Leivur Øssursson or Leif Øssursson (born ca. 980 - died before 1047) was a chieftain in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

, before they were taken over by

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in 1035. Leivur's reign marked the beginning of the end of the Viking age, and the end of independence in the Faeroes. Leivur Øssursson was the son of Øssur Havgrímsson. It is unclear when and where Leivur was born, but we know that it was before 983 when his father died at the age of 23. His birthplace was possibly

Norðragøta Norðragøta (), also just referred to as Gøta, is a village on Eysturoy island, Faroe Islands. Overview The municipality of Gøta (''Gøtu kommuna'') was a municipality until 1 January 2009 when it merged with Leirvík into Eysturkommuna. ...

, where his father lived with

Tróndur í Gøtu Tróndur í Gøtu ( Icelandic: Þrándur í Götu, Old Norse Þrǫ́ndr í Gǫtu) (c. 945 – 1035) was a Viking Age chieftain in the Faroe Islands. He is remembered for his opposition to the importation of Christianity. Biography Tróndur í ...

Hov A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger, ...

. His father owned a farm at

Skúvoy Skúgvoy ( or Skúvoy , ) is an island in the central Faroe Islands, located to the south of Sandoy. It is named after the large number of great skua present on the island (who have a habit of attacking intruders). There is only one settlement ...

and other farms at Brestir and Beinir. He was married to Tóra Sigmundardóttir, the daughter of

Sigmundur Brestisson Sigmundur Brestisson (961–1005) was a Faroese Viking chieftain, and was responsible for introducing Christianity to the Faroe Islands in 999. He is one of the main characters of the Færeyinga saga. According to the Færeyinga saga, emigrant ...

and Turið Torkilsdóttir. In 1024, King

Olaf II of Norway Saint Olaf ( – 29 July 1030), also called Olaf the Holy, Olaf II, Olaf Haraldsson, and Olaf the Stout or "Large", was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he w ...

invited some of the chieftains of the Faroes, including Tórolvur Sigmundsson and Leivur Øssursson, to travel to Norway to become his deputies. However, as long as

lived, it was clear that King Olaf would not have full control of the Faroes. After Tróndur í Gøtu's death in 1035, King

Magnus Olafsson Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

claimed control of the Faeroes. By the latter half of the 12th century, the Faroe Islands became firmly attached to the Kingdom of Norway.

References

11th-century Faroese people 1040s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain {{Faroes-bio-stub