Editing Ullr (section)

===Poetic Edda===
[[Image:Manuscript Ullr.jpg|thumb|upright|Illustration from an 18th-century [[Iceland]]ic [[manuscript]] showing Ullr on his skis and with his bow]]

Ullr is mentioned in the poem ''[[Grímnismál]]'' where the homes of individual gods are recounted. The English versions shown here are by Thorpe.

{|
|
:{{lang|non|Ýdalir heita}}
:{{lang|non|þar er Ullr hefir}}
:{{lang|non|sér of görva sali.}}
|
:[[Ýdalir]] it is called,
:where Ullr has
:himself a dwelling made.
|}

The name ''Ýdalir'', meaning "yew dales", is not otherwise attested. The elastic wood of the [[Taxus baccata|yew]] was an important material in the making of bows, and the word ''ýr'', "yew", is often used [[metonymy|metonymically]] to refer to bows. It seems likely that the name ''Ýdalir'' is connected with the idea of Ullr as a bow-god.

Another strophe in ''Grímnismál'' also mentions Ullr.

{|
|
:{{lang|non|Ullar hylli}}
:{{lang|non|hefr ok allra goða}}
:{{lang|non|hverr er tekr fyrstr á funa,}}
:{{lang|non|því at opnir heimar}}
:{{lang|non|verða of ása sonum,}}
:{{lang|non|þá er hefja af hvera.}}
|
:Ull’s and all the gods’
:favour shall have,
:whoever first shall look to the fire;
:for open will the dwelling be,
:to the Æsir's sons,
:when the kettles are lifted off.
|}

The strophe is obscure but may refer to some sort of religious ceremony. It seems to indicate that Ullr was an important god.

The last reference to Ullr in the ''Poetic Edda'' is found in ''[[Atlakviða]]'':
{|
|
:{{lang|non|Svá gangi þér, Atli,}}
:{{lang|non|sem þú við Gunnar áttir}}
:{{lang|non|eiða oft of svarða}}
:{{lang|non|ok ár of nefnda,}}
:{{lang|non|at sól inni suðrhöllu}}
:{{lang|non|ok at Sigtýs bergi,}}
:{{lang|non|hölkvi hvílbeðjar}}
:{{lang|non|ok at hringi Ullar.}}
|
:So be it with thee, Atli!
:as toward Gunnar thou hast held
:the oft-sworn oaths,
:formerly taken -
:by the southward verging sun,
:and by Sigtý’s hill,
:the secluded bed of rest,
:and by [[Rings in Germanic cultures|Ullr's ring]].
|}

Both ''Atlakviða'' and ''Grímnismál'' are often considered to be among the oldest extant Eddic poems. It may not be a coincidence that they are the only ones to refer to Ullr. Again Ullr appears to be associated with some sort of ceremony, this time the practice of [[Rings in Germanic cultures|swearing an oath on a ring]]; the ring was later associated with [[Thor]] in a reference to the Norse settlers in [[Dublin]].{{Sfn|de Vries|1970b|p=390}}