Hjalti Þórðarson was a viking chief and one of the first of Iceland's settlers in the ninth century.

History

His story is intertwined with that of

Kolbeinn Sigmundarson Kolbeinn Sigmundarson (or Sigmundsson) was a viking chief and one of the first Icelandic settlers in the 9th century. His history is intertwined with that of Sleitu-Björn Hróarsson and the Skagafjörður region. History According to the ''Lan ...

and the

Skagafjörður Skagafjörður () is a deep fjord and its valley in northern Iceland. Location Skagafjörður, the fjord, is about 40 km long and 15 km wide, situated between Tröllaskagi to the east and the Skagi, Skagi Peninsula to the west. Ther ...

region in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. He established his residence in Hóf in

Hjaltadalur Hjaltadalur is a valley on the east side of Skagafjörður, Iceland that was previously a part of Hólahreppur. The majority of the valley is surrounded by 1,000–2,000-meter-tall mountains, and it intersects with various remote valleys. Hjalt ...

valley, which is named for him and was previously acquired by Kolbeinn and

Sleitu-Björn Hróarsson Sleitu-Björn Hróarsson (born c. 890 - date of death unknown) was a Vikings, viking chief and the first to found a settlement in Skagafjörður, Iceland in the ninth century. It was one of the largest settlements of this period, spanning from th ...

in his time. According to 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 ov ...

'', his two sons, Þorvaldur and Þórður, became prominent figures in the

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. W ...

. Upon their father's death, they organized the most ostentatious funeral in his honor with 1,440 guests, an event that was not equaled until decades later by the funeral rites for Hoskuld Dala-Kollsson. On one occasion, the brothers led the

Þorskafjörður Þorskafjörður is a roughly sixteen-kilometre-long fjord in the Iceland, Icelandic county of Austur-Barðastrandarsýsla. Geography Þorskfjörður lies between headlands called Reykjanes and Skálanes. Like other fjords in its area, Þorska ...

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

and organized a magnificent reception that impressed the guests so much that they said that the

Æsir Æsir (Old Norse; singular: ) or ēse (Old English; singular: ) are deities, gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and Nordic mythology, mythology, the precise meaning of the term "" is debated, as it can refer either to the gods i ...

must be walking among them. Hjalti's grandson, Þorbjörn öngull Þórðarson (Þorbjörn "the

ish Ish or ISH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''...ish'' (album), a 1989 album by the band 1927 * ''...ish'' (audio drama), a ''Doctor Who'' audio drama *''Ish'', a book by Peter H. Reynolds Businesses and organisations * International Sc ...

ook" Þórðarson), murdered the outlaw

Grettir Ásmundarson ''Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar'' (modern , reconstructed ), also known as ''Grettla'', ''Grettir's Saga'' or ''The Saga of Grettir the Strong'', is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Icelandic ou ...

References

Bibliography

*Ólafur Lárusson (1940), Landnám í Skagafirði, Sögufélag Skagfirðinga (in Icelandic) {{authority control Skagafjörður 9th-century Icelandic people