This was originally part of another post where I rambled on and on about not really liking the MCU Loki because he has been turned into a type of character that’s extremely boring to me, but I’d much rather talk about Thor’s actual adopted Jotun brother (or half brother, the texts doesn’t agree) from mythology, Tyr.
Tyr is best known from the story about the Fenrir wolf. Just to refreshen everybody’s memory, Fenrir was one of Loki’s many bizarre children. He started out as a cute pup but as he grew bigger the gods started fearing him. Not even Loki dared go near his own child. Only Tyr was brave enough/loved Fenrir enough to keep playing with him.
Eventually the gods decided that it would be safest to tie Fenrir up but no chains could hold him so they got a magic rope that was impossible to beak. Fenrir suspected trickery was afoot and said he’d only put it on if someone put their hand in his mouth. If he couldn’t break the rope he’d bite the person’s hand off. Again only Tyr stepped forward, put his hand willingly in the wolf’s mouth and lost it as a consequence.
Tyr appears again in Lokasenna where he defends the god of peace, Frey, from Loki’s insults.
Tyr is one of my favorite Norse gods. As a child I had a very surface level view of the Fenrir story. I thought Fenrir was stupid because he knew the gods were tricking him but let them put the rope on him anyway, but I also thought Tyr was mean for being part of it.
It does explain Tyr’s role through. He’s a god of war, but also law and fairness. When he put his hand in Fenrir’s mouth he knew he was going to lose it. He accepted that he would have to make that huge sacrifice for tricking his friend. Losing his hand was fair. He knew he deserved it.
And as a god of war I think it’s endlessly interesting that he’s the person who defends Frey, god of peace, defender of women and freer of the imprisoned. Thor is god of mindless war, Odin is god of smart warfare, but Tyr is god of fair, righteous battle. He doesn’t want war for war’s sake, he only wants war to right wrongs. He’s the god who’s on the side of the downtrodden and abused. Basically, even though he’s a god of law, if the police isn’t fair he’d be one of the people on the ground throwing shit at the police.
He’s the god you pray to if you want things to be fair, but there’s a risk you might not be the wronged part even if you see it that way. Tyr was willing to lose his own hand in the name of fairness so if your prayers to him backfire on you you’ll know you were the real asshole in that situation.
Just, Tyr is great okay? He knew he was the asshole, not Fenrir, and he thinks the best god in a pantheon of war gods is the god of peace.
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