Týr
The twelfth Younger Futhark rune, transliterated t, and the first of the third ætt. Named for the god Týr, it writes both /t/ and /d/; the alphabet has no separate d-rune.
At a glance
- Rune
- ᛏU+16CF
- Unicode name
- RUNIC LETTER TIWAZ TIR TYR T
- Alphabet
- Younger Futhark
- In use
- c. AD 800 – 1100 (The Viking Age)
- Position
- 12, ætt 3
- Transliteration
- t
- Sound value
- /t/ , /d/
- Name
- týr: the god TýrAttested
Names
How the rune is called in each tradition, and how securely each name is recorded.
| Form | Language | Meaning | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| týr | Old Norse | the god Týr | Attested |
An asterisk marks a reconstructed form: a word linguists have worked backwards to, not one that appears in any surviving source.
Etymology
Continues Elder Futhark *Tīwaz. Both Norse poems name the god directly, and both allude to the myth in which Týr loses his hand binding the wolf Fenrir; the Icelandic poem calls him "the leavings of the wolf".
Sound value
Writes both /t/ and /d/, since the Younger Futhark dropped the Elder Futhark d-rune. This is why a rune transliterator cannot give you a distinct d in real Viking-Age spelling.
Variant forms
Alternative shapes for the same rune across regions and periods.
Short-twig týr
U+16D0
The short-twig form, with reduced arms.
Medieval dotted týr
U+16D1
From about 1100, a dot separated /d/ from /t/.
Historical use
Common. Opens the third ætt. Its inability to distinguish /t/ from /d/ is one of the clearest cases of information the reduced alphabet simply discarded, and one that medieval scribes went to the trouble of undoing with a dot.
Rune-poem evidence
The medieval verse that records this rune's name. Original text plus our own translation.
Týr er æinendr ása; opt værðr smiðr blása.Týr is the one-handed one among the Æsir; the smith often has to blow.(our translation)
Týr er einhendr áss ok ulfs leifar ok hofa hilmir.Týr is the one-handed god and the leavings of the wolf and the ruler of temples.(our translation)
Manuscript tags: Mars and tiggi ("prince"). "The leavings of the wolf" refers to the myth in which Fenrir bites off Týr's hand.
Tir biþ tacna sum, healdeð trywa wel wiþ æþelingas; a biþ on færylde ofer nihta genipu, næfre swiceþ.Tir is a particular sign; it keeps faith well with nobles; it is always on its course above the mists of night, and never fails.(our translation)
The stanza describes something celestial that holds a fixed course (often taken as a star or constellation) while the rune name itself corresponds to the god Týr.
Attested in
Objects and monuments where this rune can actually be seen.
Its length and complexity make it the single richest source for how Viking-Age carvers actually used the alphabet.
Signatures follow the Scandinavian Runic-text Database so you can look each inscription up directly. Each name links to the object's own entry.
Modern meaning
Why this entry has none.
None is given here. Modern rune divination is built almost entirely on the Elder Futhark, and no established modern tradition reads the Younger Futhark separately. Inventing a reading for Týr to fill the space would be exactly the kind of fabrication this site exists to flag, so the field is left empty rather than filled. Its Elder Futhark ancestor is linked further down and does carry a modern reading, labelled as modern. How modern rune meanings were arrived at is a separate discussion.
The same rune in other alphabets
Runes descended from the same original character, so you can follow it through time.
The rest of ætt 3
Sources for this entry
Full references are on the sources page. If you think something here is wrong, our corrections policy explains how to say so.