Jarlshola ( en, The Cave of the

Jarl Jarl is a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. ''Jarl'' could also mean a sovereign prince. For example, the rulers of several of the petty k ...

) is a small cave in the municipality of

Melhus Melhus is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Melhus. Other villages include Gåsbakken, Hovin, Korsvegen, Kvål, Ler, Lundamo, St ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The cave is near the small farm of

Rimul Rimul or Romol is a farm in the municipality of Melhus in Trøndelag county, Norway. The farm lies near the western part of the village of Melhus. It was the scene of the murder of Håkon Sigurdsson (also known as ''Hákon Sigurðsson'' or Háko ...

in the village of Melhus. It is thought to be the hiding place of Håkon Sigurdsson (also known as Hákon Sigurðsson, Hákon

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

) and

Tormod Kark Tormod Kark (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a slave in Viking Era Norway. He appears in the saga ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar''. Biography His life was closely tied to Haakon Sigurdsson (c. 937 – 995). In 995, a quarrel broke out between ...

(or Þormóðr Karkr, the

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

of the Jarl) on their last night before the infamous murder at

History

In the ''Saga of king

Olaf 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 N ...

'' in the

Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...

, by

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

, there is a description of the arrival and departure from the cave (several lines about a

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

the Earl had are left out in this excerpt):

Location

Since the mentioned happenings took place around year 995 AD, it has not been possible to determine beyond doubt the exact location of the cave. However, as one knows it was close to the still existing farm

, there is only one location seeming to fit with the story. That is on the west side of the river Gaula near central Melhus in

county,

. The cave is easily reached by foot.

References

External links

Saga of king Olaf Tryggvason
{{in lang, no Melhus Caves of Norway Landforms of Trøndelag History of Trøndelag