Olaf the Peacock
Encyclopedia
Icelandic Commonwealth
The Icelandic Commonwealth, Icelandic Free State, or Republic of Iceland was the state existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king in 1262...
, who was nicknamed "the Peacock
Indian Peafowl
The Indian Peafowl or Blue Peafowl is a large and brightly coloured bird of the pheasant family native to South Asia, but introduced and semi-feral in many other parts of the world...
" because of his proud bearing and magnificent wardrobe. He is a major character in the Laxdaela 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 Laxdaela Saga in which he takes a leading role, Olaf also is mentioned in Egil's Saga, Njal's Saga
Njál's saga
Njáls saga is one of the sagas of Icelanders. The most prominent characters are the friends Njáll Þorgeirsson, a lawyer and a sage, and Gunnarr Hámundarson, a formidable warrior...
, Gunnlaugs saga
Gunnlaugs saga
Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu or the Saga of Gunnlaugr Serpent-Tongue is one of the Icelanders' sagas. Composed at the end of the 13th century it is preserved complete in a slightly younger manuscript. It contains 25 verses of skaldic poetry attributed to the main characters...
, Kormaks saga
Kormáks saga
Kormáks saga is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It tells of the tenth-century Icelandic poet, Kormákr Ögmundarson, and Steingerðr, the love of his life. The saga preserves a significant amount of poetry attributed to Kormákr, much of it dealing with his love for Steingerðr. Though the saga is...
, Grettir's Saga and the Landnámabók
Landnámabók
Landnámabók , often shortened to Landnáma, is a medieval Icelandic written work describing in considerable detail the settlement of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries AD.-Landnáma:...
, among others.
Birth and upbringing
Olaf was the son of Hoskuld Dala-KollssonHoskuld Dala-Kollsson
Hoskuld Dala-Kollsson was an Icelandic godi or chieftain of the early Icelandic Commonwealth period. He was the son of Dala-Koll who has a fjörd named after him, and Thorgerd Thorsteinsdottir, daughter of Thorstein the Red...
, a chieftain who lived in the Laxardal
Laxardal
The Laxardal is a region in northwestern Iceland. It was the setting for the Laxdaela saga and the home of such famous early Icelanders as Aud the Deep-minded, Hoskuld Dala-Kollsson, Hrut Herjolfsson, and Olaf the Peacock....
region. According to Laxdaela Saga, Hoskuld purchased a mute thrall
Thrall
Thrall was the term for a serf or unfree servant in Scandinavian culture during the Viking Age.Thralls were the lowest in the social order and usually provided unskilled labor during the Viking era.-Etymology:...
-woman from a Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
merchant on Brännö
Brännö
Brännö is an island in the Southern Göteborg Archipelago and a locality situated in Göteborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 698 inhabitants in 2005...
while on a trading expedition to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, and made her his concubine while away from his wife Jorunn Bjarnadottir. 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
Olaf Feilan was an Icelandic gothi of the Settlement period. He was the son of Thorstein the Red, jarl of Caithness, and his wife Thurid Eyvindsdottir. After the death of his father Olaf accompanied his grandmother Aud the Deep-minded to Iceland, and settled with her at Hvamm in the Laxardal region...
, who had recently died. Landnámabók mentions that Hoskuld and Melkorka had another son, Helgi, but he does not appear in Laxdaela.
According to Laxdaela 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
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
princess named Melkorka
Melkorka
Melkorka is the name given in Landnámabók and Laxdœla saga for the Irish mother of the Icelandic goði Ólafr Höskuldsson. According to Laxdœla saga, Höskuldr purchased a Melkorka, who he believed to be a mute thrall-woman, from a Rus' merchant on Brännö while on a trading expedition to Norway, and...
carried off in a viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raid, and that her father was an Irish king named "Myrkjartan" (Muirchertach
Muirchertach
Muirchertach is an Irish language male given name meaning "mariner". Muirchertach was borne by several figures from legend and history, including:...
). 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 Melkorkustead
Melkorkustead
Melkorkustead was a farm in western Iceland during the Icelandic Commonwealth period. It was the home of Melkorka, mother of the gothi Olaf the Peacock.-References:...
.
At the age of seven, over his mother's objections, Olaf became the foster son and heir 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 descendent of Thorstein the Red). Olaf's adoption complicated the issues in the suit and threatened to lead to a blood feud
Blood Feud
"Blood Feud" is the twenty-second and final episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on July 11, 1991. In the episode, Mr. Burns falls ill and desperately needs a blood transfusion. Homer discovers Bart has Burns' rare blood type and urges...
, 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
Althing
The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
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 tradeTrade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
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
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
with Orn, a sea-captain and hirdman of King Harald Greycloak. He gained great honor at Harald's court, and was a favorite of the king's mother Gunnhild
Gunnhild Mother of Kings
Gunnhild konungamóðir or Gunnhild Gormsdóttir is a character who appears in the Icelandic Sagas, according to which she was the wife of Eric Bloodaxe . Many of the details of her life are disputed, including her parentage...
, 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 Orm to find his mother's people, taking with him tokens and gifts from Melkorka to her father and her nursemaid
Nursemaid
A nursemaid or nursery maid, is mostly a historical term of employment for a female servant in an elite household. In the 21st century, the position is largely defunct, owing to the relatively small number of households who maintain large staffs with the traditional hierarchy.The nursery maid...
. During the voyage, their ship became lost in a fog; upon arriving in Ireland they were stranded far outside the protection of the Norse-Gaelic longphort
Longphort
A longphort is a term used in Ireland for a Viking ship enclosure or shore fortress. Longphorts were originally built to serve as camps for the raiding parties in...
s. The ship was attacked by local Irishmen, despite the efforts of Olaf, who spoke the Gaelic language, 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
Thorgerd Egilsdottir
Thorgerd Egilsdottir 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, Steinthór, Halldór, Helgi, and Höskuldur and the daughters Thurídur, Thorbjörg, Thorgerd...
, the daughter of Egil Skallagrimsson. 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 Egil 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 Olaf bought land and built a new homestead at Hjardarholt, which, according to the saga, he had to cleanse of the draugr
Draugr
A draugr, draug or draugur , or draugen , also known as aptrgangr is an undead creature from Norse mythology...
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
Skald
The skald was a member of a group of poets, whose courtly poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking Age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry .The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is...
Úlfr Uggason
Úlfr Uggason
Úlfr Uggason 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...
composed the famous poem
Old Norse poetry
Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century...
Húsdrápa
Húsdrápa
Húsdrápa 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
Gunnar Hámundarson was a 10th century Icelandic chieftain. He lived in Hlíðarendi in Fljótshlíð and is probably better known as Gunnar of Hlíðarendi...
, a chieftain who lived at Hlíðarendi
Hlíðarendi
Hlíðarendi is a famous place in Icelandic historical literature. Gunnar Hámundarson from Njála used to live in Hlíðarendi in Fljótshlíð and there was a manor house and churchground....
in southern Iceland, during this period. Olaf and Gunnar became close friends.
Hoskuld died around 965, leaving Olaf a full mark of gold, causing tension between Olaf and Hoskuld's legitimate sons, Bard 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
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
feast for Hoskuld.
Olaf and Thorgerd had a number of children after Thurid, the sons Kjartan
Kjartan Ólafsson
Kjartan Ólafsson is an Icelandic musicologist, composer and academic notable as creator of the composing software CALMUS, as well as an authority on artificial intelligence in classical music composition....
(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
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
named Geirmund the Noisy
Geirmund the Noisy
Geirmund the Noisy was a Viking adventurer of the 10th century. Around 975, he hosted Olaf the Peacock during the latter's second expedition to Norway. On his return home to Iceland Olaf brought Geirmund with him. and Geirmund fell in love with Olaf's daughter Thurid. Though Olaf was opposed to...
and visited Haakon Jarl, 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 Thorleiksson. The two were very close. Ultimately, however, they grew apart when Bolli married Kjartan's lover Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir
Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir
Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir was the historical protagonist of the Medieval Icelandic Laxdœla saga, which recounts the history of the People of Laxárdalur. She was famed for her beauty and was married four times. Her first marriage to Thorvaldr Halldorsson ended in divorce...
. According to Oddr Snorrason
Oddr Snorrason
The Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar of Oddr Snorrason whose name is also sometimes Anglicized as Odd Snorrason was a Latin royal biography attributed to a 12th century Icelandic Benedictine monk at the Þingeyrar monastery ....
, 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 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 familyNuclear familyNuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...
.
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
Snorri Goði
Snorri Þorgrímsson or Snorri Goði was a prominent chieftain in Western Iceland, who featured in a number of Icelandic sagas. The main source of his life is the Eyrbyggja saga, in which he is the main character, although he also figures prominently in Njál's saga and the Laxdæla saga...
, had a number of Bolli's murderers killed in revenge.