Tyr is the God of War, Courage and Law. He's best known for losing his right hand to the Fenerous Wolf. The wrist joint even now in Scandinavia is referred to as the "wolf joint." On the back of his chair, called a Kubbestol and traditionally carved from a single log, is a line from an Icelandic rune poem: "Tyr God with one hand and leavings of the wolf and the prince of temples."

Týr's courage was indispensable to the gods when it came time to bind Fenrir, the wolf monster sired by Loki. Twice, the gods had attempted and failed to bind Fenrir, who had increasingly become a menace to the gods. They asked the dwarves to make a fetter strong enough to bind Fenrir.

The dwarves made a fetter smooth and supple as silk, called Gleipnir. Gleipnir was made from: the sound a cat makes when it moves; a woman's beard; the roots of a mountain; the sinews of a bear; the breath of a fish; and a bird's spittle. Fenrir refused to be bound for a third time unless one of the gods put his hand in Fenrir's mouth as a token of good faith that the gods would keep their promise to release the wolf if he could not break the bond.

Only Týr was brave enough to do so. Fenrir was bound, and Gleipnir held. The wolf struggled, but only succeeded in making the bond tighter. Fenrir snarled and clamped his teeth. Týr's right hand was severed at the wrist.

Swords were inscribed with the T- rune, symbolizing Týr and asking for his patronage.