Ullr is a Germanic deity who has been mentioned in the eddas like the Grimnismal and Gylfaginning. He is a God of the hunt, archery and winter. Despite the fact that the name and most of the written sources are from medieval Scandinavian sources, he actually played a more important role in the history of Germanic spirituality. Ullr was not just known in Scandinavia, the ancient continental Germanics knew him as well.
The name Ullr is derived from the Proto-Germanic word ‘Wulþuz’ which means glory. This might already be a clue what Ullr’s oldest role could have been in the Germanic pantheon. His name evolved further, he is known as 'Wuldor’ in old English, 'Wulder’ in old high German,'Wulþus’ in Gothic and 'Vulder’ in old low German. Sadly the name did not survive in modern day Germanic languages because the word 'glory’ has been taken from the latin word 'gloria’. Perhaps another reason why the existence of Ullr in the continental Germanic pantheon seems to have been almost forgotten.
According to old Norse sources, Ullr has his own home called Ydalir, the name of his domain could also be a link to his skills in archery and bow-making as Ydalir refers to the Yew, the most sacred tree in ancient 'Dutch’ sources and the most suitable type of wood to make bows. Another old Norse source, the Atlakvida, makes a very tiny mention of a possible ritual surrounding Ullr in the form of an oath ring. This could perhaps be another clue helping us to uncover his ancient role, which seemed to have been much more important than his role during the time period when the eddas were written down.
You might be thinking that the only sources we have about this deity are exclusively from Scandinavian sources but this is not true. The oldest source we have of Ullr’s existence in the continental Germanic pantheon comes from modern day Germany. During the 19th century, the Thorsberg moor was excavated by Helvig Conrad Engelhardt, he found several items, about which I will write a post in the future, including a little piece of metal that once belonged to a scabbard. This piece of metal has a description on it written with the elder futhark runes:
“owlþuþewaz / niwajmariz”
Which could be translated into modern English like this:
“Well-honored servant of the glorious one”.
The 'glorious one’ is an ancient name for Ullr as his name literally means glory. The inscription refers to a title of the owner of the sword, meaning he could have called himself the servant of Ullr, perhaps trying to gain Ullr’s blessing during the times he needed his sword. The inscription dates back to 200AD and shows that Ullr’s role was quite different. He appears to have been known as a glorious warrior similar to Tyr.
There is one other source from continental Europe where Ullr is mentioned. This is a written source and comes from the Gesta Danorum, a book on the history of Denmark written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus. In his work he refers to Ullr as Ollerus, a being capable of using magic to travel around the world. What is even more interesting, Ullr replaced Wodan after Wodan was accused and banished for a rape that he committed according to this work.
Despite the fact that almost all of Ullr’s sources come from medieval Scandinavia, most historians agree that Ullr is in fact one of the oldest Gods of the Germanic pantheon and he most likely played a much larger role in antiquity judging by the etymology of his name, his attributes and the archeological evidence that we have. Still there is much to be learn about Ullr, perhaps in the future we will find more archeological objects refering to Ullr and his ancient role but he appeared to have been a glorious warrior capable of using magic and revered by ancient Germanic warriors.
Here are images of:
Ullr by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine,
Depiction of Ullr from a 18th century Icelandic manuscript,
The Thorsberg Moor rune inscription,
A picture showing the etymology of the Ullr, made by myself,
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