Sigmundur and Tóri in Norway
The stay of Sigmundur and Tóri in Norway is an episode of the Faroe Islands saga (beginning of part 2) and is dated today to the period 970 to 983 , when the two returned to the Faroe Islands for the first time .
During these 13 years, Sigmundur Brestisson and his cousin Tóri Beinirsson grew into young men. Sigmundur was around 22 years old in 983 and Tóri was 24.
It should follow even later stays: Winter 984 / 85 , 985/ 86 and about 988 .
Stay in Tønsberg and Vík
After the murder of Brestir and Beinir in 970, Sigmundur and Tóri came to safety in Norway with the merchant Ravnur Hólmgarðsfari . They lived with him in Tønsberg during the winter of 970/71 . In the spring of 971 he provided her with money and let her move on. They spent two years in Vík before they ran out of money.
In the meantime, Håkon Jarl was able to assert himself as king in Norway . It was he who had given Tóris and Sigmund's fathers the fief of half of the Faroe Islands, and in order to prepare for their return it was important that they present themselves to Håkon as the legal heirs. So in 973 they decided to make the trip to his farm, where they didn't arrive until 979 .
Stay in Dovrefjell
They moved through Oppland , then east to Hedmark and finally north to Dovrefjell . At that point winter was falling and they took shelter in the mountains with a man who called himself Ulf , but who was really Torkil Barfrost, who had to flee here. He was married to Ragnhild and together they had a daughter, Turið . The two boys stayed here for about five years.
Meanwhile, Sigmundur fell in love with Turið. Around 979 Sigmundur and Tóri moved on to finally visit the king. Torkil went with her for a while. On the way Sigmundur confessed his relationship with Turið and also that she was pregnant by him. So he asked for her hand. Torkil agreed, and in return Sigmundur promised to lobby the king for Torkil's rehabilitation.
Viking trips for the king
Sigmundur and Tóri reached the royal residence in Lade near Trondheim . They told him their story and were allowed to stay at the farm for the winter. In the spring of 980 , Håkon Jarl gave them a ship with a crew, with which they went on a Viking trip in the Baltic Sea . On their return the king is said to have received them like a prince. Sigmundur and Tóri have now officially been accepted into the monarch's entourage.
They also spent the winter of 980/81 at his court. In the summer of 981 the cousins went on another successful Viking trip, this time to Russia and Sweden . In Sweden they killed two men named Bjørn and Vandil. Back at Håkon's farm, they wintered there again (981/82). In 982 he went on an expedition against Håkon's enemy Harald Jernhø on the British Isles . In late summer 982 they met him on the island of Anglesey in the Irish Sea . It came to the fight, which was interrupted because of equality of arms and should be continued the next day. But then they agreed on a truce and decided to go on a Viking trip together . Sigmundur was able to persuade Harald to return to Norway with him, where he wanted to stand up for him at Håkon. The Faroese saga reports that Sigmundur actually brought about the reconciliation of the two enemies. While Harald then moved north to Finnmark , Sigmundur and Tóri spent the winter of 832/33 again at Håkon Jarl's court.
Preparation of the return trip
Sigmundur now declared his wish to return to the Faroe Islands to avenge his father's death. King Håkon agreed and gave him two knots that were better suited for the Faroe Islands than the usual longships .
But before that, according to the saga, King Håkon took his henchman Sigmundur to a pagan fortune teller . The king gave her silver as an offering and in return wanted a consecrated ring for Sigmundur. Håkon Jarl implored Sigmundur that he should never take off this ring. The myth of the Ring of Sigmundur forms its own motif that runs through the Faroese saga.
In 983 Sigmundur Brestisson, Tóri Beinirsson and Harald Jernhøs then drove to the Faroe Islands with 60 men. Bad weather forced them to land on Svínoy , precisely where Svínoyar-Bjarni lived, the murderer of Sigmundur and Tóri's fathers, Brestir and Beinir .
Further stays
In the summer of 984 Sigmundur and Tóri returned from the Faroe Islands, where they were able to negotiate an armistice with Tróndur í Gøtu after making peace with Svínoyar-Bjarni and Øssur Havgrímsson had been killed. King Håkon Jarl should now pass a judgment, which went out to the complete satisfaction of Sigmundur, who from then on should receive the entire Faroe Islands as a Norwegian fief. Tori and Sigmundur spent the winter 984/ 985 at the court in Trondheim until they sailed in the spring 985 again to the Faroe Islands.
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literature
- GVC Young: From the Vikings to the Reformation. A Chronicle of the Faroe Islands up to 1538 . Isle of Man: Shearwater Press, 1979
- the same: Færøerne. Fra vikingetiden til reformations . Copenhagen: Rosenkilde og Bakker, 1982 (Danish translation, basis of this article)
For further literature and web links see: Färingersaga