- Name
- tir (Tiw)
- Meaning
- originally the god Tiw (Old Norse Týr); in the poem, a guiding star or sign
- Transliteration
- t
- Sound
- /t/
- Unicode
U+16CFrunic letter tiwaz tir tyr t
Line of descent
History
The arrow-shaped t rune is unchanged from the elder row. Its name is the problem. Codex Vindobonensis 795 has ti. The rune poem has tir, and Old English tir means "glory". Dickins argued that the original name was the god's name, Old English Tiw, Old Norse Týr, from the elder *Tīwaz. He saw tir as a misreading, or as a word the poet substituted. Tiw is the god who gave his name to Tuesday (Tiwesdæg), the day Latin assigned to Mars.
The rune poem does not describe a god. It describes "a certain sign" that "keeps faith well with princes" and "is always on its course over the mists of night". This is usually understood as a star or constellation used for steering, perhaps the Pole Star. The Christian poet may have avoided the heathen name on purpose, or the old meaning may simply have been lost.
In inscriptions t is common. On the Franks Casket it occurs in greut, and the left side has twœgen "two". On the Ruthwell Cross it closes krist.
In the rune poems
wiþ æþelingas; a biþ on færylde
ofer nihta genipu, næfre swiceþ.
with princes; it is always on its course
over the mists of night, and it never fails.
Original text from the public-domain editions named on each poem's page; translations are our own.
Where it is found
- Seax of Beagnoth, position 17
- Franks Casket: greut (front), twœgen (left side)
- Ruthwell Cross: krist, til
On inscriptions described on this site
Sources
- Dickins (1915), pp. 18–19 and note to v. 48.
- Wikipedia, 'Franks Casket', checked 2026-10.