A possible depiction of Ullr on the Böksta runestone
Ullr (pronounced “ULL-er,” often Anglicized as “Ull,” and also occasionally referred to as “Ullinn”) is an obscure and enigmatic Norse god. References to him inOld Norse literatureare sparse and tell us little to nothing about his personality or role in pre-Christian religion and mythology. Nevertheless, these passing references indicate that he was once a deity of considerable importance, even if we don’t know why.
Ullr is the son of the grain goddessSif, and therefore the stepson of the thunder godThor.[1]Kenningsestablish that Ullr is an excellent archer, hunter, skater, and skier, handsome, warlike, and an especially apt deity to invoke before a duel. “Ullr’s ship” is a kenning for “shield,” which indicates that there was a tale of his traveling across the ocean on a shield, but if so, this tale has been lost.[2]One of the poems inPoetic Edda, theGrímnismál, states that his home is calledÝdalir, “Yew Dales.”[3]Yew wood was preferred above that of all other trees for making bows, which probably explains this association.[4]

博克斯塔符石上可能描绘的乌尔
乌尔（发音为“Ullr尔”，通常英语化为“乌尔”，有时也被称为“乌尔林”）是一个模糊而神秘的北欧神。古代北欧文学中很少提及他，也很少或根本没有告诉我们他的个性或在基督教之前的宗教和神话中的角色。尽管如此，这些顺便提及表明他曾经是一个相当重要的神，即使我们不知道为什么。
Ullr是谷物女神Sif的儿子，因此是雷神Thor的继子。【1】肯宁斯认为乌尔是一个优秀的射手、猎人、滑冰运动员和滑雪者，英俊、好战，是一个特别适合在决斗前召唤的神灵。“乌尔的船”是“盾牌”的缩写，这表明有一个他乘着盾牌穿越海洋的故事，但如果是这样的话，这个故事已经丢失了。【2】诗意的埃达的一首诗《格里姆尼斯马尔》中写道，他的家叫“达利尔”，即“紫杉山谷”【3】紫杉木材是制作弓的首选木材，这可能解释了这种联系。[4]

Elsewhere in the poem,Odin, who is entrapped between two fires, promises the blessings of “Ullr and all the gods” on whomever will rescue him.[5]This placement suggests a position of particular prominence for Ullr relative to other deities. This suggestion is corroborated by the medieval Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, who tells us that Ullr (whose name is here Latinized as “Ollerus”) assumed the leadership of the gods during a period when their usual chief, Odin, was in exile.[6]Similarly, another Old Norse poem, theAtlakviða, features a scene involving the swearing of oaths wherein the last and most solemn oath is sworn on the ring of Ullr.[7]
The prevalence of place names derived from “Ullr” throughout Sweden and eastern Norway further attests to Ullr having once been an exceptionally prominent figure amongst the Scandinavian gods. Many of these names are combined with elements such ashof, “temple,” which indicates active worship of Ullr during the early Viking Age and possibly later as well.[8][9]

在诗的其他地方，被困在两把火中的奥丁承诺，无论谁来救他，都会得到“乌尔和所有众神”的祝福。【5】这一位置暗示了乌尔相对于其他神灵的特殊地位。这一建议得到了中世纪丹麦历史学家萨克索·格拉马提库斯的证实，他告诉我们乌尔（他的名字在这里被拉丁化为“欧雷尔斯”）在众神通常的首领奥丁流亡期间担任了众神的领袖。【6】同样，另一首古挪威语诗歌《阿特兰克维亚》描绘了一个宣誓场景，其中最后一个也是最庄严的誓言是在乌尔戒指上宣誓的。[7]
源自“Ullr”的地名在整个瑞典和挪威东部的流行进一步证明了Ullr曾经是斯堪的纳维亚众神中异常突出的人物。许多这些名字都与hof，“神庙”等元素结合在一起，这表明在维京时代早期以及可能更晚的时期对Ullr的积极崇拜。[8][9]

The meaning and etymology of his name are uncertain, but some have suggested that it could be derived from a Germanic root that can also be found in Gothicwulþus, “glory,” and Old Englishwuldor(“glory, splendor, honor”).[10]
Some have attempted to equate Ullr with the sky godTyr, who, as his article on this site discusses, was the Germanic version of the highest god of theProto-Indo-Europeans, from whom the Norse and other Germanic peoples are descended.[11]
This connection seems to me to be technically possible, but it’s quite a stretch. Tyr was, amongst other things, a god of law and justice. The episode of swearing an oath on Ullr’s ring in theAtlakviðacould indicate that Ullr was likewise appealed to as a patron of law and justice. But since swearing an oath on a symbol of divinity –anydivinity, regardless of that deity’s connection with justice and law – was a common practice in heathen Germanic society, this episode alone is insufficient to establish that Ullr had anything in particular to do with these attributes. Both gods were apparently more prominent in Norse religion at one time than they were by the time Old Norse literature was written, but this does not in and of itself establish a connection between the two, either. And that’s the only evidence that connects Ullr and Tyr in any way – if you even want to call that evidence. This speculation, therefore, is nothing more than a speculation, for which and against which it is impossible to persuasively argue.
Others have wanted to connect Ullr with theVanirtribe of deities on similarly shaky evidence: the distribution of place names with “Freyr” and “Njord” in them in the vicinity of place names bearing “Ullr,” and the fact that Ullr apparently once traveled across the sea (some deities who are grouped amongst the Vanir were associated with the ocean). More fundamentally, however, any argument that assumes the Vanir were a distinct tribe is by that virtue alone open to considerable suspicion,

他的名字的含义和词源尚不确定，但一些人认为它可能源自一个日耳曼词根，这个词根也可以在哥特语wulþ us、“荣耀”和古英语wuldor（“荣耀、辉煌、荣誉”）中找到。[10]
一些人试图将乌尔与天空之神提尔等同起来，正如他在该网站上的文章所讨论的那样，提尔是原始印欧人最高神的日耳曼版本，北欧人和其他日耳曼人都是其后裔。[11]
在我看来，这种联系在技术上是可能的，但这太牵强了。提尔是法律和正义之神。乌尔在阿特兰克维亚的戒指上宣誓这一情节可能表明乌尔同样被视为法律和正义的保护人。但是，既然对着神性的象征发誓——任何神性，不管这种神性与正义和法律的关系——是异教徒日耳曼社会的普遍做法，仅凭这一集不足以证明Ullr与这些属性有任何特别的关系。显然，这两个神在北欧宗教中的地位一度比他们在古代北欧文学写作时更为突出，但这本身也并没有在两者之间建立联系。这是唯一将Ullr和Tyr联系起来的证据——如果你想称之为证据的话。因此，这种猜测只不过是一种猜测，不可能令人信服地论证支持或反对这种猜测。
其他人则希望将Ullr与瓦尼尔部落的神联系起来，理由同样站不住脚:在带有“Ullr”的地名附近有“弗雷”和“尼约德”的地名分布，以及Ullr显然曾经漂洋过海的事实（一些被归入瓦尼尔部落的神与海洋有关）。然而，更根本的是，任何假设瓦尼尔人是一个独特部落的论点仅凭这一点就受到相当大的怀疑，因为瓦尼尔人在多大程度上被视为一个独特的神部落是非常有争议的。[13]

因此，最终，我们对乌尔的了解足以推断他曾经是一个最重要的神，但我们不知道他到底是谁，也不知道是什么让他对古代斯堪的纳维亚人如此重要。就像前基督教日耳曼宗教的许多其他方面一样，我们拥有的关于Ullr的信息是零碎的和不充实的，但更令人沮丧的是，令人不安的是。
寻找更多关于北欧神话和宗教的伟大信息？虽然这个网站提供了这个主题的最终在线介绍，但我的书《维京精神》提供了北欧神话和宗教时期的最终介绍。我还写了一份最受欢迎的10本北欧神话书籍的清单，你可能会发现这对你的追求很有帮助。