Hlodvir Thorfinnsson (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

: Hlǫðvir Þorfinnsson; c. 945–988), was a Viking leader who served as Jarl of Orkney, overseeing the

Northern Isles The Northern Isles ( sco, Northren Isles; gd, Na h-Eileanan a Tuath; non, Norðreyjar; nrn, Nordøjar) are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are th ...

from about 980 to 987. He is mentioned in the '' Orkneyinga saga'', as well as in the sagas of

Óláfr Tryggvason Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken (Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of No ...

and St. Olaf. Beyond the saga records of Hlodvir, little verifiable information is known. Hlodvir was the son of the Jarl Thorfinn Torf-Einarsson and Grelod, and he became jarl after the death of his brother, Ljot, who died from wounds suffered at the Battle of Skitten Mire. In 959, Hlodvir married Eðnu, a descendant of

Cerball mac Dúnlainge Cerball mac Dúnlainge (patronymic sometimes spelled ''Dúngaile'', ) (died 888) was king of Ossory in south-east Ireland. The kingdom of Ossory (''Osraige'') occupied roughly the area of modern County Kilkenny and western County Laois and lay b ...

, king of

Osraige Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home o ...

, with whom he had one son,

Sigurd the Stout Sigurd Hlodvirsson (23 April 1014), popularly known as Sigurd the Stout from the Old Norse ''Sigurðr digri'',Thomson (2008) p. 59 was an Earl of Orkney. The main sources for his life are the Norse Sagas, which were first written down some tw ...

, and at least two daughters: one who married the Hebridean chieftain Gilli, and another who married Hávarð, steward of Caithness.''

Njáls saga ''Njáls saga'' ( ), also ''Njála'' ( ), ''Brennu-Njáls saga'' ( ) or ''"The Story of Burnt Njáll"'', is a thirteenth-century Icelandic saga that describes events between 960 and 1020. The saga deals with a process of blood feuds in the I ...

'' Hlodvir died from an illness in 988 and was succeeded by his son, Sigurd II "the Stout". Hlodvir was buried in Höfn, Caithness, which is believed to be Huna, Scotland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hlodvir Thorfinnsson Hlodvir Thorfinnsson, Earl of Orkney People from Orkney Earls of Orkney 940s births Year of birth uncertain 988 deaths 10th-century rulers in Europe Orkneyinga saga characters