Bjørn Farmann ("Bjørn the Tradesman", also called Bjørn Haraldsson, Farmand and Kaupman, died between 930 and 934) was a king of

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

. Bjørn was one of the sons of King

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagreModern Icelandic: ( – ) 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 King of N ...

of Norway. In late tradition, Bjørn Farmann was made the great-grandfather of

Olaf II of Norway Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title '' Rex Per ...

, through a son Gudrød Bjørnsson.

Biography

Bjørn Farmann was one of the sons born of

with Svanhild, daughter of Eystein Earl. When Harald Fairhair died, his kingdom was divided up between his sons. Bjørn Farmann became the king of

, the county west of the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

, and is considered as the founder of

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...

. Bjørn Farmann spent most of his time at the court at Sæheimr located near

Sem, Norway Sem is a village in Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway. Sem was a former municipality in Vestfold. The parish of ''Sæm'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). According to the 1835 census the municipalit ...

Erik Bloodaxe Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from ...

(Old Norse: ''Eiríkr blóðøx'', Norwegian: ''Eirik Blodøks'') was the eldest son of Harald Fairhair and became the second king of Norway (930–934). Once the power was in his hands, Erik Bloodaxe began to quarrel with his other brothers and had four of them killed, including Bjørn Farmann. Bjørn was killed by Eirik Bloodaxe in a feud around 930–934 AD at Sæheimr. Later in battle at

, Erik Bloodaxe killed Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf, king of

Vingulmark Vingulmark (Old Norse ''Vingulmörk'') is the old name for the area in Norway which today makes up the counties of Østfold, western parts of Akershus (excluding Romerike), and eastern parts of Buskerud (Hurum and Røyken municipalities), and inclu ...

and later also of

together with Sigrød Haraldsson, king of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

Farmannhaugen

Bjørn Farmann was reportedly killed by his brother King Eirik Bloodaxe at the Sæheimr estate. He is said to be buried in ''Farmannshaugen'' (from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

word ''haugr'' meaning burial mound), outside Tønsberg about 3 km east of the village of Sem, close to the manor of the Jarlsberg family. Farmannhaugen is visible from route 312. Farmannhaugen was archaeologically investigated during 1917.''Farmannshaugen. Kongelig vikinggrav i Tønsberg'' (Tønsberg Tourist Centre)

Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

tells this of Bjørn, in an extract from ''

Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derive ...

'', Harald Harfager's Saga:

References

External links

Bjørn Farmann monumentFarmannshaugen at SaeheimFarmannshaugen - Royal viking mound in Tønsberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjorn Farmann Norwegian petty kings People from Tønsberg 930s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain