Audbjörn Frøybjørnsson (Norwegian: Audbjørn Frøbjørnsson) was the King of the Kingdom of Firda (Norse: ''Firðafylkí''). One of the

petty kingdoms A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into th ...

of Norway during the

Viking age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...

. He lived approximately between 840 and 870. Audbjörn was killed during the

second battle of Solskjel The Second Battle of Solskjell was an engagement in Harald Fairhair's conquest of Norway. After the First Battle of Solskjel, Solve Klove, son of Huntiof, King of Nordmøre, set himself up as a pirate and spent that winter raiding and plunderi ...

in 870 defending against

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern 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 Nor ...

. Harald was on a conquest to unite Norway under one rule leading to the

Unification of Norway The Unification of Norway (Norwegian Bokmål: ''Rikssamlingen'') is the process by which Norway merged from several petty kingdoms into a single kingdom, predecessor to modern Kingdom of Norway. History King Harald Fairhair is the monarch who ...

. Audbjörn wanted to maintain the current structure of

in Norway, in order to maintain his power. When news arrived that Harald was marching south from

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, and ...

, with a massive army; Audbjörn and King Arnvid of

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, en, South- Møre) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities ( no, kommuner) of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal ...

gathered an army to defend their territories. A massive battle ensued with large casualties on both sides, both Kings fell during the battle. Audbjörn was returned home to

Nordfjordeid Nordfjordeid is the administrative centre of the municipality of Stad in Vestland county, western Norway. It is located at the end of the Eidsfjorden, an arm off of the main Nordfjorden, west of the large lake Hornindalsvatnet. The village of S ...

, and buried in the gravemound known as "Rundehogjen" with the original Myklebust ship.

References

9th-century Norwegian monarchs Norwegian petty kings {{DEFAULTSORT:Frøybjørnsson, Audbjörn Year of birth missing 870 deaths