 |
|
| “Heathen Gods: by Mark Stinson |
| |
A few notes and references:
A few of his names or synonyms,
to help your searches.
Ull, Ullar, Ullr, Uller, Ullur
His sister? Ullin
Ollerus is a Latinized form of Old Norse Ullr.
1)
ULL [Gothic] (glory)
ORIGIN Nordic (Icelandic) and Germanic. May
have originated as an early northern German
sky god, but also connected with fertility and
with the sea.
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP prehistoric times
until Christianization circa AD 1100.
SYNONYMS Ullr.
CENTER(S) OF CULT none known, but several
place names in Norway and Sweden allude.
ART REFERENCES possibly the subject of anonymous
carvings.
LITERARY SOURCES Icelandic codices; Prose Edda
(Snorri); Historia Danica (Saxo); place names.
A sky god of Asgard, but with some links to the
VANIR gods. The son of SIF and stepson of THOR,
he is responsible for justice, and oaths were once
sworn over the “ring of Ull.” He may also have a
role in the fertility of crops. Skaldic verse mentions
the “ship of Ull,” presumed to be a reference
to the use of Ull’s shield as a boat. A scabbard
excavated in Denmark in the third century AD
bears a runic inscription “servant of Ull.” According
to Snorri he wears a bow and snow shoes.
Saxo describes him crossing the sea on a magic
bone—a ski? He may have a sister, Ullin.
Ref. Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Second Edition by Michael Jordan
2)
Ull
NORSE MYTHOLOGY
WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Alternative Titles: Ollerus, Ullr
Although not much has been recorded about Ull, he must have been a very prominent deity in the Norse pantheon at one time because, according to one tradition, the god Odin offered Ull’s favours as a reward to the one who would aid him. In addition, Ull’s name appears as part of many Swedish and Norwegian place-names. In the chronicles of the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, Ollerus is the equivalent of Ull.
l, Old Norse Ullr, in Norse mythology, the god of snowshoes, hunting, the bow, and the shield; he was a handsome stepson of the thunder god Thor. Ull possessed warrior-like attributes and was called upon for aid in individual combat. He resided at Ydalir (Yew Dales).
Ref. Encyclopaedia Britannica
3)
The gods built themselves castles in Asgard, and halls that
shone with gold. It is recorded that there were twelve such heavenly
palaces, but the poems differ from each other in describing them.
High above Asgard was Hlidskialf (swaying gate), the throne of
Odin, whence the all-ruling Father looked down upon the worlds and
watched the doings of men, elves and giants. The palaces of the
Ases were: Bilskirnir, the dwelling of Thor, 540 stories high and
situated in his province of Thrudheim; Ydalir (yew-vale), where Uller,
the brave bowman, lived; Walaskialf, the silver halls of Wali;
Sökwabek, the dwelling of Saga (goddess of history), of which the
Edda tells us: “Cool waters always flow over it, and in it Odin and
Saga drink day after day out of golden beakers.” In this palace the
holy goddess Saga lived, and sang of the deeds of gods and heroes.
She sang to the sound of the murmuring waters, until the flames of
Surtur destroyed the nine homes and all the holy places. Then she
rose and joined the faithful, who had escaped fire and sword, and fled
with them to the North, to the inhabitants of Scandinavia. To these
she sang in another tongue of the deeds of the Germanic heroes.
But her songs did not pass away without leaving a trace behind;
some of them are probably preserved in the Edda, and remain a
treasure of poetry which can never be lost.
The fifth palace was called Gladsheim (shining-home); it
belonged to the Father of the gods, and contained Walhalla, the hall
of the blessed heroes, with its 500 doors. The whole shining building
was enclosed within the grove Glasir of golden foliage. Thrymheim
(thunder-home), where Skadi, daughter of the murdured giant
Thiassi, lived, was originally supposed to be in Jotunheim, but the
poems place it in Asgard.
Breidablick (wide out-look) was the dwelling of glorious Baldur,
and in it no evil could be done. Heimdal, the watchman of the
49
gods, lived in Himinbiörg (Heaven-hall), and there the blessed god
drank sweet mead. Folkwang, the ninth castle, belonged to the
mighty Freya. It was there that she brought her share of the fallen
heroes from the field of battle. In Glitnir dwelt Forseti, the righteous,
whose part it was to act as umpire, and smooth away all quarrels.
Noatun was the castle of Niörder, the prince of men and protector of
wealth and ships. Saga recognised as the twelfth heavenly palace
Landwidi (broad-land), the dwelling of the silent Widar, son of Odin,
who avenged his father’s death in the Last Battle.
It is enough to say here regarding the mythological signification
of these heavenly castles, that it is very probable that they were
meant for the twelve constellations of the zodiac. For amongst these
palaces none were allotted to the warrior god Tyr, nor do they count
amongst their number Wingolf, the hall of the goddesses, or Fensal,
the palace of Queen Frigga. According to this hypothesis the deities
who possessed these twelve palaces were gods of the months. For
instance, Uller, who lived at Ydalir, was the god of archery, and used
to glide over the silvery ice-ways on skates. He ruled, in his quality of
protector of the chase, when the sun passed over the constellation of
Saggitarius in winter. Frey or Freya was called after him in the myth,
and to him the gods gave, as a gift on his cutting his first tooth, the
Home of the Light-Elves, which lies in the sun and is not to be found
amongst the dwellings of Asgard.
The sun-god was also reborn at the time of the winter solstice,
as Day was in the North. The Yule-feast was therefore celebrated in
honour of the growing light with banquets and wine; Frey’s boar was
then sacrificed, and the drinking-horn was passed down the rows of
guests. Wali’s palace was, the story tells, covered with silver. By this
the constellation of Aquarius was meant; when the sun passes over
that part of the heavens where this
50
constellation rules, it is a splendid sight in the far North to see the
silvery sheen of the snow that covers the mountains and valleys. We
refrain from further discussion of this theme, for these are only
hypotheses, and myths of deeper meaning are awaiting.
Ref. Asgard and the Gods
The Tales and Traditions of our Northern Ancestors. Adapted from the work of Dr. W.Wägner.
4)
The stone platform at Lilla Ullevi is probably one of the
first securely dated, located and identified cultic sanctuaries to be discovered from late Iron Age Scandinavia, in all likelihood dedicated to the god Ullr as the place-name implies.
Ref. Nine paces from Hel: time and motion in Old Norse ritual performance
5)
The Norse god Ullr appears to be particularly associated with oath rings (e.g. Näsström
2001: 124–126; Ringstad 2005; Steinsland 2005: 245). Ullr is a god we know little of,
possibly because he was especially popular in eastern Scandinavia, whilst the written sources
are biased towards western Scandinavia. His name is preserved in place names around
Oslo in Norway and Uppsala in Sweden, indicating that his cult was practiced in a belt
across central Scandinavia (Steinsland 2005: 245). Ullr is an old deity and had possibly
withdrawn to the background of the Viking-Age pantheon. In Atlakviða, Ullr is associated
with swearing oaths, when Gudrun talks of oaths sworn by ‘[…] the southward verging
sun, and by Sigty’s hill, the secluded bed of rest, and by Ullr’s ring’ (author’s emphasis).
According to Hávamál 108, Odinn has also sworn a ‘ring-oath’. Miniature amulet rings
have been found at excavated central places and cult sites (Arrhenius 1961; Nielsen 2006;
Zachrisson 2004). These enigmatic artefacts have been connected to oath rings and Ullr,
but also to fertility rituals and the cult of Freya (Arrhenius 1961).
The amulet rings were probably multi-vocal and powerful symbols. The amulet rings of
the cult site Lilla Ullevi in southern Sweden, literally meaning the ‘little cult site of Ullr’,
may be particularly significant when discussing door rings and ring magic. The cult site was
mainly used in the Merovingian period. Around a stone setting, possibly made to evoke the
shape of the gable-end of a house, numerous miniature iron amulets were found. Among
them were miniature Thor’s hammers, a common amulet type in pre-Christian Scandinavia,
and 67 miniature rings – only befitting a cult site of Ullr. Intriguingly, four of the small
iron rings have cramps attached to them – making them resemble miniature door rings.
The excavators hypothesise if these miniature rings may have been fixed to posts or other
wooden constructions at the site (Bäck et al. 2008: 43–45
Ref. The Powerful Ring. Door Rings, Oath Rings, and the Sacral Place
6) A very good blog on god Ullr:
https://earthandstarryheaven.com/2015/02/19/so-who-is-ullr/
7)
In early Germanic paganism, *Wulþuz ("glory") appears to have been an important concept, perhaps personified as a god, or an epithet of an important god; it is continued in Old Norse tradition as Ullr, a god associated with archery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ullr
8)
For dozens of more references take a hint from our Facebook group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DruidPaganResearch/
So here it is:
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=0&q=god+Ullr&hl=en&as_sdt=0,10
Blessing to all.
One of our Heathen or Norse Facebook groups.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DruidinMidgard/
TDK, lost in Midgard.
