Thorfinn Turf-Einarsson, Earl of Orkney
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Thorfinn 'Skullsplitter' Hausakljufr (Old Norse
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....

: Þorfinnr hausakljúfr, "skull-splitter") (died 976) was earl of Orkney
Earl of Orkney
The Earl of Orkney was originally a Norse jarl ruling Orkney, Shetland and parts of Caithness and Sutherland. The Earls were periodically subject to the kings of Norway for the Northern Isles, and later also to the kings of Alba for those parts of their territory in mainland Scotland . The Earl's...

. He was the youngest son of Torf-Einarr
Torf-Einarr
Einarr Rögnvaldarson, Torf-Einarr or Turf-Einar was one of the Norse Earls of Orkney. His rise to power is related in sagas which apparently draw on verses of Einarr's own composition for inspiration...

. Thorfinn married Grelod, daughter of the Mormaer of Caithness and granddaughter of Thorstein the Red
Thorstein the Red
Thorstein the Red or Thorstein Olafsson was a viking chieftain who flourished in late ninth-century Scotland. He was born around 850 AD and was the son of Olaf the White, King of Dublin, and Aud the Deep-minded, who was the daughter of Ketil Flatnose...

. Thorfinn and Grelod had five sons and two daughters. Their son Arnfinn Thorfinnsson married Ragnhild Eiriksdotter, daughter of Eirik Bloodaxe and his widow, Gunnhildr. Thorfinn may have been buried in the broch
Broch
A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s....

 at Hoxa, on South Ronaldsay
South Ronaldsay
South Ronaldsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. It is linked to the Orkney Mainland by the Churchill Barriers, running via Burray, Glimps Holm and Lamb Holm.-Geography and geology:...

. The modern Orcadian beer SkullSplitter is named after him.

The five sons of Thorfinn were Arnfinn, Havard, Hlodvir, Ljot, and Skuli. Arnfinns' wife, Ragnhild Eiriks-Dottir had her husband killed at Murkle
Murkle
Murkle is a small scattered hamlet, made up of East Murkle and West Murkle located 1 mile east of Thurso, in Caithness, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland....

 in Caithness and married Havard who ruled as earl for a time. Skuli gave allegiance to the Scots king who made him Earl of Caithness and Orkney but never gained control of Orkney, being killed in battle against Ljot in Caithness. Ljot later died in battle, possibly against MacBeth of Moray
Mormaer of Moray
The Mormaerdom or Kingdom of Moray was a lordship in High Medieval Scotland that was destroyed by King David I of Scotland in 1130. It did not have the same territory as the modern local government council area of Moray, which is a much smaller area, around Elgin...

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