Hjǫrleifr Hróðmarsson (

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 ...

: ;

Modern Icelandic Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Due to being a West Scandinavian language, it is most closely re ...

: ;

Modern Norwegian Modern Norwegian ( no, moderne norsk) is the Norwegian language that emerged after the Middle Norwegian transition period (1350–1536) and Dano-Norwegian. The transition to Modern Norwegian is usually dated to 1525, or 1536, the year of the Pro ...

: ) was an early settler in

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 ...

. The story of the early settlement of Iceland is told in the compilation known as ''

Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is divided into five parts and over ...

.'' Hjörleifr was the

blood brother Blood brother can refer to two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, hand or ...

Ingólfr Arnarson Ingólfr Arnarson, in some sources named Bjǫrnólfsson, ( – ) is commonly recognized as the first permanent Norse settler of Iceland, together with his wife and foster brother Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson. According to tradition, they settled ...

, the first settler of

in the late 9th century. While raiding in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, he found an underground passage and killed a man to take his sword. From this event his original name ''Leifr'' was lengthened to ''Hjǫrleifr'' (

''hjǫrr'': 'sword'). Hjörleifr settled on land on the mountain Hjörleifshöfði (east of Vík) which was named after him. He was later murdered by his

thrall A thrall ( non, þræll, is, þræll, fo, trælur, no, trell, træl, da, træl, sv, träl) was a slave or serf in Scandinavian lands during the Viking Age. The corresponding term in Old English was . The status of slave (, ) contrasts with ...

s, many of whom were Irish or Scottish. The fugitive slaves were killed by Ingólfr Arnarson, thereby saving all the women who were held captive by the slaves.

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9th-century Icelandic people People murdered in Iceland {{Iceland-bio-stub

See also

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