attendance, even though he had
only one hand because the wolf Fenrir had recently ripped off the other while the wolf was being
bound."[24] Loki exchanges insults with each of the gods. After Loki insults the god Freyr, Týr comes to
Freyr's defense. Loki says that "you can't be the right hand of justice among the people" because his
right hand was torn off by Fenrir, elsewhere described as Loki's child. Týr says that although he misses his
hand, Loki misses Fenrir, who is now bound and will remain so until the events of Ragnarök.[25]