Olaf the Peacock
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Olaf the Peacock or Olaf Hoskuldsson (
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 ...
: ;
Modern Icelandic Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Due to being a West Scandinavian language, it is most closely re ...
: ; c. 938–1006) was a merchant and chieftain of the early
Icelandic Commonwealth The Icelandic Commonwealth, also known as the Icelandic Free State, was the political unit existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king with the Old Covenant in 1262. With t ...
, who was nicknamed "the
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
" because of his proud bearing and magnificent wardrobe. He is a major character in the '' Laxdæla saga'' and is mentioned in a number of other Icelandic sources. The son of a slave woman, Olaf became one of the wealthiest landowners in Iceland and played a major role in its politics and society during the latter half of the tenth century. In addition to the ''Laxdæla Saga'' in which he takes a leading role, Olaf also is mentioned in '' Egils saga'', ''
Njáls saga ''Njáls saga'' ( ), also ''Njála'' ( ), ''Brennu-Njáls saga'' ( ) or ''"The Story of Burnt Njáll"'', is a thirteenth-century sagas of Icelanders, Icelandic saga that describes events between 960 and 1020. The saga deals with a process of ...
'', '' Gunnlaugs saga'', ''
Kormáks saga ''Kormáks saga'' () is one of the Icelanders' sagas. The saga was probably written during the first part of the 13th century. Though the saga is believed to have been among the earliest sagas composed it is well preserved. The unknown author cle ...
'', '' Grettirs saga'' and 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 ...
'', among others.


Birth and upbringing

Olaf was the son of
Hoskuld Dala-Kollsson Hoskuld Dala-Kollsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; c. 910–965) was an Icelandic gothi or chieftain of the early Icelandic Commonwealth period. He was the son of Dala-Koll (Koll of the Dales) who has a fjörd named after him, and Thor ...
, a chieftain who lived in the Laxardal region. According to ''Laxdæla Saga'', Hoskuld purchased a mute
thrall A thrall ( non, þræll, is, þræll, fo, trælur, no, trell, træl, da, træl, sv, träl) was a slave or serf in Scandinavian lands during the Viking Age. The corresponding term in Old English was . The status of slave (, ) contrasts with ...
-woman named
Melkorka Melkorka (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) is the name given in ''Landnámabók'' and '' Laxdæla saga'' for the Irish mother of the Icelandic goði Ólafr Höskuldsson. It is possible that her name represents the Early Irish ''Mael Curcaig''. Ac ...
from a Rus' merchant on
Brännö Brännö is an island in the Southern Göteborg Archipelago and a locality situated in Göteborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 708 inhabitants in 2010 and belongs to the parish of Styrsö within Gothenburg Municipality. H ...
while on a trading expedition to
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, and made her his
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 ...
while away from his wife
Jorunn Bjarnadottir Jórunn Bjarnadóttir (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) is a female character who appears in '' Laxdœla saga'', one of the Icelandic family sagas (Icelandic: ''Íslendingasögur''). She first appears in chapter 9, where she is introduced as the wi ...
. When Hoskuld returned home to Iceland, he took the concubine with him. Despite Jorunn's irritation, the concubine was accepted into Hoskuld's household, though he remained faithful to Jorunn while in Iceland. The following winter the concubine gave birth to a son, to whom they gave the name Olaf after Hoskuld's uncle,
Olaf Feilan Olaf ''Feilan'' Thorsteinsson (Old Norse: , Modern Icelandic: ; c. 890–940) was an Icelandic gothi of the Settlement period. He was the son of Thorstein the Red, jarl of Caithness, and his wife Thurid Eyvindsdottir.''Landnámabók'', (transl ...
, who had recently died. ''Landnámabók'' mentions that Hoskuld and Melkorka had another son, Helgi, but he does not appear in ''Laxdæla''. According to ''Laxdæla saga'', Olaf was a precocious child, and could speak and walk perfectly by the age of two. One day Hoskuld discovered Olaf's mother speaking to her son; she was not, in fact, mute. When he confronted her she told him that she was an Irish princess named
Melkorka Melkorka (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) is the name given in ''Landnámabók'' and '' Laxdæla saga'' for the Irish mother of the Icelandic goði Ólafr Höskuldsson. It is possible that her name represents the Early Irish ''Mael Curcaig''. Ac ...
carried off in 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 se ...
raid, and that her father was an Irish king named "Myrkjartan" ( Muirchertach mac Néill). Shortly thereafter squabbling between Jorunn and Melkorka forced Hoskuld to move his concubine and his son by her to a different farm, which thereafter was known as
Melkorkustaðir Melkorkustead (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a farm in western Iceland during the Icelandic Commonwealth period. It was the home of Melkorka, mother of the gothi Olaf the Peacock Olaf the Peacock or Olaf Hoskuldsson (Old Norse: ; Modern ...
. At the age of seven, over his mother's objections, Olaf became the
foster son Fosterage, the practice of a family bringing up a child not their own, differs from adoption in that the child's parents, not the foster-parents, remain the acknowledged parents. In many modern western societies foster care can be organised by th ...
and
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
of a wealthy but childless '' goði'' named Thord, who was at the time engaged in complex litigation with the kinsmen of his ex-wife Vigdis Ingjaldsdottir (another descendant of Thorstein the Red). Olaf's adoption complicated the issues in the suit and threatened to lead to a blood feud, but Hoskuld arranged a settlement and compensated Vigdis' kinsmen with gifts. By fostering Olaf Thord gained the protection of the powerful Hoskuld, and Hoskuld secured an inheritance for his illegitimate son beyond the limited amount he was permitted to leave to Olaf under Icelandic law. Olaf accompanied Thord to the
Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...
when he was twelve years old, and his fancy clothing earned him the admiring nickname "the Peacock."


Career abroad

Around 956, Olaf, at Melkorka's urging, decided to go abroad to seek his fortune. Hoskuld was opposed and would not provide trade wares, and the property of Olaf's foster-father Thord was mostly in immobile goods and land. In part to arrange financing for his expedition, his mother Melkorka married Thorbjorn the Feeble, a farmer who had previously assisted her in the management of Melkorkustead. Melkorka and Thorbjorn had a son named Lambi. Olaf sailed to
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
with Orn, a sea-captain and
hirdman The hird (also named "Håndgangne Menn" in Norwegian), in Scandinavian history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls, but came to mean not only the nucleus ('Guards') of the royal army, but also ...
of King Harald Greycloak. He gained great honor at Harald's court, and was a favorite of the king's mother
Gunnhild Gunhild (with variants Gundhild, Gunhilda, Gunhilde, Gunhjild, Gunilda, Gunnhild, Gunnhildr, Gunnhildur) is a Germanic feminine given name composed of two words meaning "war" (gunn and hild/hildr). It may refer to: *, allegedly a Danish queen cons ...
, who had, according to Icelandic sources, been the lover of Olaf's uncle Hrut Herjolfsson. When Olaf expressed a desire to find his mother's people in Ireland, Gunnhild financed his voyage. Olaf set sail for Ireland with Orn to find his mother's people, taking with him tokens and gifts from Melkorka to her father and her nursemaid. During the voyage, their ship became lost in a fog. When the fog lifted, an argument arose between Orn and most of the rest of Olaf's men about the proper course to reach Ireland. When asked if the decision should be put to a vote of the majority, Olaf is supposed to have said, "I want only the shrewdest to decide; in my opinion the counsel of fools is all the more dangerous the more of them there are." With those words, the matter was accepted as settled, and Orn took charge of the navigation. Upon arriving in Ireland they were stranded far outside the protection of the Norse–Gaelic
longphort A longphort (Ir. plur. ''longphuirt'') is a term used in Ireland for a Viking ship enclosureConnolly S.J (1998). The Oxford Companion to Irish History. Oxford University Press. p. 580 or shore fortress. Although these ''longphorts'' were used as b ...
s. The ship was attacked by local Irishmen, despite the efforts of Olaf, who spoke the
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
, to negotiate safe passage with them. As luck would have it, the local king arrived on the scene, and proved to be Olaf's alleged grandfather Myrkjartan. Olaf remained with Myrkjartan for a time, and the king, according to ''Laxdaela Saga'', even offered to make Olaf his heir. Olaf, however, ultimately returned to Norway, afraid of provoking Myrkjartan's sons. Olaf returned to the court of King Harald, where he was greatly honored by both the king and his mother Gunnhild.


Return to Iceland

Olaf returned home around 957 with great wealth. Upon his return, his father Hoskuld arranged a marriage for him with
Thorgerd Egilsdottir Thorgerd Egilsdottir (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic woman of the tenth century. She was the daughter of Egill Skallagrímsson and the wife of Olaf the Peacock. Olaf and Thorgerd had a number of children: the sons Kjartan, S ...
, the daughter of
Egill Skallagrímsson Egil Skallagrímsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; 904 995) was a Viking Age war poet, sorcerer, berserker, and farmer.Thorsson, 3 He is known mainly as the anti-hero of ''Egils saga, Egil's Saga''. ''Egil's Saga'' historically narrates a p ...
. Thorgerd was initially reluctant to marry the son of a slave, refusing to believe that Olaf's mother was a princess. However, she ultimately agreed to the match after an hours-long private conversation with Olaf. At the wedding Olaf gave Egill an ornate sword from Ireland. Olaf and Thorgerd lived happily together at Hoskuldstead for some time. Around 962 Olaf's foster father Thord died, leaving Olaf his property and
goðorð Gothi or (plural , fem. ; Old Norse: ) was a position of political and social prominence in the Icelandic Commonwealth. The term originally had a religious significance, referring to a pagan leader responsible for a religious structure and com ...
. Olaf bought land and built a new homestead at Hjardarholt, which, according to the saga, he had to cleanse of the
draugr The draugr or draug ( non, draugr, plural ; modern is, draugur, fo, dreygur and Danish language, Danish, Swedish language, Swedish, and no, draug) is an undead creature from the Scandinavian saga literature and folktale. Commentators extend t ...
of its former owner, Killer-Hrapp. As time went on people began to settle near Olaf's hall and regarded him as their ''goði''. Olaf's ever-increasing wealth caused jealousy from Hoskuld's wife Jorunn. Around the same time Olaf and Thorgerd had a daughter, Thurid. Hjardarholt was renowned for its rich decorations; some two decades later, the
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 ...
Úlfr Uggason Úlfr Uggason ( Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic skald who lived in the last part of the tenth century. The '' Laxdæla saga'' tells how he composed his ''Húsdrápa'' for a wedding. Geirmundr married Þuríðr, whose father, Óláfr pái ( ...
composed the famous
poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...
Húsdrápa ''Húsdrápa'' (Old Norse: 'House-Lay') is a skaldic poem partially preserved in the Prose Edda where disjoint stanzas of it are quoted. It is attributed to the skald Úlfr Uggason. The poem describes mythological scenes carved on kitchen panels. ...
, about certain mythological scenes illustrated on the walls of Olaf's hall. Olaf's half-sister Hallgerd Hoskuldsdottir married
Gunnar Hámundarson Gunnar Hámundarson () was a 10th-century Icelandic chieftain. He lived in Hlíðarendi in Fljótshlíð and is probably better known as Gunnar of Hlíðarendi ( non, Gunnarr á Hlíðarenda). He features prominently in the first half of Njá ...
, a chieftain who lived at
Hlíðarendi Hlíðarendi () is a famous place in Icelandic historical literature. Gunnar Hámundarson from Njála used to live in Hlíðarendi at Fljótshlíð Fljótshlíð () is a rural area in the municipality of Rangárþing eystra in Southern Region, ...
in southern Iceland, during this period. Olaf and Gunnar became close friends. Hoskuld died around 965, leaving Olaf a full
mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...
of gold, causing tension between Olaf and Hoskuld's legitimate sons,
Bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
and Thorleik. As an illegitimate son, Olaf was entitled to one mark of his father's wealth; this was, however, customarily understood to be a mark of silver and not gold. Olaf eased the tension by paying one-third of the communal
funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
feast for Hoskuld. Olaf and Thorgerd had a number of children after Thurid, the sons Kjartan (named after King Myrkjartan), Steinthor, Halldor, Helgi, and Hoskuld and the daughters Thorbjorg, Thorgerd and Berghora. The ill-fated Kjartan would be his father's favorite.


Second expedition to Norway and aftermath

Around 975, over his wife's objections, Olaf went on a second expedition to Norway. There he stayed with 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 se ...
named
Geirmund the Noisy Geirmund is a given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Geirmund Brendesæter Geirmund "Geddi" Brendesæter (born 22 March 1970) is a Norwegian former professional football defender. Club career Brendesæter played 13 seasons f ...
and visited
Haakon Jarl Haakon Sigurdsson ( non, Hákon Sigurðarson , no, Håkon Sigurdsson; 937–995), known as Haakon Jarl (Old Norse: ''Hákon jarl''), was the ''de facto'' ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995. Sometimes he is styled as Haakon the Powerful ( n ...
, the latter of whom gave him a cargo of timber to take home as a gift. On his return Olaf reluctantly brought Geirmund with him. and Geirmund fell in love with Olaf's daughter Thurid. Though Olaf was opposed to the match, Geirmund bribed Thorgerd to be his advocate, and Olaf relented. The marriage was an unhappy one, and after three years Geirmund decided to return home without leaving any money for the support of his ex-wife and daughter. Enraged, Thurid boarded his ship before he departed, stole his famous sword "Leg-Biter," and left their infant daughter Groa on the ship. Geirmund cursed the sword, and on his return to Norway he and all of his shipmates, including little Groa, were drowned.


Later years

During the closing years of the tenth century, Olaf's kinsman and friend Gunnar became embroiled in a blood feud with several neighboring landowners. A settlement was reached whereby Gunnar would accept "lesser outlawry," a three-year exile, but after agreeing to the settlement Gunnar refused to leave Iceland. Olaf tried to protect his kinsman but was unsuccessful, and Gunnar was killed by his enemies. Olaf's favorite son Kjartan traveled abroad with his beloved cousin
Bolli Þorleiksson Bolli Þorleiksson (also Bolli Thorleiksson; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a key historical character in the Medieval Icelandic Laxdœla saga, which recounts the history of the People of Laxárdalur. He courted the famed Guðrún Ósvíf ...
. The two were very close. Ultimately, however, they grew apart when Bolli married Kjartan's lover
Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir Guðrún Ósvífsdóttir (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; 10th century – 11th century), was an Icelandic woman who was famed for her great wisdom and beauty. She was married four times. She is the main protagonist of the Medieval Icela ...
. According to
Oddr Snorrason Oddr Snorrason whose name is also sometimes Anglicized as Odd Snorrason was a 12th-century Icelandic Benedictine monk at the Þingeyraklaustur monastery (''Þingeyrarklaustur''). The monastery was founded in 1133 and was the first in Iceland. Work ...
, Olaf had predicted that strife would ensue between Kjartan and Bolli. Tensions between the cousins grew until a full-blown blood feud ended with Kjartan being killed by Bolli in 1003. Ironically, Bolli killed Kjartan with the sword "Leg-biter," which had been given to him as a gift by his cousin Thurid, Kjartan's sister. Olaf refused to prosecute Bolli for the killing, and arranged for him to pay a fine instead; by sharp contrast, he had Gudrun's brothers, who had goaded Bolli to fight his cousin, driven into exile.
Jesse Byock Jesse L. Byock (born 1945) is Professor of Old Norse and Medieval Scandinavian Studies in the Scandinavian Section at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. An archaeologist and special ...
contrasted Olaf's magnanimity towards Bolli with the blood feud mentality of his wife Thorgerd:
Olaf knows that Kjartan, who was involved in a love triangle with Bolli and Bolli's wife Gudrun Osvifrsdottir, caused his own downfall by acting aggressively. In Icelandic terms, Kjartan had surpassed the acceptable limits of immoderation. Whereas Olaf wants to maintain the solidarity of the larger family, keeping workable relations with his siblings and their children, Thorgerd's concerns are different. She focuses more narrowly on the honour of her
nuclear family A nuclear family, elementary family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger ...
.
Olaf died in 1006, and Olaf's widow Thorgerd subsequently directed a number of revenge-killings herself, including that of Thorkel, a man who had witnessed Kjartan's death but been indifferent to it and had not intervened. Bolli was killed by Olaf's sons and their allies in a raid led by Thorgerd. Some twelve years later, Gudrun, with the help of her friend Snorri Goði, had a number of Bolli's murderers killed in revenge.Pencak 73-75.


Notes


References

* Ari the Learned; Ellwood, T. (transl.) (1898).
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 ...
)''. Kendal: T. Wilson, Printer and Publisher. *Byock, Jesse (2001). ''Viking Age Iceland''. Penguin Books. . *Forte, Angelo; Oram, Richard; and Pedersen, Frederik (2005).
Viking Empires
'. Cambridge University Press. . * Hollander, Lee M. (transl.) (1999).
Njal's Saga
'. Wordsworth. . *Jones, Gwyn (1984).
A History of the Vikings
'' 2nd ed. London: Oxford Univ. Press. * Magnusson, Magnus; and Pálsson, Hermann (transl.) (1969).
Laxdaela Saga
'. Penguin Classics. *Oddr Snorrason; Shepton, J. (transl.) (1895).
The Saga of King Olaf Tryggwason who reigned over Norway: A.D. 995 to A.D. 1000
'. Nutt. *Ordower, Henry. "Exploring the Literary Function of Law and Litigation in 'Njal's Saga.'" ''Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature'', Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring – Summer 1991), pp. 41–61. *Pencak, William (1984).
The Conflict of Law and Justice in the Icelandic Sagas
'. Rodopi. *Scudder, Bernard (transl.) (2005)
Egil's Saga
'. Penguin Classics. {{Authority control 10th-century Icelandic people 11th-century Icelandic people 930s births 1006 deaths Icelandic people of Irish descent Goðar