Ásbjǫrn skerjablesi (died 874), also known as Ásbjǫrn jarl skerjablesi, is a ruler of 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 ...
attested by ''
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 ...
'' and ''
Droplaugarsona saga Droplaugarsona saga () is one of the Icelanders' sagas, probably written in the 13th century.
The saga takes place near Lagarfljót in the east of Iceland about 1000 AD.
It tells the story of Grim (''Grímr'') and Helge (''Helgi''), sons of th ...
''. His
epithet
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 ...
, ''skerjablesi'', translates to "skerry blaze". One possibility is that this name means "the man with a blaze from the Skerries", although the particular
skerry
A skerry is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack.
A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, hardy grasses. They a ...
which this might refer to is unknown. Another possibility is that, whilst the word element ''blesi'' ("blaze") refers to Ásbjǫrn's
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
, the element ''sker'' ("skerry") refers to his hangout. According to ''Landnámabók'', Ásbjǫrn was slain in 874 by Hólmfastr Véþormsson and Grímr (a nephew of Hólmfastr's father). Ásbjǫrn's killers are stated to have enslaved Ásbjǫrn's wife, Álof (daughter of Þórðr vaggagði), and his daughter Arneiðr.
[ Wyatt (2007b) pp. 120, 141, 153 n. 437; Pálsson; Edwards (2006) pp. 112 ch. 278, 144 ch. 388; ''Landnámabók I–III'' (1900) pp. 89 ch. 240, 121 ch. 342, 204 ch. 278, 229 ch. 388.]
See also
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Gilli (Hebridean earl)
Gilli was an eleventh-century Hebridean chieftain whose career coincided with an era of Earldom of Orkney, Orcadian overlordship in the Kingdom of the Isles. According to mediaeval saga-tradition, Gilli was a brother-in-law of Sigurðr Hlǫðv ...
, a tenth-century Hebridean earl
Citations
References
Primary sources
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Secondary sources
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{{refend
874 deaths
9th-century rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles
Rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles
Vikings killed in battle