Thorir Hund

Thorir Hund (Old Norse: Þórir hundr, Modern Norwegian: Tore Hund; lit. '"Thorir the Hound"') (born ca. 990) was one of the greatest chiefs in Hålogaland. Tore Hund was one of the leaders of the Stiklestad farmer faction opposing Norwegian King Olaf II of Norway, later named St. Olaf. He was reported to have been among the chieftains who killed the king in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. He also served in the forces of King Canute the Great on several occasions.¹

Background

Thorir Hund was born at the beginning of the Christian era in Norway. He was both strongly independent and a devout pagan. Christianization of the country was not only a question of faith. Christianity was also a powerful political tool to subject the old chiefs and in the case of Hålogaland to establish rule by a king from the south.

Thorir was an influential man in the area of Hålogaland, his home being the island of Bjarkøya in Troms. He belonged to the upper echelon among the Norwegian coastal chiefs. He was a member of the Bjarkøy clan, one of the more powerful families in Northern Norway during the Viking Age. He was an accomplished viking, leading several expeditions towards Russia and the White Sea. He traded in Bjarmaland, today the area of Arkhangelsk in northern Russia.²

The family of Thorir Hund formed alliances with the most powerful chiefs in . His sister was married to Olve Grjotgardsson of . His brother, was also an important chief in . He was married to Sigrid Skjalgsdatter, a sister of the powerful nobleman of in . Thorir Hund was married to a woman named Ranveig, about whose background little is known. They had a son called Sigurd Toresson, who later served as a sheriff during the reign of .