son of Sif, and the stepson of Thor. His
father, who is never mentioned in the Northern sagas, must have been
one of the dreaded frost giants, for Uller loved the cold and delighted
in travelling over the country on his broad snowshoes or glittering
skates. This god also delighted in the chase, and pursued his game
through the Northern forests, caring but little for ice and snow,
against which he was well protected by the thick furs in which he
was always clad.

As god of hunting and archery, he is represented with a quiver full of
arrows and a huge bow, and as the yew furnishes the best wood for the
manufacture of these weapons, it is said to have been his favourite
tree. To have a supply of suitable wood ever at hand ready for use,
Uller took up his abode at Ydalir, the vale of yews, where it was
always very damp.

"Ydalir it is called,
Where Ullr has
Himself a dwelling made."

Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).

As winter-god, Uller, or Oller, as he was also called, was considered
second only to Odin, whose place he usurped during his absence in
the winter months of the year. During this period he exercised full
sway over Asgard and Midgard, and even, according to some authorities,
took possession of Frigga, Odin's wife, as related in the myth of Vili
and Ve. But as Uller was very parsimonious, and never bestowed any
gifts upon mankind, they gladly hailed the return of Odin, who drove
his supplanter away, forcing him to take refuge either in the frozen
North or on the tops of the Alps. Here, if we are to believe the poets,
he had built a summer house into which he retreated until, knowing
Odin had departed once more, he again dared appear in the valleys.

Uller was also considered god of death, and was supposed to ride in
the Wild Hunt, and at times even to lead it. He is specially noted
for his rapidity of motion, and as the snowshoes used in Northern
regions are sometimes made of bone, and turned up in front like the
prow of a ship, it was commonly reported that Uller had spoken magic
runes over a piece of bone, changing it into a vessel, which bore
him over land or sea at will.

As snowshoes are shaped like a shield, and as the ice with which he
yearly enveloped the earth acts as a shield to protect it from harm
during the winter, Uller was surnamed the shield-god, and he was
specially invoked by all persons about to engage in a duel or in a
desperate fight.

In Christian times,