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Gods and Myths of Northern EuropeUll at one time must have been a deity of some importance, although there is little about him in the pages of Snorri. In Norway and Sweden his name occurs in place-names in two forms, Ullr and Ullin. Places called after him are in many cases near those called after Freyr, Freyja, Njord, and Njord’s wife Skadi, so that it seems natural to assume that he was associated in some way with the Vanir. There is little trace of his worship in Denmark, but a third-century scabbard found in a Danish bog bears a name in runes which means вЂservant of Ull’, and its owner may have been a worshipper of the god. Ull’s name is related to the Gothic word meaning вЂmajesty’, or вЂglory’, and because of this it has been thought that he was an early Germanic sky god. Snorri however associated him with the bow and with snow-shoes, and Saxo tells us that he crossed the seas on a magic bone, which suggests skates. Skates and snow-shoes would be fitting for a god of winter, or a deity of the northern lakes and mountains. Ull remains a mysterious and shadowy figure, and serves as a reminder of the many northern deities and cults which had faded into oblivion by the time that Snorri wrote his account of the gods ...» |
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