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TYRIANISM RigR KonúngR-Agnarsson
Due to a lack of Eddaic evidence, there is a certain amount of speculation concerning the God Tyr. I certainly do not mean the corrolations with the Indo-European god Mitra, but who is Tyr? What are the tenants of that spiritual path? Is he a War-God, a God of Law, or a God of Justice? He is all of these things, and perhaps much more. Tyr is perhaps one of the greatest of the Aesir, but we must not forget that none of our Gods are omnipotent, as we are wont to think from time to time. Tyr's major prominence among the Aesir is the part that he played in the binding of Fenrir. In a spiritual perspective, Fenrir may represent rampant and uncontrolled chaos. By binding the fell wolf, Tyr may be seen as the binder of Chaos, and thus inducing order. To further this idea, it has been said, theologically, that Tyr brought order to the universe. We also know that in many regions Tyr was once believed to be the All-Father before Odin took the post. This leads us to another point. Where is the "Law" in "Law and Order?" Law as we know it is a man-made institution for enforcing conduct, leaving no room for conscience or personal ethics. It has a strict rigidity that often omits Justice. However, we may consider that "Law" and "Order" are one and the same, thus the saying "Law and Order". One may ask, "does this leave any room for Justice without man-made law?" It most certainly does. Justice is based on personal ethics, purity of conscience, and righting the wrongs. The institiutions that create our laws do not incorporate personal ethics, or conscience, and often do not right any wrongs (and, one may add, are based on christianity.) So, does this leave us in a moral quandry? It may. The happy medium that bridges that gap between Justice and Law must be found by each individual that seeks it. There are no easy answers. However, this author by no means promotes anarchy in any form, by making these statements. Rather, common sense and good judgement should be applied when one seeks to differentiate justice from law. Next, we have another aspect of Tyr that is downplayed in modern Asatru. Historical stigma and political correctness leads us to avoid Tyr's place as a God of Battle. History shows us that Tyr was predominately worshipped as a War-God, even on a national scale. To the Saxons he was named Saxnot, and was above all a War-God, and their chief Deity. The possible significance of Tyr being a God of Battle and Justice is that worshippers would call upon Tyr to find their struggle favorable, and to serve justice in their eyes. In any conflict there is a degree of justice involved in some form or another. Often battle can be highly justified when one is defending his life, the lives of others, our homes, our faith, or our way of life. Subsequently, the victors would give Tyr some credit for their victory. Thus Tyr was also, at times, called a God of Victory. A rather new conclusion that this author has come to is the possibility that Tyr is a God of Virtue. When one examines the Edda, and other translations of our Lore, it might be interesting to give notice to the adjectives used to describe Tyr. These are often "true-hearted", "noble", "trustworthy", "valiant", and "faithful". To further the idea, these adjectives are simply ideologies that are expounded upon in the Hávamál. This may explain why typically Tyr is considered to be above reproach, as some may say. After reading this work, it might be assumed that Tyr's influence may be vast. True enough. However, not all Asatruar could find themselves bound by such ideologies. I have found that "Tyrianism" is founded in action and conduct, which is in turn based on reasoned thought and good judgement. It is action-oriented, but not rash and foolhardy. Furthermore, service of others is of paramount import. Of what we know from the Edda, Tyr's two great actions (the binding of Fenrir, and acquiring Hymir's cauldron) were for the sake of his fellows, not himself. In one case it was very much to his detriment. Good judgement, honor, reasoned responses, thorough action, and service are the hallmarks of a Tyrian, but one need not be Tyrian to exercise these virtues.
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