Tiwaz Rune - Rune Poems

Rune Poems

Tiwaz is mentioned in all three rune poems. In the Icelandic and Norwegian poems, the rune is associated with the god Tyr.

stanza translation comments

Old Norwegian
ᛏ Tyr es einhendr Asa;
opt verðr smiðr at blasa.


Tyr is the one-handed god;
often happens the smith must blow.

Old Icelandic
ᛏ Týr er einhendr áss
ok ulfs leifar
ok hofa hilmir.
Mars tiggi.


Tyr is a one-handed god,
and leavings of the wolf
and prince of temples.

 the "Mars tiggi" is a gloss and not part of the poem itself, indicating that Týr was associated with the Roman deity and/or the planet Mars.

Old English
ᛏ biþ tacna sum, healdeð trywa wel
wiþ æþelingas; a biþ on færylde
ofer nihta genipu, næfre swiceþ.


is a sign, it keeps faith well
with athelings, it is always on its course
over the mists of night, it never fails.

 The tir "fame, honour" is a gloss written alongside the rune. Several interpretations have been offered, typically involving association with the north star, as the words tacna and færyld have astronomical connotations (used for "sign of the zodiac" and "path of a planet", respectively).

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