Tyr is known by many names, most notably, The One-handed God.
Thanks to wikipedia, I do not have to re-type the story in detail. Here's the short version:
'According to the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, at one stage the gods decided to shackle the wolf Fenrisulfr (Fenrir), but the beast broke every chain they put upon him. Eventually they had the dwarves make them a magical ribbon called Gleipnir. It appeared to be only a silken ribbon but was made of six wondrous ingredients: the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, bear's sinews (meaning nerves, sensibility), fish's breath and bird's spittle. The creation of Gleipnir is said to be the reason why none of the above exist. Fenrir sensed the gods' deceit and refused to be bound with it unless one of them put his hand in the wolf's mouth.
Tyr, known for his great honesty and courage, agreed, and the other gods bound the wolf. After Fenrir had been bound by the gods, he struggled to try and break the rope. When the gods saw that Fenrir was bound they all laughed, except Tyr, who had his right hand bitten off by the wolf. Fenrir will remain bound until the day of Ragnarök. As a result of this deed, Tyr is called the "Leavings of the Wolf". '
Most people, seeing through the misty veil of Christianity, misconstrue this story as an act of sacrifice: Tyr "sacrificed" his sword hand for the safety of his brethren. But this act was in fact one of bravery and justice: about doing what is right, regardless of the cost.
To my knowledge, this is the only painting that has ever been done of Tyr and the Wolf in this perspective. In every portrayal I have found, the hand is missing, or he is still two-handed, feeding the wolf, Fenris. I felt like a genius when the idea of this perspective occured to me. I am so glad that it worked, and I hope this painting does him "justice"! (Oh, the pun was bad, but it made me feel soooo soooo good!)
Hail, Tyr, bravest of the Gods!
An interesting bloggie fact to clog up your brain, thanks to Wikipedia:
Tuesday is in fact "Tyr's Day." This is because the Anglo-Saxons at that time pronounced Tyr's name as "Tiw" thus giving his name to the 2nd day of the week.
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