Magnus den godes saga - Magnus og Kalv Arnesson Stiklestad - H

Kálfr Árnason ( modern Norwegian Kalv Arnesson; c. 990 – 1051) was an 11th-century Norwegian chieftain who played a major role both in defeating King Olaf Haraldsson (later named St. Olaf) at the

Battle of Stiklestad The Battle of Stiklestad ( no, Slaget på Stiklestad, non, Stiklarstaðir) in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway () was killed. During the pontificate of Pope Alexander III, ...

and in bringing back his young son Magnus and raising him to the throne. Kálfr was a son of Árni Arnmódsson or Armódsson and Þora Þorsteinsdóttir. Finn Árnasson (died c. 1065) and Þorbergr Árnasson (died c. 1050) were his brothers.

Claus Krag Claus Krag (born April 21, 1943) is a Norwegian educator, historian, and writer. He is a noted specialist in Old Norse philology and medieval Norwegian history. Krag earned his Cand.philol. in 1969. He is Professor of History at Telemark Univers ...

"Kalv Arnesson"
''

Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. The first edition (NBL1) was issued between 1921 and 1983, including 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. It was published by Aschehoug with economic support from the state. bought the rights to ...

'' In the 1020s and 1030s, he was one of the most powerful chieftains in Norway. He was married to Sigrid Þorisdóttir, sister of Thorir Hund, and his sister Ragnhild was married to

Hárek of Tjøtta Hårek of Tjøtta (965 in Tjøtta – 1036) was a Norwegian farmer and local chieftain. He was a son of the skald, Eyvindr skáldaspillir, who ruled from Tjøttagodset (a large manor). Hårek resided at Tjøtta in Nordland (north Norway), and ...

. According to the earlier, summary histories of Norway such as the '' Ágrip'', he opposed King Olaf as early as the Battle at Nesjar in 1016; in contrast,

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 ...

's '' Heimskringla'' depicts him as an early ally of the king, who according to Snorri bestowed on Kálfr both his lands in the

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 ...

and his wife Sigrid after killing the

heathen __NOTOC__ Heathen or Heathens may refer to: Religion *Heathen, another name for a pagan *Heathen, an adherent of Heathenry Music *Band of Heathens, a North American rock and roll band *Heathen (band), a North American thrash metal band *The Hea ...

Olvir of Egge, to whom Sigrid had previously been married. According to the one contemporary source which mentions Kálfr, the ''Kálfsflokkr'', by the Icelandic

skáld A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

Bjarni gullbrárskáld, he was at Olaf's side in the battle against Erling Skjalgsson. After the latter's death, Olaf was forced to flee Norway in 1028, and Kálfr supposedly went to England and pledged his support to

Cnut the Great Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...

of Denmark, who became king of Norway that year. When Olaf returned in 1030 to attempt to regain his kingdom, according to the skaldic poem, Kálfr was one of his strongest opponents. According to the sagas, however, his brothers remained loyal to Olaf. Scholar

sees echoes of Judas kissing Jesus in the scenes in ''Heimskringla'' between Kálfr and Olaf. At the

, he, Thorir Hund and Hárek of Tjøtta led the peasant army which defeated Olaf, and ''Heimskringla'' depicts either him or his kinsman Kálfr Árnfinsson as giving the former king one of his three fatal wounds, a neck wound;''Ólafs saga Helga'', trans. Hollander, ch. 228
p. 515
however, the poet merely describes him as " ightingnbsp;... stout of heart ... until that fallen lay the liege-lord", and according to another skáld, Sigvatr Þórðarson, Thorir Hund struck the fatal blow. Cnut had installed his son Svein as his regent in Norway, together with Svein's mother Ælfgifu, known in Norway as ''Álfífa''. They rapidly became unpopular, and it is likely that Kálfr and other chieftains who had supported Cnut had expected more in return. In about 1034, he and

Einar Thambarskelfir Einar Eindridesson Thambarskelfir (c. 980–c. 1050) (Old Norse: ''Einarr Þambarskelfir'', Modern Norwegian: ''Einar Tambarskjelve'') was an influential Norwegian noble and politician during the 11th century. He headed the feudal lords in th ...

, another former supporter of Cnut, went to Garðaríki (now Russia) and brought back Olaf's then 11-year-old illegitimate son, Magnus, who was installed in 1035 as king and later became known as Magnus the Good. Kálfr was initially the most influential advisor of the young king, but later fell into disrepute with him, probably because of Einar's ambition to be his most powerful advisor; according to ''Heimskringla'', at Einar's urging Magnus forced Kálfr to incriminate himself in his father's death by showing him exactly where he had been killed.Frank MacLynn, ''1066: The Year of the Three Battles'', 1998, repr. London: Pimlico, 1999,
p. 107
He spent a number of years abroad, in Ireland and the

Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrid ...

. In 1050, Magnus' successor,

Harald Hardrada Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' (; modern no, Hardråde, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 t ...

, asked him to return, but only to send him to fight in Denmark, leading to his death in about 1051. His brother Finn regarded the king as having treated Kálfr deceitfully and broke with him over it.

References

External links

* Bjarni gullbrárskáld
''Kálfsflokkr''
text at Skaldic Arts {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalfr Arnason 11th-century Norwegian people Norwegian exiles Vikings killed in battle 990s births 1051 deaths 11th-century Vikings