Thorolf Kveldulfsson
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Thorolf Kveldulfsson was the oldest son of
Kveldulf Bjalfasson Ulf Bjalfason (Úlfr Bjálfason) (better known as Kveldulf, Old Norse for "Night Wolf") was a renowned hersir and landowner in ninth century Sogn, Norway. He is a main character in the early chapters of ''Egils saga'' and appears in the ''Landnámab ...
and brother of the Norwegian/Icelandic
goði Gothi or (plural , fem. ; Old Norse: ) was a position of political and social prominence in the Icelandic Commonwealth. The term originally had a religious significance, referring to a pagan leader responsible for a religious structure and com ...
and
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 ...
Skalla-Grimr. His ancestor ( great uncle) Hallbjorn was nicknamed "halftroll", possibly indicating Norwegian-
Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...
ancestry. He served as a retainer of
Harald I of Norway 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 King of Norway. Supposedly, two of his sons, Eric Bl ...
(Harald Fairhair). Thorolf is a hero of the early part 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 ...
''.


Life


Early life

Thorolf was the eldest son of Kveldulf and Salbjorg. Taking after his father in stature, he grew up tall and strong. His character, however, resembled that of his mother's side of the family, and he is described as being attractive, accomplished, friendly, energetic, and popular with everyone he meets. At age 20, he began raiding, taking out longboats during the summer with a band of men and his maternal uncles
Olvir Hnufa Olvir Hnufa or ''Ölvir hnúfa'' was a Norwegian people, Norwegian hersir, commander in a clan and skald, poet of the late ninth and early tenth centuries, known from, among other sources, ''Egil's Saga'', ''Skaldatal'' and the ''Prose Edda''. Ol ...
(Hump) and Eyvind Lamb. He spent winters at home with his father, and summers conducting lucrative raids.


Service Under Harald-Fairhair

Upon conquering Fjordane, Harald demanded the service of all landowners in the province. Against his better judgement and despite a premonition that Harald would not bring good fortune to his family, Kvedulf sent Thorolf to join Olvir in the King's service. Olvir had dropped out of viking raiding, and had become the king's court poet. As a retainer of Harald, he fought on the latter's own ship at the
Battle of Hafrsfjord The Battle of Hafrsfjord () was a naval battle fought in Hafrsfjord sometime between 872 and 900 that resulted in the unification of Norway, later known as the Kingdom of Norway (872–1397), Kingdom of Norway. After the battle, the victorious Vi ...
. After Harald's conquest of Norway Thorolf became his governor (
lendmann Lendmann (plural lendmenn; ) was a title in medieval Norway. Lendmann was the highest rank attainable in the hird of the Norwegian king, and a lendmann stood beneath only earls and kings. In the 13th century there were between 10 and 20 ''lendme ...
or ''lendr maðr'') over the northern region of Norway and was responsible for collecting tribute from the
Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...
to the north (). trans., Chapter 9. In this capacity he took part in an expedition by King Faravid of
Kvenland Kvenland, known as ''Cwenland'', ''Qwenland'', ''Kænland'', and similar terms in medieval sources, is an ancient name for an area in Fennoscandia and Scandinavia. Kvenland, in that or nearly that spelling, is known from an Old English account w ...
against the
Karelians Karelians (; ; ; ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russia. Karelians living in Russian Karelia are considered a distinct ethnic group closely ...
. trans., Chapter 14.


Inheritance and Quarrel with Harald-Fairhair

Thorolf inherited (and later lost) the estate of in Halogaland in the following manner. Torgar had been the property of a widowed old landholder named Bjorgolf, who bestowed the management of the estate to his son, Brynjolf. But in his retirement, Bjorgolf obtained a new wife named Hildirid, a wealthy farmer's daughter, and begat two sons, Harek and Hraerek, who were now potential claimants to the land. They became known as Hildirid's sons (), and were about the same age as Brynjolf's son Bard (Bárðr inn hvíti, "the White"). The entire Torgar estate was inherited by Brynjolf, and he gave no share to Hildirid's sons; later on, the ownership of Torgar passed to Bard. trans., Chapter 8. Bard was a distant kinsman of Thorolf (see the family tree on the right), and a comrade-at-arms as well. While Thorolf recovered from injuries sustained at Hafrsfjord, Bard was mortally wounded, and bequeathed the entire Torgar estate to Thorolf, entrusting the care of his wife and son to him. Thorolf married Bard's widow Sigrid (Sigríðr Sigurðardóttir), and this put him in line to inherit another estate, at
Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest municipality in Norway, and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sand ...
, through his wife. When Thorolf obtained Sandnes after the death of his father-in-law, Hildirid’s sons arrived and demanded their share from the Torgar estate. Thorolf rebuffed the claim since Bard had informed him they were
bastard Bastard or The Bastard may refer to: Parentage * Illegitimate child, a child born to unmarried parents, in traditional Western family law ** Bastard, an archaic term used in English and Welsh bastardy laws, reformed in 1926 People * "The Bastard" ...
children. Hildirid’s sons said they could prove their legitimacy by producing witnesses their father paid a
bride price Bride price, bride-dowry, bride-wealth, bride service or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride dowry ...
, but Thorolf refused to recognize their birthright, as it was rumored that Hildirid was taken by force. Hildirid’s sons became sycophants of the king and began to slander Thorolf’s loyalty to the king. They accused Thorolf of embezzlement from the tribute, and even an assassination attempt. The king eventually seized Thorolf’s Torgar estate and tribute-collecting duties, granting these to Hildirid’s sons. The brothers did not do as good a job at collecting and blamed Thorolf for obstruction. Thorolf still lived comfortably off his Sandnes estate and kept a large retinue, and trading as well. Tensions escalated. The king's kinsmen named Sigtrygg Travel-quick and Hallvard Travel-hard (Sigtryggr Snarfari, Hallvarðr harðfari) seized Thorolf's trade ship that was headed for England. Thorolf traveled to the Vík area and retaliated, seizing a ship filled with provisions for the king in Thruma, then pillaging Sigtrygg and Hallvard's farm in Hising, causing maiming and death to their two younger brothers. For the offense, the king issued permission to kill Thorolf. trans., Chapter 18–21. Ultimately, fearful of Thorolf's growing power, King Harald himself gathered troops and assaulted Thorolf's hall at
Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest municipality in Norway, and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sand ...
, in a minor masterpiece of amphibious warfare. After Thorolf refused to surrender, King Harald set the hall on fire. When the men ran out they were immediately under fire, however, they quickly rushed to form a strong shield wall, while Thorolf was running to the men he was killed by Harald, causing him to fall at Harald's feet. Shortly after this, minor fighting took place and the men of Sandnes surrendered to Harald., King. trans., Chapter 22.


Retaliation for Death

Thorolf's maternal uncles
Olvir Hnufa Olvir Hnufa or ''Ölvir hnúfa'' was a Norwegian people, Norwegian hersir, commander in a clan and skald, poet of the late ninth and early tenth centuries, known from, among other sources, ''Egil's Saga'', ''Skaldatal'' and the ''Prose Edda''. Ol ...
and Eyvind Lamb bade the king leave of service, but this was not to be granted. The king arranged for Eyvind to take custody of Sandnes and to marry the twice-widowed Sigrid, and these two were reconciled. Skalla-Grimr went with Olvir Hnufa to King Harald and demanded compensation for Thorolf's murder, which resulted in his being chased out of the king's court. Together with his father Kveldulf and their kinsman
Ketil Trout Ketil Trout, known in Old Norse as ''Ketill hængr'' (Modern Icelandic Ketil Hæng), is the name of several figures from Norse folklore. Two are especially prominent: * Ketil Trout of Hranista, or Ketil Trout of Halogaland, the hero of the legendar ...
, Skalla-Grimr took revenge by killing those of Harald's servants who took part in Thorolf's killing before fleeing to
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 ...
.


Notes


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * {{Refend 9th-century Norwegian people Legendary Norsemen