Thorbjorn Thorsteinsson (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

: Þórbjörn klerkr Þórsteinnson), also known as Thorbjorn the Clerk, was a

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

from the Orkney Islands who was executed in 1158. Thorbjorn was married to the sister of

Sweyn Asleifsson Sweyn Asleifsson or Sveinn Ásleifarson ( 1115 – 1171) was a twelfth-century Viking who appears in the '' Orkneyinga Saga''. Early career Sweyn was born in Caithness in the early twelfth century, to Olaf Hrolfsson and his wife Åsleik. According ...

, but they first quarrelled after Sweyn attacked Thorbjorn's cousin, Olvir Rosta, and grandmother, Frakkok, and burned her to death inside her house. Earl

Rognvald Kali Kolsson Ragnvald, Rögnvald or Rognvald or Rægnald is an Old Norse name (Old Norse ''Rǫgnvaldr'', modern Icelandic ''Rögnvaldur''; in Old English ''Regenweald'' and in Old Irish, Middle Irish ''Ragnall''). Notable people with the name include: * Ragnval ...

forced a reconciliation, and the two went plundering together 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 Hebr ...

, but fell out again over the distribution of the loot. Thorbjorn had his marriage

annulled Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost ...

and entered Rognvald's service.'' Orkneyinga Saga'' Later, serving

Harald Maddadsson Harald Maddadsson (Old Norse: ''Haraldr Maddaðarson'', Gaelic: ''Aralt mac Mataid'') (c. 1134 – 1206) was Earl of Orkney and Mormaer of Caithness from 1139 until 1206. He was the son of Matad, Mormaer of Atholl, and Margaret, daughter ...

, Thorbjorn found himself again thrown into Sweyn's company. In 1158, Thorbjorn was outlawed by Rognvald for murdering one of his retainers. He placed his faith in his friendship with Harald, but the two Earls had recently become allies, and Thorbjorn was in a very dangerous position. He attempted to resolve it by ambushing and assassinating Ranald; but Harald had him put to death.

References

1158 deaths 12th-century executions by Norway Executed Scottish people Scandinavian Scotland Orkneyinga saga characters People executed by the Earldom of Orkney Scottish pirates Year of birth unknown Medieval pirates People from Orkney {{Scotland-bio-stub