Anonymous asked:
Hey Fjorn, I love your blog! I was wondering if we have any sources for the prayers or traditional offerings to Tyr? I was also wondering where you suggest to start learning about the Viking age, particularly religion.
Unfortunately, we don’t have much. Based on what I know from literary evidence, which is fraught with uncertainty when it comes to understanding pre-Christian belief, rune-carving seems to have been associated with invoking Tyr. Our primary evidence for this comes from stanza 6 of Sigrdrífumál, I believe, which states:
“Victory-runes you must cut if you want to have victory,
and cut them on your sword-hilt;
some on the blade-guards, some on the handle,
and invoke Tyr twice.”
(Source: Larrington tr., The Poetic Edda, 163.)
What this means by “Victory-runes,” however, is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the rune for “t,” which bears Tyr’s name? Yet, I assume the plural is being used here (though I’d have to check the Old Norse to be certain, of course). Nevertheless, this bit of lore is also echoed in chapter 21 of Völsunga saga, but it is almost certainly being drawn from Sigrdrífumál, so we can’t quite consider it to be an additional source.
Aside from that, I’m not aware of any other sources recounting prayers or traditional offerings for Tyr. There may be less credible sources that claim such things, but I’d be leery of them. Yet, there may also be sources out there that I’m just not aware of. If anyone following me knows of anything that’s credible (or at least potentially so), do contribute to this post for the sake of Anon and our curious community.
As for learning about Norse religion, I can recommend a few books. I assume you’ve already read the Eddas? If not, The Prose Edda is a good starting point, but I think most folk are more fond of The Poetic Edda (I personally use Carolyne Larrington’s translation). There are also a few guides, which you might find useful, one by Carolyne Larrington and another by John Lindow. I have various other resources about Norse mythology posted here, but do keep in mind that this page will soon be moving over to my new website (so the link may not work for long).
It’s also important to be familiar with the larger context, of course, so I’d also recommend reading up on some history, as well. There are several ways to go about that, so I’ll just list a few options: Viking Age Podcast, The Viking Age Atlas, The Viking Age: A Reader, and Winroth’s The Age of the Vikings. There are more options, of course, but those should also be more cost-effective for you.
Anyway, my answer was long-winded as usual, but I hope it’ll help a bit.
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