Floksmenn is a

folktale A folktale or folk tale is a folklore genre that typically consists of a story passed down from generation to generation orally. Folktale may also refer to: Categories of stories * Folkloric tale from oral tradition * Fable (written form of the a ...

from the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

. The story centers on the easternmost village of

Hattarvík Hattarvík ( da, Hattervig) is a small village on the east side of the island of Fugloy, Faroe Islands, and is the easternmost settlement in the Faroes archipelago. The village is encircled by high mountains on three sides. History Hattarvik ...

Fugloy Fugloy ( Danish ''Fuglø'', Old Norse ''Fuglaey'') is the easternmost island in the Faroe Islands. The name means ''bird island,'' and refers to the large number of birds that nest on the island's cliffs. Geography There are two settlements: ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The tale of the Floksmenn is of a ''flok'' or group of rebels. The most notorious of the rebels, (as the Danish governmental and officials in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

referred to them) were Høgni Nev, Rógvi Skel, Hálvdan Úlvsson and Sjúrður við Kellingará from the village of

. These men controlled and savaged the northern parts of the Faroe Islands for a long time. This is one of the most important separatist tales of the Faroe Islands. The more intelligent Sjúrður við Kellingará was forced to go the more militant way of rebellion by Høgni Nev and Hálvdan Ulvsson, who were more criminally-minded than Sjúrður við kellingará. All four men were later caught and sentenced to death, but Sjúrður við kellingará was shown mercy and granted amnesty. The story is that he could not live with the crimes that he and the others had committed under their "little" rebellion and asked to be executed with the other floksmenn.

Other sources

* Hammershaimb Venceslaus Ulricus and Jakobsen, Jakob (1886) ''Færøsk Anthologi'' (København, S.L. Møllers bogtrykkeri) {{Faroes-stub Faroese folklore Fugloy History of the Faroe Islands Faroese nationalism Quartets Works about rebels