Ulf Bjalfason (Úlfr Bjálfason) (better known as Kveldulf,

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

for "Night Wolf") was a renowned

hersir A hersir was a local Viking military commander of a ''hundred'' (a county subdivision), of about 100 men, and owed allegiance to a jarl or king. They were also aspiring landowners, and, like the middle class in many feudal societies, supported th ...

and landowner in ninth century

Sogn Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway (''Vestlandet''). It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestra ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He is a main character in the early chapters of ''

Egils saga ''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's saga'' ( ; ) is an Icelandic saga (family saga) on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicised as Egill Skallagrimsson), an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the years c. 850–1000 ...

'' and appears in the ''

Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is divided into five parts and ov ...

'' and other Icelandic sources. Kveldulf is described as an '' ulfhéðinn'', a shape-shifter (''hamrammr''), or a ''

berserker In the Old Norse written corpus, berserkers () were Scandinavian warriors who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English adjective ''wikt:berserk#Adjective, berserk'' . Berserkers ...

''.''Egils saga'', ch. 1.

Family

Kveldulf was the son of Bjalfi and Hallbera Ulfsdóttir, daughter of Ulf the Brave and sister of Hallbjorn Halftroll. He was thus first cousin to Ketil Trout of Halogaland and a kinsman of the latter's descendant, Ketil Trout of

Namdalen Namdalen () is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities of Namsos Municipality, Namsos, Grong Municipality, Grong, Overhalla Municipality, Overhalla, Røyrvik Municipality, Røyr ...

. Kveldulf married Salbjorg Karadottir, the daughter of the

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

chieftain Berle-Kari; he was thus the brother-in-law of the Viking Eyvind Lambi and the

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...

Olvir Hnufa. Kveldulf and Salbjorg had two sons, Thorolf and Grim (who was better known as Skalla-Grímr or "Bald Grim").

Opposition to King Harald

Kveldulf opposed the rising power of

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

, king of

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

, but refused to join the coalition against Harald led by King

Kjotve the Rich Kjotve the Rich (Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old N ...

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

, and would not fight in the army of the kings of Sogn. He permitted his son Thorolf to join Harald's retinue and was permitted to live in peace despite failing to swear allegiance to the king.

Death

When Thorolf was killed by King Harald's men, Kveldulf was overcome with grief and "took to his bed." After having a request for compensation refused by the king, Kveldulf and his son Skalla-Grímr took revenge by killing Thorolf's killers before fleeing Norway for

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. On the way, exhausted by his "berserker fit", the elderly Kveldulf died. Skallagrim built his farm at

Borg The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. They are Cyborg, cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a Group mind (science fiction), hive mind called "The Collective". The Borg co- ...

, near where Kveldulf's coffin washed ashore.''Egils saga ch. 27.''

Notes

References

*Ellwood, T., trans.
The Book of the Settlement of Iceland: Translated From The Original Icelandic of Ari the Learned.
' Kendal: T. Wilson, Printer and Publisher, 1898. *Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. ''Egil's Saga''. NY: Penguin, 1976. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kveldulf Bjalfason Norwegian emigrants to Iceland 9th-century Norwegian people Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown