Einarr Rognvaldarson ( early 890s–c. 910), often referred to by his
byname
An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
Torf-Einarr (sometimes
anglicised
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
as Turf-Einar), was one of the
Norse earls 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 Nort ...
. The son of the Norse ''
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 ...
''
Rognvald Eysteinsson
Rognvald Eysteinsson (''fl.'' 865) was the founding Jarl (or Earl) of Møre in Norway, and a close relative and ally of Harald Fairhair, the earliest known King of Norway. In the Norse language he is known as Rǫgnvaldr Eysteinsson (''Mǿrajarl ...
and a
concubine
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive.
Concubi ...
, his rise to power is related in
saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...
s which apparently draw on verses of Einarr's own composition for inspiration. After battling for control of 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 ...
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 the ...
and a struggle with Norwegian royalty, Einarr founded a dynasty which retained control of the islands for centuries after his death.
He is portrayed as a successful warrior and has various characteristics in common with the Norse God
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
but his
historicity
Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. Historicity denot ...
is not in doubt. The reasons for his nickname of "Turf" are not certain.
Sources
The sources for Einarr's life are exclusively the Norse
sagas
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Play ...
, none of which were written down during his lifetime. The ''
Orkneyinga saga'' was first compiled in Iceland in the early 13th century and much of the information it contains is "hard to corroborate" according to scholars.
[Woolf (2007) p. 242] Einarr is also referred to 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 ...
'', which is of a similar vintage to the ''Orkneyinga saga''. ''Torf-Einarr's Saga'' itself is now lost and a short passage is recorded in the ''
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 ...
''.
[Johnston, A.W. (July 1916]
"Orkneyinga Saga"
JSTOR/''The Scottish Historical Review''. Vol. 13, No. 52. p. 393. Retrieved 27 January 2014. These verses, penned by Einarr himself about his feud with
Hálfdan Long-Legs
Halfdan Long-Leg (Old Norse: ''Hálfdan háleggur'', Norwegian: ''Halvdan Hålegg'') was a Viking-Age warrior who lived in the latter half of the 9th century. He was the son of King Harald Fairhair and a Sami woman named Snæfrithr Svásadottir.
...
, were the source of most of the saga writer's information about him.
[
]
Family background
Einarr was the youngest son of Rognvald Eysteinsson
Rognvald Eysteinsson (''fl.'' 865) was the founding Jarl (or Earl) of Møre in Norway, and a close relative and ally of Harald Fairhair, the earliest known King of Norway. In the Norse language he is known as Rǫgnvaldr Eysteinsson (''Mǿrajarl ...
, Jarl of Møre
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 ...
, by a concubine. According to the sagas and the ''Historia Norvegiae
Historia may refer to:
* Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal
* Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel
* Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics
* ...
'' Rognvald's family conquered the 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) north ...
and Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
islands in the late ninth century. Rognvald's brother, Sigurd Eysteinsson
Sigurd Eysteinsson, or Sigurd the Mighty (reigned 875–892Ashley, pp. 440–441), was the second Earl of Orkney—a title bequeathed to Sigurd by his brother Rognvald Eysteinsson. A son of Eystein Glumra, Sigurd was a leader in the Viking co ...
, was made Jarl of Orkney and after his death on campaign he was succeeded by his son, Guthorm, who died shortly afterward. Rognvald then sent one of his own sons, Hallad, to govern the islands.[Thomson (2008) p. 30 quoting chapter 5 of the ''Orkneyinga saga''.]
The ''Orkneyinga saga'' states that Einarr was one of six brothers, the others being: Hallad, Hrollaug, Ivar, Hrólfr, and Thorir the Silent. The three eldest, Hallad, Einarr and Hrollaug, were natural son
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...
s of Rognvald, and were "grown men when their brothers born in marriage were still children".[''Orkneyinga saga'' (1981) Chapter 4 - " To Shetland and Orkney" pp. 26–27][''Saga of Harald Fairhair'' Chapter 24 - Rolf Ganger Driven Into Banishment.] Ivar was killed on an campaign with King Harald Finehair
Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...
, which resulted in the ''Norðreyar'' being gifted to his family as compensation. Hrólfr "was so big that no horse could carry him", hence his byname of "Göngu-Hrólf" ("Hrólf the Walker"),[ and he is identified by the saga writers with ]Rollo
Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...
, ancestor of the Dukes of Normandy
In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles III in 911. In 924 and again in 933, Normandy ...
.[ Thorir the Silent was Rognvald's third son by his marriage to Ragnhild.
]Ari Þorgilsson
Ari Þorgilsson (1067–1148 AD; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; also anglicized Ari Thorgilsson) was Iceland's most prominent medieval chronicler. He was the author of ''Íslendingabók'', which details the histories of the various familie ...
quotes a short section from the lost ''Torf-Einarr’s Saga'' in the ''Landnámabók''. It begins: "Earl Turf-Einarr (of Orkney) had a daughter in his youth, she was called Thordis. Earl Rognvald brought her up and gave her in marriage to Thorgeir Klaufi, their son was Einar, he went to Orkney to see his kinsmen; they would not own him for a kinsman; then Einar bought a ship in partnership with two brothers, Vestman and Vemund, and they went to Iceland." The ''Landnámabók'' goes on to make brief reference to Einar's travels there. It also lists his two sons, Eyjolf and Ljot, and some details about them and their descendants.[ The sagas describe Einarr as tall, ugly and blind in one eye, but sharp-sighted nonetheless.
]
Rise to power
Einarr's brother Hallad was unable to maintain control 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) north ...
due to the predations of Danish pirates. He resigned his earldom and returned to Norway as a common landholder, which "everyone thought was a huge joke."[ Hallad's failure led to Rognvald flying into a rage and summoning his sons Thorir and Hrolluag. He asked which of them wanted the islands but Thorir said the decision was up to the earl himself. Rognvald predicted that Thorir's path would keep him in Norway and that Hrolluag was destined seek his fortune in Iceland. Einarr, the youngest of the natural sons, then came forward and offered to go to the islands. Rognvald said: "Considering the kind of mother you have, slave-born on each side of her family, you are not likely to make much of a ruler. But I agree, the sooner you leave and the later you return the happier I'll be."][''Orkneyinga saga'' (1981) Chapter 6 - "Forecasts" pp. 28–29.]
Rognvald agreed to provide Einarr with a ship and crew in the hope that he would sail away and never return. Despite his father's misgivings, on arrival in the Scottish islands, Einarr fought and defeated two Danish warlords, Þórir Tréskegg (Thorir Treebeard) and Kálf Skurfa (Kalf the Scurvy), who had taken residence there. Einarr then established himself as earl of a territory that comprised the two archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
es of Orkney and Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
.
Relations with Norway
After Einarr had settled in Orkney two of Harald Finehair's unruly sons, Halvdan Hålegg (English: Hálfdan Longlegs) and Gudrød Ljome (English: Gudrod the Gleaming), killed Einarr's father Rognvald by trapping him in his house and setting it alight. Gudrød took possession of Rognvald's lands while Hálfdan sailed westwards to Orkney and then displaced Einarr. The sagas say that King Harald, apparently appalled by his sons' actions, overthrew Gudrød and restored Rognvald's lands to his son, Thorir. From a base 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 by ...
on the Scottish mainland Einarr resisted Hálfdan's occupation of the islands. After winning a battle at sea, and a ruthless campaign on land, Einarr spied Hálfdan hiding on North Ronaldsay
North Ronaldsay (, also , sco, North Ronalshee) is the northernmost island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. With an area of , it is the fourteenth-largest.Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 334 It is mentioned in the '' Orkneyinga saga''; in modern ...
. The sagas claim that Hálfdan was captured, and sacrificed to Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
as a blood eagle
The blood eagle was a method of ritually executing a chosen member as detailed in late skaldic poetry. According to the two instances mentioned in the Sagas, the victims (in both cases members of royal families) were placed in a prone position, t ...
.
While the killing of Hálfdan by the Orkney islanders is recorded independently in the ''Historia Norvegiæ'', the manner of his death is unspecified. The blood eagle sacrifice may be a misunderstanding or an invention of the sagawriters as it does not feature directly in the earlier skaldic verses, which instead indicate that Hálfdan was killed by a volley of spears. The verses do mention the eagle as a carrion bird, and this may have influenced the saga writers to introduce the blood eagle element. The sagas then relate that Harald sought vengeance for his son's ignoble death, and set out on campaign against Einarr, but was unable to dislodge him. Eventually, Harald agreed to end the fight in exchange for a fine of 60 gold marks levied on Einarr and the allodial owners of the islands. Einarr offered to pay the whole fine if the allodial landowners passed their lands to him, to which they agreed. Einarr's assumption of control over the islands appears well-attested and was considered by later commentators to be the moment at which the Earls of Orkney came to own the entire island group in fee to the King of Norway.[ Others have interpreted the payment of 60 gold marks as ]wergild
Weregild (also spelled wergild, wergeld (in archaic/historical usage of English), weregeld, etc.), also known as man price (blood money), was a precept in some archaic legal codes whereby a monetary value was established for a person's life, to b ...
or blood money
Blood money may refer to:
* Blood money (restitution), money paid to the family of a murder victim
Films
* Blood Money (1917 film), ''Blood Money'' (1917 film), a film starring Harry Carey
* Blood Money (1921 film), ''Blood Money'' (1921 film ...
.
The sagas incorrectly claim that the Earl of Orkney was called "Turf-Einarr" because he introduced the practice of burning turf or peat to the islands since wood was so scarce. This practice long pre-dates the Norse and the real reason for the nickname is unknown.[ The ''Orkneyinga saga'' has him organising peat cutting at ]Tarbat Ness
Tarbat Ness (Scottish Gaelic: ''Rubha Thairbeirt'') is headland that lies at the end of the Tarbat peninsula in Easter Ross, Scotland. The name is from the Gaelic ''tairbeart'' meaning "isthmus" and the Old Norse ''ness'', meaning "headland". It li ...
far to the south of the Orkney heartland. While depletion of woodland could have caused a cultural shift from burning timber to peat, potentially the name arose because the sequestration of the common or allodial rights of the islanders by Einarr forced them away from coppicing
Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, pro ...
towards cutting turves.
Legacy
The remainder of Einarr's long reign was apparently unchallenged, and he died in his bed of a sickness, leaving three sons, Arnkel, Erlend and Thorfinn who became ''jarls'' of Orkney after him. Despite his apparent physical shortcomings, as well as his low-born mother, Einarr established a dynasty which ruled the Orkney islands until 1470.[
At this early period, many of the dates relating to the Orkney earldom are uncertain. Einarr's death is stated as being circa 910 in several sources.][ Crawford (2004) suggests he lived until the 930s][ and Ashley (1998) states that "allowing for the ages of his sons to succeed him he must have ruled to at least the year 920 or later."
There are five verses recorded in the ''Landnámabók'' attributed to Einarr that describe a feud between the families of Rognvald Eysteinsson and that of Harald Finehair. Apart from these verses, no other examples of Torf-Einarr's poetry are known to survive, though they appear to be part of a larger body of work.][ A couplet that commemorates Einarr's defeat of the two pirate ]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 se ...
s, Thorir Treebeard and Kalf the Scurvy, has a matching metre
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...
and alliterative similarities to the attributed verses.[
Einarr must have had some fame as a poet, as his name is used in the '' Háttatal'', an examination of ]Old Norse poetry
Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century (see Eggjum stone) to as late as the far end of the 13th century. Most of the Old Norse poetry that survives was preserved in Iceland ...
written in the thirteenth-century, to refer to a specific type of metre, ''Torf-Einarsháttr''.[Poole (1991) pp. 169–170]
Interpretations
Much of Einarr's story in the sagas appears to be derived from the five skald
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 ...
ic verses attributed to Einarr himself[Crawford (2004)] and it is not certain that this account Einarr's conquest is historically accurate. Though the ''Historia Norvegiæ
Historia may refer to:
* Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal
* Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel
* Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics
* ...
'', written at the same time as the sagas but from a different source, confirms that Rognvald's family conquered the islands, it gives few details. The scene in the sagas where Einarr's father scorns him is a literary device which often figures in Old Norse literature
Old Norse literature refers to the vernacular literature of the Scandinavian peoples up to c. 1350. It chiefly consists of Icelandic writings.
In Britain
From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Vikings and Norse settlers and their descendants colon ...
. After Hallad's failure in Orkney the dialogue between the father and his sons has been interpreted as being about Rognvald's desire to cement his own position as Earl of Møre and an allusion to the early history of Iceland, where the sagas were written. Thorir is a compliant son who Rognvald is happy to keep at home. Hrolluag is portrayed as a man of peace who will go to Iceland. Einarr is aggressive and a threat to his father's position so can be spared for the dangers of Orkney. In the ''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 ...
'' version the equally aggressive Hrolfr is also present, and his destiny is anticipated to be in conveniently far-away Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
.
The writer of the ''Orkneyinga saga'' established Einarr's status in two contradictory ways. Although in the
''Historia'' Rognvald's family are described as "pirates" the saga provides them with a legally established earldom instated by the king. Einarr's success is however largely down to his own efforts and he negotiates with King Harald rather than offers blind obedience. The author is thus able to emphasise both the legitimacy and independence of his house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
.
Einarr is also provided with various characteristics associated with Odin. Both have but one eye and Halfdan's hideous death at Einarr's hands is offered to the god—an act that contains a hint of Odin's own sacrifice to himself in the Hávamál
''Hávamál'' ( ; Old Norse: ,Unnormalised spelling in the :Title: Final stanza: ../ref> classical pron. , Modern Icelandic pron. , ‘Words of he High One) is presented as a single poem in the Icelandic , a collection of Old Norse poems fr ...
.[Thomson (2008) pp. 35–36] Einarr is a man of action who is self-made, and he is a successful warrior who (unlike his brothers) avenges his father's death. He leads a dramatic and memorable life and emerges as "ancient, powerful and mysterious—but as a literary figure rather than a real person".[Thomson (2008) p. 38] He is also a whose appearance at the commencement of the saga contrasts with the later martyrdom of his descendant St Magnus which marks a "moral high-point" of the story.[
]
References
Notes
Footnotes
General references
* Ashley, Michael (1998) ''The British Monarchs''. Robinson Publishing.
* Crawford, Barbara E. (1987) ''Scandinavian Scotland''. Leicester University Press.
*Crawford, Barbara E. (2004)
"Einarr, earl of Orkney (''fl.'' early 890s–930s)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 20 July 2009 (Subscription required)
* Muir, Tom (2005) ''Orkney in the Sagas: The Story of the Earldom of Orkney as told in the Icelandic Sagas''. The Orcadian. Kirkwall. .
* Phelpstead, Karl (ed) (2001)
A History of Norway and The Passion and Miracles of the Blessed Óláfr
'. (pdf) Translated by Devar Kunin. Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series. XIII. University of London.
*Poole, Russell Gilbert (1991).
Viking Poems on War and Peace: A Study in Skaldic Narrative
'. University of Toronto Press
The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911.
The press originally printed only examination books and the university calen ...
.
* Smyth, Alfred P. (1984) ''Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80–1000.'' Edinburgh University Press. Edinburgh.
* Thomson, William P. L. (2008) ''The New History of Orkney''. Edinburgh. Birlinn.
* Woolf, Alex (2007) ''From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070''. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press.
External links
Torf-Einarr jarl
Poetry attributed to Einarr (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 ...
)
''The Orkneyingers' Saga''
– 1894 translation by George Webbe Dasent
Sir George Webbe Dasent, D. C. L. (1817–1896) was a British translator of folk tales and contributor to ''The Times''.
Life
Dasent was born 22 May 1817 at St. Vincent, British West Indies, the son of the attorney general, John Roche Dasent. Hi ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torf-Einarr
10th-century rulers in Europe
Earls of Orkney
Skalds
Orkneyinga saga characters
Royalty and nobility with disabilities