Sleitu-Björn Hróarsson (born c. 890 - date of death unknown) was a

viking Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

chief and the first to found a settlement in

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 ...

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 ...

in the ninth century. It was one of the largest settlements of this period, spanning from the river ( in 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 ...

) through half of

Viðvíkursveit Viðvíkursveit is a district in Skagafjörður, Iceland east of the Héraðsvötn, on the border of Akrahreppur along the Kyrfisá river to Kolka and on the east side towards the mouth of Hjaltadalur valley. It comprises the same area as Viðv ...

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 ...

Kolbeinsdalur Kolbeinsdalur is a valley on the eastern side of Skagafjörður, Iceland. It reaches north and east of Hjaltadalur, which it runs parallel to (running east south east) until Hjaltadalur curves south near Hólar, while Kolbeinsdalur continues direc ...

, and Óslandshlíð, and part of

Höfðaströnd is a region on the coast around Hofsós on the eastern side of Skagafjörður, Iceland. Its southernmost farm is Gröf, and the closest to the sea is Höfði. The region is named after Þórðarhöfði, which is a predominant feature of the la ...

and

Deildardalur Deildardalur is a valley in on the eastern side of Skagafjörður, Iceland, leading up from Höfðaströnd to the southeast behind mountains of Óslandshlíð. A little farther into the area, it divides in two: Seljadalur (also called Austurdal ...

. Later on, three more settlers joined him:

Öndóttur Öndóttur kráka ("the crow") Erlingsson (born c. 892) is the name of a viking chief and one of Iceland's first settlers. Biography His history is intertwined with that of Sleitu-Björn Hróarsson and the Skagafjörður region. He establis ...

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

Hjalti Þórðarson 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 and the Skagafjörður region in Iceland. He established his residence ...

. Sleitu-Björn divided part of the settlement and his estate was founded in Sleitustaðir. There is a historical controversy in which various researchers believe that Sleitu-Björn is the same person as Sléttu-Björn, a colonist who settled in

Saurbær Langanes () is a peninsula in northeast Iceland. The name literally means "long peninsula". It is long from southwest to northeast, ending in a thin strip of land called Fontur (regionally also ) where there is also a suggestive lighthouse calle ...

Dalasýsla Dalasýsla (, ) was one of the pre-1988 traditional counties of Iceland, located in the Western Region of the country. Its only town is Búðardalur. The county had a rich history dating back to the first settlers of Iceland Iceland i ...

who abandoned his settlement in Skagafjörður to relocate to the west. However, others maintain, either based on his list of descendants and the

sagas Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

, that these are two different people. Sléttu-Björn also appears in the

Gull-Þóris saga Gull-Þóris saga (; ), also known as ''Þorskfirðinga saga'', is one of the sagas of Icelanders. The saga takes place in the west of Iceland during the Settlement of Iceland in the second half of the ninth century. It tells the story of Þórir ...

Legacy

The name of Sleitu-Björn's first wife is unknown, but he had at least five children: *Arnbjörn Björnsson (born 890), mentioned in the

Laxdæla saga ''Laxdæla saga'' (), Old Norse ''Laxdœla saga'' (Old Norse pronunciation ) or ''The Saga of the People of Laxárdalur'', is one of the sagas of Icelanders. Written in the 13th century CE, it tells of people in the Breiðafjörður area in weste ...

. Arnbjörn would become the father of Þuríður, wife of Þorleikur Höskuldsson and mother of

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 ...

. *Arnfríður Björnsdóttir (born 924). *Örnólfur Björnsson (born 928). *Arnoddur Björnsson (born 934), appears as a character in the

Víga-Glúms saga ''Víga-Glúms saga'' (Modern Icelandic pronunciation: ) is one of the Sagas of Icelanders. It takes place mostly in and around Eyjafjörður in North Iceland, and recounts the life and fall of Glúmr Eyjólfsson, a powerful man whose nickname, '' ...

.Víga-Glúms saga (1897, filmed 1948), Valdimar Ásmundsson, (Reykjavík : Sigurður Kristjánsson, 1897; Salt Lake City : Filmet av the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1948), FHL microfilm 73226 Item 2., pt. 1, p. 14, 29, 62. *Sigríður Björnsdóttir (born 936), became the wife of Þorkell Þorbjörnsson. He had a second marriage with Þuríður Steinólfsdóttir (born 895), daughter of Steinólfur lági Hrólfsson. Their son was Þjóðrekur Björnsson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sleitu-Bjorn Hroarsson Skagafjörður 9th-century Icelandic people 890s births Year of death unknown