Tyr Bitten

Then spoke Gangleri: ‘Most important these Æsir seem to me
to be, and it is not surprising that great power is with you when
you claim to know details about the gods and know which one
must be prayed to for every prayer. But are there yet more gods?’

High said: ‘There is also an As called Tyr. He is the bravest and
most valiant and he has great power over victory in battles. It is
good for men of action to pray to him. There is a saying that a man
is ty-valiant who surpasses other men and does not hesitate. He
was so clever that a man who is clever is said to be fy-wise. It is one
proof of his bravery that when the Æsir were luring Fenriswolf so
as to get the fetter Gleipnir on him, he did not trust them that they
would let him go until they placed Tyr’s hand in the wolf’s mouth
as a pledge. And when the Æsir refused to let him go then he bit off
the hand at the place that is now called the wolf-joint [wrist], and
he is one-handed and he is not considered a promoter of settlements between people.

[...]

High said: ‘I can easily tell you that. The fetter was smooth and
soft like a silken ribbon, but as firm and strong as you shall now
hear. When the fetter was brought to the Æsir, they thanked the
messenger heartily for carrying out their errand. Then the Æsir
went out on to a lake called Amsvartnir, onto an island called
Lyngvi, and summoned with them the wolf, showed him the silky
band and bade him tear it and declared it was rather firmer than
seemed likely, judging from its thickness, and passed it to each
other and tried it by pulling at it with their hands, and it did not
tear; yet the wolf, they said, would tear it. Then the wolf replied:

‘ “ It looks to me with this ribbon as though I will gain no fame
from it if I do tear apart such a slender band, but if it is made with
art and trickery, then even if it does look thin, this band is not
going on my legs.”

‘Then the Æsir said that he would soon tear apart a slender
silken band, seeing that he had earlier broken great iron fetters, -
“ but if you cannot manage to tear this band then you will present
no terror to the gods, and so we will free you.”

‘The wolf said: “ If you bind me so that I am unable to release
myself, then you will be standing by in such a way that I should

have to wait a long time before I got any help from you. I am
reluctant to have this band put on me. But rather than that you
question my courage, let some one put his hand in my mouth as a
pledge that this is done in good faith.”

‘But all the Æsir looked at each other and found themselves in a
dilemma and all refused to offer their hands until Tyr put forward
his right hand and put it in the wolf’s mouth. And now when the
wolf kicked, the band grew harder, and the harder he struggled,
the tougher became the band. Then they all laughed except for
Tyr. He lost his hand. When the Æsir saw that the wolf was
thoroughly bound they took the cord that was hanging from the
fetter, which is called Gelgia, and threaded it through a great
stone slab — this is called Gioll — and fastened the slab far down in
the ground. Then they took a great rock and thrust it even further
into the ground - this is called Thviti - and used this rock as an
anchoring-peg. The wolf stretched its jaws enormously and
reacted violently and tried to bite them. They thrust into its mouth
a certain sword; the hilt touches its lower gums and the point its
upper ones. This is its gum-prop. It howls horribly and saliva runs
from its mouth. This forms the river called Hope. There it will lie
until Ragnarok.’


- Prose Edda, Gylfaginning


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Tyr said:
37 ‘Freyr is the best of all the bold riders
in the courts of the Æsir;
he makes no girl cry nor any man’s wife,
and looses each man from captivity.’

Loki said:
38 ‘Be silent, Tyr, you could never
deal straight between two people;
your right hand, I must point out,
is the one which Fenrir tore from you.’

Tyr said:
39 ‘I’ve lost a hand, but you’ve lost the famous wolf;
evil brings pain to us both;
it’s not pleasant for the wolf, who must in shackles
wait for the twilight of the gods.’

Loki said:
40 ‘Be silent, Tyr, it happened that your wife had a son by me;
not an ell of cloth nor a penny have you ever had
for this injury, you wretch.’

Freyr said:
41 ‘A wolf I see lying before a river mouth,
until the Powers are torn asunder;
next you shall be bound—unless you fall silent—
smith of evil!’

Loki said:
42 ‘With gold you had Gymir’s daughter bought
and so you gave away your sword;
but when Muspell’s sons ride over Myrkwood,
you don’t know then, wretch, how you’ll fight.’


- Poetic Edda, Lokasenna