Name and linguistic reconstruction
Tiwaz is the conventional normalised form of the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name *tīwaz. It means the god Tīwaz, later Týr. The asterisk marks a form not directly attested as a rune name in a surviving Elder Futhark inscription.
Sign and historical use
In the Elder Futhark this rune served first as a written character. Its sound value, position in rune rows, and use in inscriptions are more direct historical evidence than modern lists of symbolic meanings.
A rune name could aid memory and occasionally function as an ideograph. This does not mean that every occurrence automatically invoked the name’s entire semantic content.
What the rune poems attest
No Elder Futhark rune poem survives. The Old English, Norwegian, and Icelandic stanzas shown here belong to later rune rows. They help reconstruct names but are not unchanged commentary from the period when the sign arose.
The divine name is historically sound; modern keywords such as justice derive from selected stories about Týr.
Modern symbolic interpretation
Modern rune practice often expands Tiwaz from the image-field “the god Tīwaz, later Týr”. Such readings can serve as a language for reflection, but they are modern tradition rather than an attested Viking-Age oracle definition.
Rune poems in the original
Old English
Old English Rune Poem
tir biþ tacna sum, healdeþ trywa wel wiþ æþelingas, a biþ on færylde ofer nihta genipu, næfre swiceþTīr is a certain sign; it keeps faith well with princes, is always on its course over the darkness of night, and never fails.
A sense-based working translation of the CLASP transcription; imagery and ambiguous words will be reviewed before final approval.
Old Norwegian
Norwegian Rune Poem
Týr er æinendr ása; opt værðr smiðr blása.Týr is the one-handed god of the Æsir; the smith often has to blow.
A sense-based working translation. The second line is often an independent gnomic statement; a direct semantic link to the rune must not be assumed.
Old Icelandic
Icelandic Rune Poem
Týr er einhendr áss ok ulfs leifar ok hofa hilmir.Týr is the one-handed god, the wolf’s leavings, and the ruler of sanctuaries.
“The wolf’s leavings” alludes to Fenrir’s bite, through which Týr lost his hand.