Tiwaz rune
Encyclopedia
The t-rune is named after Týr, and was identified with this god. The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is *Tîwaz or *Teiwaz.
s. In the Icelandic and Norwegian poems, the rune is associated with the god Tyr.
Multiple Tiwaz runes either stacked atop one another to resemble a tree-like shape, or repeated after one another, appear several times in Germanic paganism:
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According to the runologist Lars Magnar Enoksen, the Tiwaz rune is referred to in a stanza in Sigrdrífumál
, a poem in the Poetic Edda
.
Sigrdrífumál tells that Sigurd
has slain the dragon Fafnir
and arrives at a fortress of shields on top of a mountain which is lit by great fires. In the fortress, he finds an enchanted sleeping Valkyrie
whom he wakes by cutting open her corslet
with his sword. The grateful Valkyrie Sigrdrífa offers him the secrets of the runes in return for delivering her from the sleep, on condition that he shows that he has no fear. The Valkyrie begins by teaching him that if he wants to achieve victory in battle, he is to carve "victory runes" on his sword and twice say the name "Týr" - the name of the Tiwaz rune.
, often without political implications, but to symbolize veneration of the god Tyr.
's Armanen Futharkh
was based on the version found in the Younger Futhark. List's runes were later adopted and modified by Karl Maria Wiligut
who was responsible for their adoptions by the NSDAP
and subsequently used widely on insignia and literature during the Third Reich
. It was the badge of the Sturmabteilung
training schools, the Reichsführerschulen in Nazi Germany
.
it has appeared, together with the Sowilo rune
, in the emblem of the Kassel
-based think tank Thule Seminar. It has also appeared as the former logo of the fashion label Thor Steinar
which was banned in Germany for resembling "fascist symbols"
. (It might also be noted that both these uses were technically incorrect, since both Thor and Thule would be spelled with a thurisaz, ᚦ, rune.)
Rune poems
Tiwaz is mentioned in all three rune poemRune poem
The Rune Poems are three poems that list the letters of runic alphabets while providing an explanatory poetic stanza for each letter. Three different poems have been preserved: the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, the Norwegian Rune Poem, and the Icelandic Rune Poem.The Icelandic and Norwegian poems list 16...
s. In the Icelandic and Norwegian poems, the rune is associated with the god Tyr.
| Rune poem | English translation | Notes |
Old Norwegian Old Norwegian Old Norwegian refers to a group of Old Norse dialects spoken and written in Norway in the Middle Ages. They bridged the dialect continuum from Old East Norse to Old West Norse.-Old Norwegian vs Common Norse:... Tyr es einhendr Asa; opt verðr smiðr at blasa. |
Tyr is the one-handed Æsir; often happens the smith must blow. |
In the Norwegian rune poem the rune is identified with smithing. |
Old Icelandic Týr er einhendr áss ok ulfs leifar ok hofa hilmir. Mars tiggi. |
Tyr is a one-handed god, and leavings of the wolf and prince of temples. |
Tyr was contextually compared with Mars in the Icelandic rune poem. |
Old English Old English language Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century... Tir biþ tacna sum, healdeð trywa wel wiþ æþelingas; a biþ on færylde ofer nihta genipu, næfre swiceþ. |
Tir is a star, it keeps faith well with atheling Prince Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess... s, always on its course over the mists of night it never fails. |
In the Old English rune poem, the rune is identified with the North Star, Polaris Polaris Polaris |Alpha]] Ursae Minoris, commonly North Star or Pole Star, also Lodestar) is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor. It is very close to the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star.... . (c.f. Shakespeare's Shakespeare's sonnets Shakespeare's sonnets are 154 poems in sonnet form written by William Shakespeare, dealing with themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. All but two of the poems were first published in a 1609 quarto entitled SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS.: Never before imprinted. Sonnets 138 and 144... sonnet 116 Sonnet 116 Shakespeare's sonnet 116 was first published in 1609. It is about eternal and unchanging love and has been cherished in the past four hundred years for its hopeful and promising note. Its structure and form are a typical example of the Shakespearean sonnet.... ) |
Multiple Tiwaz runes
-
-
- The charm (aluAlu (runic)Alu is a Germanic charm word appearing on numerous Elder Futhark found in Central and Northern Europe dating from between 200 and 800 CE. The word – the most common of the early runic charm words – usually appears either alone or as part of an apparent formula...
) on the Lindholm amuletLindholm amuletThe Lindholm "amulet", listed as DR 261 in Rundata, is a bone piece found in Skåne, Sweden, that is dated to the 2nd to 4th centuries and has a runic inscription.-Description:...
, dated from the 2nd to the 4th century contains three consecutive t runes, has been interpreted as an invocation of Tyr. - The Kylver StoneKylver StoneThe Kylver stone, listed in the Rundata catalog as runic inscription G 88, is a Swedish runestone which dates from about 400 CE notable for its listing of each of the runes in the elder futhark.-Description:...
(400 AD, GotlandGotlandGotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
) features 8 stacked Tiwaz runes at the end of an Elder Futhark inscription. - From 500 AD, a Scandinavian C-bracteate (Seeland-II-CSeeland-II-CSeeland-II-C is a Scandinavian bracteate from Zealand, Denmark dating to the Migration period . The bracteate bears an Elder Futhark inscription which reads as:The final ttt is a triple-stacked Tiwaz rune...
) features an Elder Futhark inscription ending with three stacked Tiwaz runes.
- The charm (alu
-
Poetic Edda
Sigrdrífumál
Sigrdrífumál is the conventional title given to a section of the Poetic Edda text in Codex Regius....
, a poem in the Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...
.
Sigrdrífumál tells that Sigurd
Sigurd
Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr) is a legendary hero of...
has slain the dragon Fafnir
Fafnir
In Norse mythology, Fáfnir or Frænir was a son of the dwarf king Hreidmar and brother of Regin and Ótr. In the Volsunga saga, Fáfnir was a dwarf gifted with a powerful arm and fearless soul. He guarded his father's house of glittering gold and flashing gems...
and arrives at a fortress of shields on top of a mountain which is lit by great fires. In the fortress, he finds an enchanted sleeping Valkyrie
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
whom he wakes by cutting open her corslet
Corslet
A corslet is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "a piece of defensive armour covering the body." In Ancient Greek armies, the 'hoplite', or heavy infantryman, wore a bronze corslet or known as the thorax to protect his upper body. The corslet consisted of two plates connected on the sides...
with his sword. The grateful Valkyrie Sigrdrífa offers him the secrets of the runes in return for delivering her from the sleep, on condition that he shows that he has no fear. The Valkyrie begins by teaching him that if he wants to achieve victory in battle, he is to carve "victory runes" on his sword and twice say the name "Týr" - the name of the Tiwaz rune.
|
|
Germanic neopaganism
The Tyr rune is commonly used by Germanic neopagansGermanic Neopaganism
Germanic neopaganism is the contemporary revival of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria. A second wave of revival began in the early 1970s...
, often without political implications, but to symbolize veneration of the god Tyr.
Guido von List
The Tyr rune in Guido von ListGuido von List
Guido Karl Anton List, better known as Guido von List was an Austrian/German poet, journalist, writer, businessman and dealer of leather goods, mountaineer, hiker, dramatist, playwright, and rower, but was most notable as an occultist and völkisch author who is seen as one of the most important...
's Armanen Futharkh
Armanen runes
The Armanen runes, or Armanen 'Futharkh' as Guido von List referred to them, are a row of 18 runes that are closely based in shape on the Younger Futhark...
was based on the version found in the Younger Futhark. List's runes were later adopted and modified by Karl Maria Wiligut
Karl Maria Wiligut
Karl Maria Wiligut was an Austrian Ariosophist- Biography :...
who was responsible for their adoptions by the NSDAP
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and subsequently used widely on insignia and literature during the Third Reich
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. It was the badge of the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
training schools, the Reichsführerschulen in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Neo-Nazism
In Neo-NazismNeo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
it has appeared, together with the Sowilo rune
Sowilo rune
*Sowilō or *sæwelō is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the s-rune, meaning "sun". The name is attested for the same rune in all three rune poems...
, in the emblem of the Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
-based think tank Thule Seminar. It has also appeared as the former logo of the fashion label Thor Steinar
Thor Steinar
Thor Steinar is a German clothing brand manufactured by Thor Steinar Mediatex GmbH, a subsidiary of International Brands General Trading, a Dubai-based company.- Controversy :Since the inception of Thor Steinar, the company has used two logos...
which was banned in Germany for resembling "fascist symbols"
Fascist symbolism
As there were many different manifestations of fascism, especially during the interwar years, there were also many different symbols of Fascist movements...
. (It might also be noted that both these uses were technically incorrect, since both Thor and Thule would be spelled with a thurisaz, ᚦ, rune.)