Ullr, the bringer of the snowy rime. Ullr is the step son of the mighty Thor and the golden goddess Sif. Ullr manifested in the cold season of winter and brought the snow and ice to Midgard. Ullr entailed all activities of the cold season, such as hunting and especially skiing. Ullr was renowned as one of the highest ranking Gods among the Aesir and Vanir, second only to Odin. Every year Odin leaves his position in the Aesir to travel the world, with Ullr assuming the throne and becoming the chief of the gods and ushering in winter. However once Odin returns, Ullr relinquishes the throne to Odin once more, allowing the warm season to return to Midgard.
Ullr is thought to have been originally one of the most important deities in the older Germanic pantheon. Over time however Ullr’s importance begun to be overshadowed by the other gods and ultimately became a niche and minor god. His ancient importance can still be seen in Nordic myth, with his role as the winter leader of the Aesir likely stemming from his Germanic roots. Ullr may have originally been the god of sledding rather than the Skis he’s known for in Norse mythology, as Ullr was heavily associated with shields with euhemerized Middle Age literature stating that a shield was his ship, some posit that shields were originally used or at least conflated with ancient Germanic sleds, while others have said that early skis could’ve resembled shields in a way. Ullr’s name has deviated over time, going by Ullr and Ullinn in Scandinavia, and latinized into Ollerus by authors in the Middle Ages. Ullr holds a surprising connection to the Abrahamic God due to him being connected to the Proto-Germanic wulþuz, meaning “glory” or “sight”, a word which developed into wuldor, a word used as a name for God among the Anglo-Saxons. Some theories suggest that Ullr was a manifestation or aspect of the Germanic sky god, either Odin or Tyr, other theories posit that he was the husband of the goddess Skadi. A less reliable theory alleges that Ullr was a member of the Vanir, however the evidence used in support of this is sparse and is contradicted by primary sources.
