Thorstein the Red or Thorstein Olafsson was a
viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...
chieftain who flourished in late ninth-century
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
.
Biography
He was born around 850 AD and was the son of
Olaf the White
Olaf the White ( non, Óláfr hinn Hvíti) was a viking sea-king who lived in the latter half of the 9th century. Life
Olaf was born around 820, in Ireland. His father was the Hiberno-Norse warlord Ingjald Helgasson. Some traditional sources po ...
,
King of Dublin
Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century, establishing the Norse Kingdom of Dublin, the earliest and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The Norse refer ...
, and
Aud the Deep-minded, who was the daughter of
Ketil Flatnose.
[''Eirik the Red's Saga'' § 1 (Jones 126); Laxdaela Saga § 4 (Magnusson 51).] After the death of Olaf, Aud and Thorstein went to live in 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 ...
, then under Ketil's rule.
Thorstein eventually became a warlord and allied with the
Jarl of Orkney
Earl of Orkney, historically Jarl of Orkney, is a title of nobility encompassing the archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland, which comprise the Northern Isles of Scotland. Originally founded by Norse invaders, the status of the rulers of the Nor ...
,
Sigurd Eysteinsson.
Together Thorstein and Sigurd waged a series of campaigns in
Caithness
Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded b ...
,
Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire ( ...
,
Ross,
Moray, and a number of other regions, eventually receiving tribute from half of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. However, the Scottish chieftains plotted against Thorstein, and he was killed; the exact nature of his death is unknown but it probably took place around 880 or 890. After Thorstein's death Aud left Caithness, sojourning for a while in
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) nort ...
before settling with other members of her clan 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 ...
.
Thorstein married
Thurid, the daughter of
Eyvind the Easterner Eyvind is a masculine given name. Its variant is Eivind. Notable people with the name include:
* Eyvind Alnæs (1872–1932), Norwegian composer, pianist, organist and choir director
* Eyvind Andersen (1874–1939), Norwegian judge
* Eyvind Bødtk ...
. Thorstein and Thurid had a son,
Olaf Feilan, and a number of daughters, including Groa, Thorgerd, Olof, Osk, Thorhild, and Vigdis.
A woman named Unn, wife of
Thorolf Mostur-beard, claimed to be the daughter of Thorstein, but this claim was viewed by other Icelanders with scepticism.
[''Eyrbyggja Saga § 7 (Palsson 32).]
Ancestry
See also
*
Jaun Zuria supposed founder of the
Lords of Biscay and speculatively linked with Thorstein's father ''Olafr hinn Hviti''.
Notes
References
*Ari the Learned. ''The Book of the Settlement of Iceland'' ''(
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 ...
)''. Ellwood, T., transl. Kendal: T. Wilson, Printer and Publisher, 1898.
*Cook, Robert, transl. ''
Njal's Saga''. Penguin Classics, 2002.
*Forte, Angelo, Richard Oram and Frederik Pedersen.
Viking Empires'. Cambridge University Press, 2005 .
*Jones, Gwyn, transl. ''
Eirik the Red and other Icelandic Sagas.'' Oxford Univ. Press, USA, 1999.
*Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, transl. ''Laxdaela Saga.'' Penguin Classics, 1969.
*Palsson, Hermann, et al., transl. ''
Eyrbyggja Saga''. Penguin Classics, 1989.
*Palsson, Hermann, et al., transl. ''
Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney''. Penguin Classics, 1981.
*Snorri Sturluson. ''
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, derive ...
, or the Chronicle of the Kings of Norway.'' Hard Press, 2006.
*Thorsson, Ornolfur, et al., transl. ''The Saga of
Grettir the Strong.'' Penguin Classics, 2005.
External links
Stirnet: Viking03{subscription needed (mentions Thorstein (as "Thorstun 'the Red'"))
Scandinavian Scotland
Norse-Gaels
Viking warriors
9th-century Scottish people
Orkneyinga saga characters
9th-century Vikings