Þórir jökull Steinfinnsson was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic 13th century warrior and possibly a skald.

Overview

Life

Þórir was captured following the

Battle of Örlygsstaðir The Battle of Örlygsstaðir was a historic battle fought by the Sturlungar against the Ásbirningar and the Haukdælir clans in northern Iceland. The battle was part of the civil war that was taking place in Iceland at the time between various ...

, fought on August 21, 1238. He was executed along with five others, whose names are recorded in the

Íslendinga saga ''Íslendinga saga'' ''( Saga of Icelanders)'' makes up a large part of '' Sturlunga saga'', a compilation of secular contemporary sagas written in thirteenth-century Iceland. The ''terminus ante quem'' of the compilation is disputed (between the ...

, included in the Sturlunga saga. Also given are the names of the about fifty combatants who were killed on that day. Þórir’s executioner was a man allowed to perform the execution to avenge Þórir’s killing of his brother at the Battle of Bær, which occurred on April 28, 1237.

Poem

Þórir is known for a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

he recited before his execution.

References

* Faulkes, Anthony (1993). ''What Was Viking Poetry For?''. University of Birmingham. * Jón Jóhannesson, Magnus Finnbogason and Kristján Eldjárn, editors, ''Sturlunga Saga'', Vol 1 & 2, Sturlunguútgáfan, Reykjavík, 1946 {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorir Jokull Steinfinnsson Icelandic poets Skalds 13th-century Icelandic people People executed by Iceland by decapitation Executed Icelandic people 13th-century executions Executed military personnel Year of birth unknown 13th-century Icelandic poets