InNorse mythology,Ullr (Old Norse:[ˈulːz̠])[1] is agod associated with skiing. Although literary attestations of Ullr are sparse, evidence including relatively ancient place-name evidence from Scandinavia suggests that he was a major god in earlierGermanic paganism.Proto-Germanic *wulþuz ('glory') appears to have been an important concept of which his name is a reflex. The word appears asowlþu- on the 3rd-centuryThorsberg chape.
TheOld NorsetheonymUllr derives from aProto-Germanic (PGmc) form reconstructed as*Wulþuz ('Glory'), which is attested in thecompoundowlþu-þewaz (ᛟᚹᛚᚦᚢᚦᛖᚹᚨᛉ), meaning either 'servant ofOwlþuz' (if interpreted as a theonym), or 'who has glorious servants' (if interpreted as an adjective), found on theThorsberg chape (3rd c. AD). It is acognate (linguistic sibling from the same origin) of theGothic nounwulþus ('glory, wealth').[2][3][4] They ultimately derive from theProto-Indo-European (PIE) noun *wul-tus ('sight, gaze, appearance'), itself from the root *wel- ('to see').[3][4]
The PGmc term*wulþuz is an exact cognate of the Latinvultus, meaning 'facial expression, appearance'; it is further related, in Celtic languages, to theOld Irishfiled ('seer, poet'), theMiddle Welshgwelet ('to see'), and theMiddle Bretonguelet ('sight'), all derived from aProto-Celtic stem *wel-ēt-.[2][5][4] The development from PIE *wul-tus to Gothicwulþus shows asemantic shift from 'sight, appearance' to 'glory, wealth', similarly evidenced inCroatian in the relationship betweenugled ('respect') andgledati ('see').[5]
The stem *wulþ- can also be found in some Germanic personal names, includingOld EnglishWuldwine, Old High GermanWuldberth,Wuldhart,Wuldrât, and GothicWulþuwulfs, but as asubstantive meaning 'glory', rather than as the name of the god.[2] The Old English nounwuldor ('glory') stems from a related PGmc term reconstructed as *wuldraz (itself from PIE *wul-trós).[4] Although not used as a proper name,wuldor occurs frequently innames for the Christian God in Anglo-Saxon literature, such aswuldres cyning ('king of glory'),wuldorfæder ('glory-father'), andwuldor alwealda ('glorious all-ruler').[6]
The related Old Norse formUllinn was most likely originally connected toUllr (as in the doubletÓðr–Óðinn), philologistJan de Vries suggesting that the god of rage Óðr–Óðinn stood in opposition to the god of glorious majesty Ullr–Ullinn in a similar manner to the Vedic contrast betweenVaruna andMitra.[7]
InSaxo Grammaticus' 12th-century workGesta Danorum, where gods appeareuhemerized, Ullr, latinized asOllerus, is described as a cunning wizard with magical means of transportation:
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WhenOdin was exiled, Ollerus was chosen to take his place and ruled under the name Odin for ten years until the true Odin was called back.
Ullr is mentioned in the poemGrímnismál where the homes of individual gods are recounted. The English versions shown here are by Thorpe.
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The nameÝdalir, meaning "yew dales", is not otherwise attested. The elastic wood of theyew was an important material in the making of bows, and the wordýr, "yew", is often usedmetonymically to refer to bows. It seems likely that the nameÝdalir is connected with the idea of Ullr as a bow-god.
Another strophe inGrímnismál also mentions Ullr.
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The strophe is obscure but may refer to some sort of religious ceremony. It seems to indicate that Ullr was an important god.
The last reference to Ullr in thePoetic Edda is found inAtlakviða:
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BothAtlakviða andGrímnismál are often considered to be among the oldest extant Eddic poems. It may not be a coincidence that they are the only ones to refer to Ullr. Again Ullr appears to be associated with some sort of ceremony, this time the practice ofswearing an oath on a ring; the ring was later associated withThor in a reference to the Norse settlers inDublin.[9]
In chapter 31 ofGylfaginning in theProse Edda, written in the 13th century bySnorri Sturluson, Ullr is referred to as a son ofSif (with a father unrecorded in surviving sources) and thus a stepson of Sif's husband,Thor:
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InSkáldskaparmál, the second part of theProse Edda, Snorri mentions Ullr again in a list ofkennings, informing his readers that Ullr can be called ski-god, bow-god, hunting-god and shield-god. In turn a shield can be called Ullr's ship. Despite these details, he relates no myths about Ullr, potentially as he did not know of any.[citation needed]
Snorri's note that a shield can be called Ullr's ship is borne out by survivingskaldic poetry with kennings such asaskr Ullar,far Ullar andkjóll Ullar all meaning Ullr's ship and referring to shields. While the origin of this kenning is unknown it could be connected with the identity of Ullr as a ski-god. Early skis, or perhaps sleds, might have been reminiscent of shields. A late Icelandic composition,Laufás-Edda, offers the prosaic explanation that Ullr's ship was calledSkjöldr, "Shield".
The name of Ullr is also common in warrior kennings, where it is used as other god names are.
Three skaldic poems,Haustlöng,Eilífr Goðrúnarson'sÞórsdrápa, and a fragment byEysteinn Valdason, refer to Thor as Ullr's stepfather, confirming Snorri's information.
Ullr's name appears in several important Norwegian and Swedish place names (but not in Denmark or in Iceland). This indicates that Ullr had at some point a religious importance in Scandinavia that is greater than what is immediately apparent from the scant surviving textual references. It is also probably significant that the placenames referring to this god are often found close to placenames referring to another deity:Njörðr in Sweden andFreyr in Norway.[12] Some of the Norwegian placenames have a variant form,Ullinn. It has been suggested that this is the remnant of a pair ofdivine twins[13] and that there may have existed a female goddess namedUllinn, on the model of male and female divine pairs such asFreyr andFreyja orFjörgyn andFjörgynn.[14] Probably Ullr's name also can be read in the former Finnish municipality ofUllava in Central Osthrobothnia Region.
Magnus Olsen suggested in addition that the names of some Norwegian places includingRingsaker derive from a nickname *Ringir for Ullr based on his association withring-oaths, but there is no evidence of this.[15]
Icelandic scholar Ólafur Lárusson suggested that some of the Icelandic placenames inUllar-, usually interpreted as "wool", might also be named for Ullr, especially those such asUllarfoss andUllarklettur that are close to similar placenames inGoða- ("gods").[17]
The place-name evidence and the *wulþuz cognates have led many scholars to conclude that Ullr was one of the older Norse gods, whose importance had waned by the time of settlement of northern parts of Norway, well before the medieval Old Norse texts were written down.[18] This is reflected in the lack of literary evidence for the nameUllinn.[19] Some scholars have suggested that he was an aspect of the ancient Germanic sky-god,[18] perhaps corresponding in northern Scandinavia toTýr in Denmark.[20] Based on the association ofUllr andUllinn placenames withVanir deities,Ernst Alfred Philippson suggested that contrary to his placement in theProse Edda among theÆsir, he was himself one of the Vanir,[21] and the similarity between theProse Edda description of his characteristics and those ofSkaði have suggested to some that there was a link between him and Skaði's husband,Njörðr.[22]
Viktor Rydberg speculates in hisTeutonic Mythology that Ullr was the son ofSif byEgill-Örvandill, half-brother ofSvipdagr-Óðr, nephew ofVölundr and a cousin ofSkaði, and that Ullr followed in the footsteps of Egill, the greatest archer in the mythology, and helped Svipdagr-Eiríkr rescue Freyja from the giants. Rydberg also postulates that Ullr ruled over the Vanir when they heldÁsgarðr during the war between the Vanir and the Æsir, butRudolf Simek has stated that "this has no basis in the sources whatsoever".[23]
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Within the winterskiing community of Europe, Ullr is considered the GuardianPatron Saint of Skiers (GermanSchutzpatron der Skifahrer). An Ullr medallion or ski medal depicting the god on skis holding a bow and arrow, is widely worn as atalisman by both recreational and professional skiers as well asski patrols in Europe and elsewhere.
The town ofBreckenridge, Colorado has since 1963 held a week-long "Ullr Fest" each January, featuring events designed to win his favor in an effort to bring snow to the historic ski town.[24]
Ullr is a playable character in the video gameSmite.[25]
In the television seriesThe Almighty Johnsons, Ullr is depicted as having been reincarnated into Mike Johnson, played byTim Balme.[26]
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