Einar Tambarskjelvar
Encyclopedia
Einar Eindridesson Thambarskelfir (c. 980–c. 1050) (Old Norse
: Einarr Þambarskelfir, Modern Norwegian: Einar Tambarskjelve) was an influential Norwegian
noble and politician during the 11th century. He headed the feudal lords in their opposition to Olaf Haraldsson
.
Several references are made to him in Snorri Sturluson
's Heimskringla
. His cognomen
, Thambarskelfir, has two strongly differing explanations. One is that it is derived from tomb, meaning shaking bowstring. Thus, the name suggests a master of the longbow. The other is that it is derived from tambr, meaning 'belly', and that it translates to 'wobbly belly', surely an unflattering reflection of his physical build.
political center of Melhus
. Einar Thambarskelfir was a jarl and chieftain at Husaby
, and a powerful warlord with his own army. He descended from the Lade
jarls, one of the most dominant families of Norwegian Viking Age politics. He made his debut both as a saga character and in the political arena at the sea Battle of Svolder
in 1000, fighting on the losing King Olaf Tryggvason's side. From his description of this battle, Snorri presents us with one of the saga's most famous passages.
, supported Ladejarl Sveinn Hákonarson
against Olaf Haraldsson
at the Battle at Nesjar in 1016. While Sveinn had to flee the country after the battle, and Erling was forced to join an uneasy alliance with the new king, Einar remained unscathed. He returned to Melhus and remained an opponent of the king. Therefore, when Danish influences sought to overthrow Olaf Haraldsson
in 1028, he supported them. However, he did not join the peasants' army at the Battle of Stiklestad
. This was more due to luck than calculation – when news of Olaf's presence in Trøndelag
broke, Einarr was in England, making a political visit to the Anglo-Danish King Cnut the Great. However, this move would later pay off handsomely.
After Stiklestad, many Norwegian noblemen felt that King Cnut had promised to install them as rulers of Norway
in his place. Einar Thambarskelfir expected that he would be the natural choice, being the oldest opponent of Olaf. However, the Anglo-Danish king instead made his son Sveinn a viceroy, in effect placing his mother Ælfgifu in charge of his recent conquest. This greatly infuriated Einarr.
(later dubbed 'the Good'). Forming a political alliance with former Stiklestad peasant army leader Kalv Arnesson, he then proceeded to broker an agreement between the puppet king Magnus and the newly installed Danish ruler, Harthacnut, son of Cnut the Great.
Thus, Einar became the de facto ruler of Norway, a position he at this point never could have held if he himself had fought Magnus's father at Stiklestad. Kalf Arneson and Thorir Hund, two nobles who did, both faded out into insignificance; the latter even forced to go to Jerusalem in search of forgiveness for killing the holy king. While Magnus did assume some power as he grew older, Einar remained a very influential figure throughout his reign.
. According to the succession laws put in place by the earlier monarch Harald Fairhair, Harald had a legitimate claim to the throne, a claim he did not hesitate to put forward. Fearing that Harald would turn his economic power into military power, Magnus against Einar's advice let Harald become joint monarch in late 1046. Only a year later, Magnus died, and the strong-willed Harald became sole monarch.
Harald was determined to centralize power, and had little patience with the quarreling nobles and peasant leaders. Thus, he was determined to end up on a collision course with the equally determined Einar Tambarskjelve. Conflict ensued, threatening civil war, and Einar began raising another peasant's army against the increasingly unpopular and tyrannical Harald. However, before this work was completed, Harald appeared to seek reconciliation. He asked Einar for a meeting at his farm in Nidaros
, so that the two could sit down and broker an agreement. Harald, of course, had no such intentions. He had decided that Einar had to be removed before his support was too powerful. Thus, when arriving at the king's farm, Einar and his son Eindride were assassinated.
The death of Einar Thambarskelfir concludes two important eras of Norwegian medieval politics. Firstly, he is the last of the Lade
family to play a political role at this level. Secondly, he is also the last nobleman to seek power in Norway without a claim based on the succession laws of Harald Fairhair. From this point on, all potential kings – however dubious their alleged relation to the ancient king – would claim to be descended from Harald Fairhair.
county show an archer, symbolising the famous chief and archer from Melhus, Einar Thambarskelfir.
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
: Einarr Þambarskelfir, Modern Norwegian: Einar Tambarskjelve) was an influential Norwegian
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...
noble and politician during the 11th century. He headed the feudal lords in their opposition to Olaf Haraldsson
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
.
Several references are made to him in Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
's Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
. His cognomen
Cognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
, Thambarskelfir, has two strongly differing explanations. One is that it is derived from tomb, meaning shaking bowstring. Thus, the name suggests a master of the longbow. The other is that it is derived from tambr, meaning 'belly', and that it translates to 'wobbly belly', surely an unflattering reflection of his physical build.
Background
Einarr Thambarskelfir was the son of Eindride, a rich and influential farmer at the Viking AgeViking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
political center of Melhus
Melhus
Melhus is a village and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Melhus...
. Einar Thambarskelfir was a jarl and chieftain at Husaby
Husaby
Husaby, near Kinnekulle, is a village belonging to Götene municipality in the province of Västergötland, Sweden. It is most known for the old stone church Husaby Church...
, and a powerful warlord with his own army. He descended from the Lade
Jarls of Lade
The Jarls of Lade or Old Norse Hlaðir were a dynasty of Norwegian rulers, who ruled Trøndelag and Hålogaland from the 9th century to the 11th century. -Lade Gaard:...
jarls, one of the most dominant families of Norwegian Viking Age politics. He made his debut both as a saga character and in the political arena at the sea Battle of Svolder
Battle of Svolder
The Battle of Svolder was a naval battle fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and an alliance of his enemies...
in 1000, fighting on the losing King Olaf Tryggvason's side. From his description of this battle, Snorri presents us with one of the saga's most famous passages.
- Einar Thambarskelfir, one of the sharpest of bowshooters, stood by the mast, and shot with his bow. Einar shot an arrow at Earl Eirik [...] Then said the earl to a man called Finn, [...] "Shoot that tall man by the mast." Finn shot; and the arrow hit the middle of Einar's bow just at the moment that Einar was drawing it, and the bow was split in two parts. "What is that," cried King Olaf, "that broke with such a noise?" "Norway, king, from your hands," cried Einar. "No! not quite so much as that," says the king; "take my bow, and shoot," flinging the bow to him. Einar took the bow, and drew it over the head of the arrow. "Too weak, too weak," said he, "for the bow of a mighty king!" and, throwing the bow aside, he took sword and shield, and fought Valiantly.
Olaf Haraldsson's reign
King Olaf Tryggvason disappeared during the battle, though his corpse was never found after the Battle of Svolder. Einar, however, survived, and spent the next decades maneuvring through shifting political waters. Einar, together with Erling SkjalgssonErling Skjalgsson
Erling Skjalgsson was a Norwegian political leader of the late 10th and early 11th century. He has been commonly seen as this period's foremost defender of the historic Norwegian social system...
, supported Ladejarl Sveinn Hákonarson
Sveinn Hákonarson
Sveinn Hákonarson was an earl of the house of Hlaðir and co-ruler of Norway from 1000 to c. 1015. He was the son of earl Hákon Sigurðarson. He is first mentioned in connection with the battle of Hjörungavágr, where the Heimskringla says he commanded 60 ships...
against Olaf Haraldsson
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
at the Battle at Nesjar in 1016. While Sveinn had to flee the country after the battle, and Erling was forced to join an uneasy alliance with the new king, Einar remained unscathed. He returned to Melhus and remained an opponent of the king. Therefore, when Danish influences sought to overthrow Olaf Haraldsson
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
in 1028, he supported them. However, he did not join the peasants' army at the Battle of Stiklestad
Battle of Stiklestad
The Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway was killed. He was later canonized...
. This was more due to luck than calculation – when news of Olaf's presence in Trøndelag
Trøndelag
Trøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...
broke, Einarr was in England, making a political visit to the Anglo-Danish King Cnut the Great. However, this move would later pay off handsomely.
After Stiklestad, many Norwegian noblemen felt that King Cnut had promised to install them as rulers of 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...
in his place. Einar Thambarskelfir expected that he would be the natural choice, being the oldest opponent of Olaf. However, the Anglo-Danish king instead made his son Sveinn a viceroy, in effect placing his mother Ælfgifu in charge of his recent conquest. This greatly infuriated Einarr.
Rise to power
As the pressure grew more intense on him during Sveinn Knutsson's viceroy reign, Einar made his greatest political masterstroke. He traveled to Gardarike (later Russia), where he found Olaf's eleven-year-old illegitimate son MagnusMagnus I of Norway
Magnus I , known as the Good or the Noble, was the King of Norway from 1035 to 1047 and the King of Denmark from 1042 to 1047. He was an illegitimate son of king Olaf II of Norway, but fled with his mother in 1028 when his father was dethroned. In 1035 he returned to Norway and was crowned king at...
(later dubbed 'the Good'). Forming a political alliance with former Stiklestad peasant army leader Kalv Arnesson, he then proceeded to broker an agreement between the puppet king Magnus and the newly installed Danish ruler, Harthacnut, son of Cnut the Great.
Thus, Einar became the de facto ruler of Norway, a position he at this point never could have held if he himself had fought Magnus's father at Stiklestad. Kalf Arneson and Thorir Hund, two nobles who did, both faded out into insignificance; the latter even forced to go to Jerusalem in search of forgiveness for killing the holy king. While Magnus did assume some power as he grew older, Einar remained a very influential figure throughout his reign.
Turn of the tide
However, around 1045 the aging Einar ran out of luck. At this point, Olaf Haraldsson's half-brother Harald Sigurdsson, later dubbed Hardrada, returned with a vast fortune amassed as a military commander in ByzantiumByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. According to the succession laws put in place by the earlier monarch Harald Fairhair, Harald had a legitimate claim to the throne, a claim he did not hesitate to put forward. Fearing that Harald would turn his economic power into military power, Magnus against Einar's advice let Harald become joint monarch in late 1046. Only a year later, Magnus died, and the strong-willed Harald became sole monarch.
Harald was determined to centralize power, and had little patience with the quarreling nobles and peasant leaders. Thus, he was determined to end up on a collision course with the equally determined Einar Tambarskjelve. Conflict ensued, threatening civil war, and Einar began raising another peasant's army against the increasingly unpopular and tyrannical Harald. However, before this work was completed, Harald appeared to seek reconciliation. He asked Einar for a meeting at his farm in Nidaros
Nidaros
Nidaros or Niðarós was during the Middle Ages, the old name of Trondheim, Norway . Until the Reformation, Nidaros remained the centre of the spiritual life of the country...
, so that the two could sit down and broker an agreement. Harald, of course, had no such intentions. He had decided that Einar had to be removed before his support was too powerful. Thus, when arriving at the king's farm, Einar and his son Eindride were assassinated.
Evaluation
According to the saga, Einar Thambarskelfir played a crucial role both in terms of sanctification of Olaf in 1031 and by the restoration of Magnus as Norwegian regent in 1035.The death of Einar Thambarskelfir concludes two important eras of Norwegian medieval politics. Firstly, he is the last of the Lade
Jarls of Lade
The Jarls of Lade or Old Norse Hlaðir were a dynasty of Norwegian rulers, who ruled Trøndelag and Hålogaland from the 9th century to the 11th century. -Lade Gaard:...
family to play a political role at this level. Secondly, he is also the last nobleman to seek power in Norway without a claim based on the succession laws of Harald Fairhair. From this point on, all potential kings – however dubious their alleged relation to the ancient king – would claim to be descended from Harald Fairhair.
Legacy
The coat-of-arms of Melhus municipality in Sør-TrøndelagSør-Trøndelag
- References :...
county show an archer, symbolising the famous chief and archer from Melhus, Einar Thambarskelfir.
Other sources
- Hellberg, Staffan Slaget vid Nesjar och Sven jarl Håkonsson (Scripta Islandica, Uppsala 1972) Swedish
- Ferguson, Robert The Vikings: a History (New York City: Penguin Group. 2009) ISBN 978-0-14-311801-5