Thorfinn 'The Black' Sigurdsson, II Jarl of Orkney

concerns

This Thorfinn is the same as Thorfnn "The Black" Sigurdsson (Orkenoyene).

brief biography

Thorfinn (1009?–-c1064?), called Thorfinn the Mighty, was Earl of Orkney. Son of Earl Sigurd Hlodvirsson by his marriage to the daughter of Malcolm II of Scotland. He married Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, daughter of Finn Arnesson, Jarl of Halland.

The Heimskringla of Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson, and the anonymous compiler of the Orkneyinga Saga, write that Thorfinn was the most powerful of all the earls of Orkney. He is said to have been earl for seventy-five years and ruler of nine earldoms in Scotland, of the Hebrides, and of part of Ireland. A sizable part of the account in the Orkneyinga Saga concerns his wars with a "King of Scots" named Karl Hundason whose identity is very uncertain.

links

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorfinn_Sigurdsson

content to clean up

Thorfinn was certainly out of the picture by 1066, perhaps even before 1057. When and under what circumstances he died is unknown, suggesting illness rather than anything more dramatic.

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http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTTISH%20NOBILITY.htm#SigurdDigri...

SIGURD "Digri/the Stout", son of [HLODVIR Torfinnsson Jarl of Orkney & his wife Eithne of Ireland] ([965/70]-killed in battle Clontarf 23 Apr 1014).

m ([1005 or after]) --- of Scotland, daughter of MALCOLM II King of Scotland & his wife ---. Orkneyinga Saga records that “Earl Sigurd” married “the daughter of Malcolm King of Scots” (whose succession is recorded in 1005)[240]. Snorre records the marriage of "Sigurd the Thick" and "a daughter of the Scottish king Malcolm"[241]. It appears unlikely that Sigurd´s wife could have been King Malcolm´s daughter Donada (as shown in many secondary sources, including the Complete Peerage[242]%29 if it is correct that Donada´s recorded husband Findlaech was killed in 1020 and that their son was born in [1005][243].

On the question of whether Sigurd married a 3rd daughter of Malcolm II, or whether he married Donalda before the death of her first husband, Findlaech in 1020 See Discussion

[Med Lands' above explanation for the 'daughter of Malcolm not likely to have been taken from her first husband, Findlaech before his death in 1020 is not a strong argument in my opinion, given that Findlaech and Sigurd were old adversaries - (Sigurd beating Findlaech at Skidamoor c 995). Malcolm's kingship in 1005, perhaps made his daughter a greater prize than the beaten enemy of Sigurd warranted. It is possible to conjecture that Sigurd's neutrality or assistance might have been crucial for Malcolm to beat off the Vikings at Nairn and Mortlach in 1009/10 - something Findlaech had failed to do on his own, and Donalda was 'transferred' in that exchange. Thorfinn's birth (the sagas tell us he was 5yrs old when Sigurd dies in 1014) coincides perfectly with this timing. Although, this doesn't prove there wasn't another daughter; secondary sources do put Thorfinn's parents as Donada & Sigurd. But, as Anne Berge has pointed out - it is more typical for sources to 'forget' a person than a conflate two people. - Sharon]

Sigurd & his second wife had one child:

5. THORFINN "the Black" ([1009]-[1060/65], bur Birsay, Christchurch). Orkneyinga Saga names “Earl Thorfinn” as the son of Sigurd and his wife “the daughter of Malcolm King of Scots”, adding that his father sent him to Scotland “to be fostered by the King, the boy´s maternal grandfather” when he left for Ireland, and that he was five years old when his father was killed[264]. Snorre names Thorfin as son of "Sigurd the Thick" & his wife, recording that he was five years old when his father was killed[265]. He succeeded [1030] as sole Jarl of Orkney.

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"After Torf-Einar, his sons Arnkel, Erlend, and Thorfin Hausakljufer (Skull-Splinter) ruled over these lands. In their days came Eirik Blood-axe from Norway, and subdued these earls. Arnkel and Erlend fell in a war expedition; but Thorfin ruled the country long, and became an old man. His sons were Arnfin, Havard, Hlodver, Liot, and Skule. Their mother was Grelad, a daughter of Earl Dungad of Caithness. Her mother was Groa, a daughter of Thorstein Raud. In the latter days of Earl Thorfin came Eirik Blood-axe's sons, who had fled from Earl Hakon out of Norway, and committed great excesses in Orkney. Earl Thorfin died on a bed of sickness, and his sons after him ruled over the country, and there are many stories concerning them. Hlodver lived the longest of them, and ruled alone over this country. His son was Sigurd the Thick, who took the earldom after him, and became a powerful man and a great warrior. In his days came Olaf Trygvason from his viking expedition in the western ocean, with his troops, landed in Orkney and took Earl Sigurd prisoner in South Ronaldsha, where he lay with one ship. King Olaf allowed the earl to ransom his life by letting himself be baptized, adopting the true faith, becoming his man, and introducing Christianity into all the Orkney Islands. As a hostage, King Olaf took his son, who was called Hunde or Whelp. Then Olaf went to Norway, and became king; and Hunde was several years with King Olaf in Norway, and died there.

After his death Earl Sigurd showed no obedience or fealty to King Olaf. He married a daughter of the Scottish king Malcolm, and their son was called Thorfin. Earl Sigurd had, besides, older sons; namely, Sumarlide, Bruse, and Einar Rangmund. Four or five years after Olaf Tryggvason's fall Earl Sigurd went to Ireland, leaving his eldest sons to rule the country, and sending Thorfin to his mother's father, the Scottish king. On this expedition Earl Sigurd fell in Brian's battle (l). When the news was received in Orkney, the brothers Sumarlide, Bruse, and Einar were chosen earls, and the country was divided into three parts among them. Thorfin Sigurdson was five years old when Earl Sigurd fell. When the Scottish king heard of the earl's death he gave his relation Thorfin Caithness and Sutherland, with the title of earl, and appointed good men to rule the land for him. Earl Thorfin was ripe in all ways as soon as he was grown up: he was stout and strong, but ugly; and as soon as he was a grown man it was easy to see that he was a severe and cruel but a very clever man."

from Heimskringla, "The Saga of St Olav" by Snorri Sturlusson

http://lind.no/nor/index.asp?lang=gb&emne=asatru&vis=s_e_olav_haral...

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Torfinn Sigurdsson Rike

Fra Wikipedia, den frie encyklopedi

Torfinn Sigurdsson Rike (ca 1000 - ca 1065) var jarl på Orknøyene, og regnes som en av de mest energiske jarlene i øygruppas historie. Torfinn bodde trolig flere steder, men til sist på Birsay på nordvestre Mainland, hvor han også lot bygge en kirke og fikk anlagt et bispesete.

Torfinn var sønn av jarl Sigurd Lodvesson Digre og Bethoc av Skottland, datter av den skotske kongen Malcolm II. Han var gift med Ingebjørg Finnsdatter, datter av Finn Arnesson. Sammen med Ingebjørg hadde han sønnene Pål og Erlend, og han var farfar til den hellige Magnus Orknøyjarl og Håkon Pålsson.

I følge sagaen fikk Torfinn Caithness (Katanes) som jarledømme etter sin morfar. Da faren Sigurd døde i 1014 ble jarledrømmet på Orknøyene delt mellom Torfinns (halv)brødre Sumarlide, Einar Vrangmunn og Bruse. Denne delingen ble begrunnet med at Torfinn allerede hadde Caithness. Torfinns krig med sine brødre pågikk fra 1018 (da Sumarlide døde, og Torfinn tok kontroll over hans tredjedel), til 1046, da Torfinn ble enejarl. Einar Vrangmunn ble ryddet av veien i 1020, og Bruse døde i 1034. Torfinns brorsønn Ragnvald Bruseson var samjarl med Torfinn fra sist i 30-åra til Torfinn drepte ham i 1046.

Som enejarl rådde Torfinn over et område «fra Tussaskjær (på Shetland) til Dublin», med Arnor Jarleskalds ord. Torfinn arbeidet aktivt for å holde dette riket samlet. Siden kong Olav II i 1021 skapte (midlertidig) fred mellom Torfinn og Bruse, hadde den norske kongen styrket sitt grep om jarldømmet på Orknøyene og de andre vesterhavsøyene. Torfinn hadde for sin del en dobbel lojalitet, i og med at han som jarl av Caithness også sto under den skotske kongen.

Torfinn besøkte Norge i 1047 da Harald Hardråde hadde blitt enekonge. Senere, ca 1049/1950, reiste Torfinn i følge sagaen gjennom Europa fra Danmark til Roma, hvor han besøkte paven, trolig Leo IX, og fikk syndsforlatelse. Det må ha vært etter dette at han lot bygge en kirke på Birsay.

I følge sagaen ble Torfinn mindre av en hærkonge, og mer av en lovbygger etter Roma-ferden.

[rediger] Litteratur

Narve Bjørgo. «Torfinn Sigurdsson Rike». I: Norsk biografisk leksikon, 2. utg., bd 9. 2005

Orknøyingenes saga: - nettutgave

Hentet fra «http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torfinn_Sigurdsson_Rike»

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torfinn_Sigurdsson_Rike

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~blacader/PS13/PS13_070.HTML

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Earl of Orkney

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Thorfinn Sigurdsson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thorfinn Sigurdsson (1009?–-c1064?), called Thorfinn the Mighty[1], was Earl of Orkney. One of four brothers (with Brusi, Sumarlidi and Einar) , he was the only known son of Earl Sigurd Hlodvirsson by his marriage to the daughter of Malcolm II of Scotland. He married Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, daughter of Finn Arnesson, Jarl of Halland.

The Heimskringla of Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson, and the anonymous compiler of the Orkneyinga Saga, write that Thorfinn was the most powerful of all the earls of Orkney. He is said to have been earl for seventy-five years and ruler of nine earldoms in Scotland, of the Hebrides, and of part of Ireland. A sizable part of the account in the Orkneyinga Saga concerns his wars with a "King of Scots" named Karl Hundason whose identity is very uncertain.

Background

Thorfinn was the youngest of the five known sons of Earl Sigurd Hlodvirsson, but the only son of Sigurd's marriage to a daughter of Máel Coluim mac Cináeda. His elder half-brothers Einar, Brusi and Sumarlidi survived to adulthood, while a brother called "Hundi or Whelp" died in Norway, a hostage at the court of King Olaf Trygvasson.[2]

Earl Sigurd was killed at the Battle of Clontarf on 23 April 1014. Before setting out for Ireland, he had sent Thorfinn, then aged five, to be fostered by his maternal grandfather, the King of Scots. When the news of Sigurd's death came, Thorfinn's older half-brothers divided Orkney and Shetland between them. King Máel Coluim set Thorfinn up as ruler of Caithness and Sutherland with Scots advisors to rule for him.[3] The lands in the Hebrides which Earl Sigurd had held appear to have escaped control of the earls of Orkney at this time.[4]

The Orkneyinga Saga gives this description of Thorfinn:

He was unusually tall and strong, an ugly-looking man with a black head of hair, sharp features, a big nose and bushy eyebrows, a forceful man, greedy for fame and fortune. He did well in battle, for he was both a good tactician and full of courage.[5]

[edit]Joint rule

Sumarlidi died some time before 1020, and the disposition of his third share in Orkney and Shetland became a matter of dispute. Thorfinn had grown up fast,[6] and he claimed Sumarlidi's third as his. While Brusi was willing to grant it to him, Einar was not and took it for himself.[7] Einar was an unpopular ruler, and the farmers of the isles objected to his frequent calls for military service and taxes. A certain Thorkel Amundason led the opposition to Einar. Thorkel, in danger of his life, fled to Thorfinn's court in Caithness, and became his foster-father, from which the other name by which he is known, Thorkel the Fosterer. Einar and Thorfinn began raising armies to settle matters by force, but Earl Brusi made peace between them by persuading Einar to give Thorfinn what he asked for.[8]

Thorfinn appointed Thorkel the Fosterer as his tax-gatherer in the islands, but Einar had not forgotten their earlier dispute and Thorkel left the islands in fear of his life, returning to Caithness. Thorkel then travelled to Norway with Thorfinn's support, to meet with King Olaf Haraldsson. He was well received there, for Olaf bore his own grudge against Einar for the killing of his comrade Eyvind Aurochs-Horn some years earlier. Olaf invited Thorfinn to Norway, and he too was welcomed to Olaf's court. Thorfinn and Thorkel returned to Orkney, to find Einar raising an army against them. Brusi again made peace between them, but this ended with Einar planning Thorkel's killing and Thorkel killing Einar first.[9] The killing of Earl Einar is dated to 1020 by the Icelandic annals.[10]

The death of Einar did not end the dispute over Sumarlidi's third of the islands. Brusi considered that it belonged to him, as he and Einar had agreed when Thorfinn received a third of the islands. Thorfinn thought that the islands should be divided equally. However, Thorfinn could count on the assistance of his grandfather, King Máel Coluim, while Brusi had only the forces he could raise from his share of the islands, making any conflict a very unequal one. Brusi went to Norway, to the court of King Olaf Haraldsson, to have Olaf judge the dispute, and Thorfinn joined him there. Brusi surrendered the earldom to Olaf, who granted a third to each brother, and kept a third for himself. Thorfinn attempted to use his relationship with the King of Scots as a means to avoid acknowledging Olaf as his overlord in Orkney and Shetland, but Olaf threatened to appoint another to rule Thorfinn's share. Following Thorkel the Fosterer's advice, Thorfinn agreed to Olaf's settlement. After Thorfinn left Norway, Olaf gave Brusi the disputed third to rule on his behalf, but kept Brusi's son Rognvald in Norway as a hostage.[11] These events are dated to 1021.[12]

The arrangement with Olaf Haraldsson lasted while Olaf was king. But in 1028 he was overthrown by the Danish king Canute the Great. After this, the islands were raided by Norwegians and Danes. In order to have the islands better defended, Brusi agreed to give King Olaf's third to Thorfinn, in return for Thorfinn seeing to the defence of the islands. This agreement lasted until Brusi's death, some time between 1030 and 1035. After that, Thorfinn was sole ruler of the earldom.[13] This resulted in Thorfinn holding the Earldom of Caithness from the King of Scots and the Jarldom of Orkney from the King of Norway.

[edit]Karl Hundason

The Orkneyinga Saga says that a dispute between Thorfinn and Karl Hundason began when Karl Hundason became "King of Scots" and claimed Caithness. In the war which followed, Thorfinn defeated Karl in a sea-battle off Deerness at the east end of the Orkney Mainland. Then Karl's nephew Mutatan or Muddan, appointed to rule Caithness for him, was killed at Thurso by Thorkel the Fosterer. Finally, a great battle on the south side of the Dornoch Firth ended with Karl defeated and fugitive or dead. Thorfinn, the saga says, then marched south through Scotland as far as Fife, burning and plundering as he passed. A later note in the saga claims that Thorfinn won nine Scottish earldoms.[14]

The identity of Karl Hundason, unknown to Scots and Irish sources, has long been a matter of dispute, and it is far from clear that the matter is settled. The most common assumption is that Karl Hundason was an insulting byname ("Churl, son of a Dog") given to Mac Bethad by his enemies.[15] Skene's suggestion that he was Donnchad mac Crínáin has been revived in recent years. Lastly, the idea that the whole affair is a poetic invention has been raised.[16]

Whoever Karl son of Hundi may have been, it appears that the saga is reporting a local conflict with a Scots ruler of Moray or Ross:

[T]he whole narrative is consistent with the idea that the struggle of Thorfinn and Karl is a continuation of that which had been waged since the ninth century by the Orkney earls, notably Sigurd Rognvald's son, Ljot, and Sigurd the Stout, against the princes or mormaers of Moray, Sutherland, Ross, and Argyll, and that, in fine, Malcolm and Karl were mormaers of one of these four provinces.[17]

[edit]Rognvald Brusason

Thorfinn ruled alone in Orkney until the return of his nephew Rognvald Brusason in about 1037. Rognvald had received the favour of King Magnus the Good, who granted him Brusi's share of the islands and the third which Olaf Haraldsson had claimed after Einar's death. Thorfinn agreed to this division, but presented the transfer of the third claimed by the Norwegian king as a gift to Rognvald in return for aid in Thorfinn's wars in the Hebrides and the Irish Sea.[18]

King Sigtrygg Silkbeard had died in 1035 or 1036, and the kingship in Dublin had come to Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, who was challenged by Imar mac Arailt and driven out in 1038. This instability in Dublin can only have helped Thorfinn and Rognvald, who raided far and wide and established their rule over some part of the lands around the Irish Sea. They are said to have won a major victory beside Vattenfjord, perhaps Loch Vatten on the west coast of the Isle of Skye.[19] The Earls are said to have raided in England, with mixed success.

In time, Thorfinn and Rognvald fell out. The vivid account of the war between Thorfinn and Rognvald in the Orkneyinga Saga which survives may well be only a part of a much longer saga now lost.[20] Their enmity arose with the arrival of Kalf Arnesson and his followers in Orkney. Kalf was the uncle of Thorfinn's wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, and had left Norway to escape King Magnus Olafsson.[21] Rognvald, with Kalf's brothers, had shared Magnus's exile in Kievan Rus under the protection of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, and the saga says that when Kalf came to Ladoga to invite Magnus back to Norway, Rognvald almost attacked him.[22] Thorfinn, it is said, found hosting Kalf and his men a burden, and in time asked Rognvald to return the third of the earldom "which had once belonged to Einar Wry-Mouth". Rognvald refused, saying that it was for King Magnus to settle matters. Thorfinn began raising an army, and Rognvald's islanders were unwilling to fight Thorfinn, so Rognvald sailed to Norway where King Magnus supplied him with ships and men. He returned to the islands, facing Thorfinn and Kalf Arnesson in a sea battle which Arnor the skald commemorated in verse. The battle went Rognvald's way to begin with, but in the end he was defeated and forced again to seek refuge with King Magnus.[23]

King Magnus offered to fit out another expedition for Rognvald, but he decided to take just one ship and a picked crew. He sailed to Shetland in winter, and learning that Thorfinn was staying on a farm on the Orkney Mainland with only a few men, he set out at once to attack him. Rognvald's men surprised Thorfinn, and set the farm ablaze. The saga says that Thorfinn had to break down a wall and escape, carrying his wife in his arms, flying south to Caithness for safety.[24] Rognvald ruled in Kirkwall over the winter, believing Thorfinn dead, but in the spring, while staying on Papa Stronsay, Thorfinn and his men turned the tables, taking Rognvald by surprise, just as he had surprised Thorfinn. Rognvald escaped the house, but was tracked down, given away by the barking of his lap dog, and killed by Thorkell the Fosterer.[25]

[edit]Pilgrimage

Even with Rognvald dead, Thorfinn was not entirely secure. The saga recounts an attempt to make peace with Magnus Olafsson, who had sworn vengeance for the death of his men in Thorfinn's attack on Rognvald. Magnus was at war with the Danish king Sweyn Estridsson, and died before he could take any action. Magnus's uncle and successor, Harald Sigurdsson, better known as Harald Hardrada, was more friendly towards Thorfinn, and made a peace, accepting Thorfinn's gifts.[26]

Unlike his kinsmen, Thorfinn had been raised as a Christian. The Orkneyinga Saga knows of only two sons of Thorfinn, both by his wife Ingibiorg, as opposed to the multiple marriages which appear to have been common before his time. Among the signs of this change in outlook is Thorfinn's pilgrimage to Rome, which took place after his meeting with Harald Sigurdsson, probably beginning in 1048. The saga says that he travelled through Saxony, meeting with Emperor Henry (Henry III) on the journey. Although the saga does not say so, it is thought that he also met with Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg.[27]

As a result of Thorfinn's request, it appears that the first Bishop of Orkney was appointed at about this time. Named Thorulf, he may have been the same person as "Roolwer", Bishop of the Isles.[28] The original seat of the bishops of Orkney was Thorfinn's Christchurch at Birsay, or perhaps the Brough of Birsay, where he had his residence in his later years.[29]

[edit]Death and legends

The Orkneyinga Saga dates Thorfinn's death no more precisely than placing it "towards the end" of Harald Sigurdsson's reign, which is far from exact. Thorfinn returned from Rome in around 1050 and Harald Sigurdsson died at the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, leaving a period of perhaps a decade in which Thorfinn's death might be placed. Historians offering a later date, sometimes as late as 1065, propose that King Máel Coluim mac Donnchada married a daughter of Thorfinn named Ingibiorg rather than his widow. If a date in the early 1050s is presumed, then Máel Coluim could well have married Thorfinn's widow as the saga says.[30]

Archie Duncan argued that Máel Coluim mac Donnchada came to marry Thorfinn's widow because he spent some or all of the period of Mac Bethad's reign in Orkney or Caithness at Thorfinn's court. Thorfinn and Máel Coluim were both descendants of Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, daughter's son and daughter's grandson respectively, and both had good reason to be hostile to Mac Bethad and his kinsmen, the Kings of Moray.[31]

A less orthodox suggestion was made by author Dorothy Dunnett in her 1982 novel King Hereafter. In the 19th century, William Forbes Skene noted that the historical sources which mention Thorfinn do not know of Mac Bethad, and vice versa. Pursuing this further, Dunnett wrote a novel taking Mac Bethad and Thorfinn to be the same person.[32]

He was followed as earl by his sons Paul and Erlend.

Thorfinn was buried in the grounds of St. Magnus Church, Birsay, Mainland Orkney. He is known to history as Thorfinn the Mighty, and at his height, he controlled all of Orkney and Shetland, the Hebrides, Caithness and Sutherland, and his influence extended over much of the north of Scotland. The Orkneyinga Saga makes a grander claim - that he controlled seven earldoms in Scotland. As there were only seven earldoms in total, this seems to claim he was King of Scots; but is more probably referring to the strong alliance he held with his half-brother or cousin (historians still debate on this) Macbeth of Moray, King of Scotia.

References

Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286, volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. ISBN 1-871615-03-8

Anon., Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney, tr. Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards. Penguin, London, 1978. ISBN 0-14-044383-5

Crawford, Barbara, Scandinavian Scotland. Leicester University Press, Leicester, 1987. ISBN 0-7185-1282-0

Donaldson, Gordon, A Northern Commonwealth: Scotland and Norway. Saltire Society, Edinburgh, 1990. ISBN 0-85411-044-5

Duncan, A.A.M., The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. ISBN 0-7486-1626-8

Sturluson, Snorri, Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway, tr. Lee M. Hollander. Reprinted University of Texas Press, Austin, 1992. ISBN 0-292-73061-6

Taylor, A.B., "Karl Hundason: King of Scots" in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, LXXI (1937), pp. 334–340.

Watt, D.E.R., "Bishops in the Isles before 1203" in The Innes Review, volume XLV, No. 2 (Autumn 1994). ISSN 0020-157X

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Thorfinn's mother may have been Donalda or Olith/Anleta, either a younger sister of Donalda, or these may be Norse names for Donalda?

“Earl Thorfinn made himself a great chief; he was the tallest and strongest of men, ugly, black-haired, sharp-featured, and big-nosed, and with somewhat scowling brows. He was a mighty man of strife, and greedy both of money and honour; he was lucky in battle, and skilful in war, and good in onslaught;”

Orkneyinga Saga

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EARL OF THE ORKNEY ISLES, ALSO CALLED TORKILL, OF RICHMONDSHIRE, ENGLAND,

BARON

AND LORD OF TANFIELD, FOUNDER OF THE WASHINGTON FAMILY IN ENGLAND,

SETTLED IN

YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND, ABT 1030-35.

"LORD OF THE ISLES".

ANCESTORS CAME FROM SCHLESWIG, IN DENMARK, AND SETTLED IN ANCIENT EBOR OR

YORK-

SHIRE, PRIOR TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST.Line in Record @I19976@ (RIN 583) from GEDCOM file not recognized:

CONF

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Sigurdsdon, Thorfinn the Black of Orkney, Jarl of Orkney. Earl of Caithness fr 1021-1064. Born: 1009 Acceded: 1014 Died: 1064 Notes: Earl of Caithness. Father: Hlodvirsson, Sigurd the Stout of Orkney, Earl of Orkney Mother: Daughter. Married BEF 1038 to Finnsdottir, Ingibiorg Earls Mother Child 1: Thorfinnson, Paul I of Orkney, Earl of Orkney Child 2: Thorfinnsson, Erlend II, Earl of Orkney. (Directory of Royal Genealogical Data, Hull, England)

Thorfinn den Mäktige var död år 1065. Birsay var en gång säte för för Orkneyjarlen. Kyrkan byggdes av jarlen Torfinn den Mäktige efter sin återkomst från en pilgrimsresa till Rom. Han styrde ett rike som omfattade nio jarldömen i Skottland, Hebriderna, Isle of Man samt även stora delar av Irland. Efter hans död rasade väldet samman, Isle of Man och Hebriderna blev egna stater. (Nordisk Vikingaguide 1995, sid 169, Statens Historiska museum, Holmblad)

Sigurd married a daughter of the Scottish king Malcolm, and their son was called Thorfin. Earl Sigurd had, besides, older sons; namely, Sumarlide, Bruse, and Einar Rangmund. (Heimskringla, Olov den Heliges saga III)

På Birsay hade en av de största norska jarlarna sitt huvudsäte, nämligen den ärelystne och hänsynslöse Thorfinn den Mäktige. Enligt sagan uppehöll han sig ofta här och byggde även den kyrka som återfunnits. (Boken om vikingarna, sid 69, Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg)

Thorfinn, when a mere child, had been placed by him over Sutherland and Caithmess: In 1030, on the death of his half brother, Brusi, he annexed the Orkneys to his dominions. He is described as stout and strong, but very ugly; severe, and cruel, but a very clever man. Duncan I, who reigned from AD. 1034-1040, attempted to deprive him of his earldom, but was himself defeated, amid his defeat was followed by his assassination in the smith's bothy, near Elgin, at the hands of Macbeth, who succeeded him, and reigned from 1040-58. Thorfinn is said to have held a large Riki in Ireland, and to have extended his kingdom from Thinrso Shcerry to Dublin, and to have exacted tribute and assumed the prerogatives of the earlier kings of Dublin. He died about 1064. His sons were at the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, and escaping from the slaughter, led a peaceful and inglorious existence as joint jarls in their northern home. Ingebiorge, the widow of Thiorfinn, married Malcolm III, who reigned from 1058-93. -Robertson, i. 98, 127, and 161-2. (Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys, notes 1-2, fotnot 53)

http://www.espell.se/saga/pc856b048.html

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Thorfinn Sigurdsson (c1009–-c1064), called Thorfinn the Mighty, was Earl of Orkney. One of four brothers (with Brusi, Sumarlidi and Einar) , sons of Earl Sigurd Hlodvirsson by his marriage to the daughter of Malcolm II of Scotland. He married Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, daughter of Finn Arnesson, Jarl of Halland.

The Heimskringla of Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson, and the anonymous compiler of the Orkneyinga Saga, write that Thorfinn was the most powerful of all the earls of Orkney. He is said to have been earl for seventy-five years and ruler of nine earldoms in Scotland, of the Hebrides, and of part of Ireland.

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Torfinn the Black, also called Torfinn the Mighty, Earl of Orkney, Earl of Caithness. He was born about 1000 and died about 1064. He became Orkenøyjarl after older brother. He was large, strong and wise according to Snorre. He was also king in part of Scotland and Yorkshire in 1035. In Yorkshire his seat was at Wassington. Family squabbles with his half brothers marred the early part of his reign. Later his main rival was a man called Karl Hundisson the Scottish King (whom Ashley believes is the same as Duncan), Duncan/Hundisson invaded Thorfin's territory twice, loosing both times, resulting in Duncan's death which provided the opportunity for Thorfin to take over Duncan's realm. Thus he became ruler of much of northern Scotland. Later in life, Thorfin became converted to Christianity, although no records indicate his baptism. He went on a tour to Rome, visited the Pope who forgave him all his past sins. He established a church at Birsay, int he Orkneys. He was probably involved in Rollo's family's conquest of England (William of Normandy). After his death his kingdom was shared by his two sons, Erland and Paul.

Torfinn ble også kalt Torfinn Mektige. Han var født ca år 1000 og døde ca 1064. Han ble Orkenøyjarl etter eldre brødre. Han var stor, sterk og stygg og en grisk og strid mann, men svært klok ifølge Snorre. Men han betegnes også som den gjeveste jarl som hadde vært på øyene og den som hadde størst makt. Han var også konge i en del av Skottland og i Yorkshire i 1035. I Yorkshire hadde han sete i Wassington. Han var sannsynligvis engasjert i Rollo-ættlingenes erobring av England. Han hadde flere betydningsfulle sønner, bl. a. Hugh of Maine som ble stamfar til det tyske huset Oldenburg, som de nåværende norske kongelige stammer fra.