Hårek fra Tjøtta

Hårek fra Tjøtta

• Son of Eivind Skaldespiller
• Chief and farmer. Parents: Skald Øyvind Finnsson Shellfisher (ca. 920 – ca. 990); the mother unknown. Married to Ragnhild Arnesdatter, daughter of Arne Arnmodsson and Tora Torsteinsdatter.

Chapter 3. DESCENDANTS of FIN SKJALGE

Project MedLands Norway Nobility

FIN Skjalge, son of --- .
married GUNHILD Halfdansdatter, daughter of HALFDAN Jarl & his wife Ingeborg of Norway [illegitimate daughter of HARALD I "Harfagri" King of Norway]. Snorre names Gunhild as the daughter of Halfdan & his wife[65]. Snorre names Gunhild, daughter of Earl Halfdan and Ingebjorg, as the mother of Harek's father[66].

Fin Skjalge & his wife GUNHILD Halfdansdatter had two children

• 1. EYVIND Skaldaspiller (-990). Pöt. m ---. The name of Eyvind´s wife is not known.

Eyvind & his wife had one child

• a) HAREK of Thjotta (-murdered 1040). married RAGNHILD Arnesdatter, daughter of ARNE Arnmodsson & his wife Thora Thorsteinsdatter. Snorre names Ragnhild, daughter of "Arne Arnmodson and Thora, Thorstein Galge's daughter" as the wife of Harek of Thjotta[67].
  

Harek of Thjotta & his wife RAGNHILD Arnesdatter had three children

• i) EINAR Fluga of Thjotta
  
• ii) FIN Herkesson (-after 1028). m ---. The name of Fin´s wife is not known.
  

Fin Herkesson & his wife had one child

• (a) HAAKON Finsson m ---. The name of Haakon´s wife is not known.
  

Haakon & his wife had one child

• (1) ULVHILD Haakonsdatter (-before 1143). Fagrskinna names “Úlfhildr dróttning, dóttir Hákonar Finnssunar Hárekssunar or Þjóttu” as mother of “Karl konungs”, adding that she had first married “Nikolás Danakonungr”, secondly “Ingi Sviakonungr Hallsteinssunr” and thirdly “Sverkir konungr Kolssunr”[68]. Her second marriage is referred to by Saxo Grammaticus. She was secretly abducted by Sverker I King of Sweden but their "connection was accepted as a marriage"[69]. married firstly as his second wife, INGE II Halstensson King of Sweden, son of HALSTEN Stenkilsson King of Sweden & his wife --- (-1118). married secondly (divorced) as his second wife, NIELS King of Denmark, illegitimate son of SVEND II King of Denmark & his mistress --- (-murdered Schleswig 25 Jun 1134).
  

• iii) SVEN Harkesson
  

• 2. NJAL Finsson m ---. The name of Njal´s wife is not known.

NJAL Finsson & his wife had one child

• a) ASTRID Njalsdatter married RAGNVALD "the Old", son of ---.
  

Source Project MedLands Norway Nobility - https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORWEGIAN%20NOBILITY.htm#FinArness...

Snorre, Olav den Helliges saga, avsnitt 104:

The Tjøtta family, Norwegian chief executive, attached to the town center Tjøtta in Alstahaug municipality, Nordland. The family's ancestor was Øyvind Lambe from Berle in Nordfjord. He was the father of Finn Skjalge, who inherited the farm Sandnes furthest north of Alstahaug after his mother in the early 900's. Finn was married to Gunnhild (daughter of Halvdan Earl and according to the saga daughter daughter of Harald Hårfagre), and their son was Håkon the good friend Øyvind Finnsson Skaldespiller. He was the father of Hårek from Tjøtta (about 965-1036), who bought Tjøtta and moved there. Hårek's son was Lennart Einar Håreksson Fluga. The family's estate belonged to the late 13th century Bjarkøyetet.

Farmer and Chief Hårek Øyvindsson At Tjøtta

By the NORWEGIAN BIOGRAPHICAL LEXICON

Chief and farmer. Parents: Skald Øyvind Finnsson Shellfisher (ca. 920 – ca. 990); the mother unknown. Married to Ragnhild Arnesdatter, daughter of Arne Arnmodsson and Tora Torsteinsdatter.

Hrek on Tjøtta was one of the most powerful chiefs in Hålogaland; he was Olav Tryggvason's husband and one of the leaders in the battle against Olav Haraldsson at Stiklestad.

According to Snorre, hair was of royal lineage. His grandfather was Find Skjalg and grandmother Gunnhild was the grandson of Harald. His father should not have been particularly wealthy, even though he was "great-grandfather". Hårek had to buy his own farm in Tjøtta, where the small farmers must have dominated, but Snorre says that he had in a short time taken over the whole island and built a large farm there. He became rich, was particularly wise, almost cunning, and received great respect from other chieftains because of his lineage. He had already had a long time in the royal saga with the lucrative taxation and the trade monopoly on the Sami (existential labor) when he appeared in the royal saga at Olav Tryggvason's time.

Hårek's history in the royal sagas goes over a relatively long period, from 998 to 1036. Together with other chieftains from Hålogaland he gathered army against Olav Tryggvason when the king 998 would embark on a Christian journey north. The king gave up this first voyage, but when he returned the following year, Hårek had turned and was the first of the hollow-eyed chiefs to be baptized, while others continued the resistance and suffered defeat. Hrek also became Olav Tryggvason's husband and retained the lucrative "existential".

Next to Tore Hund in Bjarkøy, Hårek appears in the first part of the 1000s as the most powerful chief in Hålogaland. While Tore Hund had the greatest power in the northern part, Hårek held a similar position in the south. It has been claimed that these two "inherited" their power from the chargers. The detailed stories by Snorre about Hårek and Tore Hund can be read as standalone stories about the contradictions between the hollow-eyed chieftains and Olav Haraldsson, woven into the royal saga in a masterful way. All the details, and not least the entirety of the narratives, suggest that there were separate genealogies about these two that Snorre used in his time.

When Olav Haraldsson came to power, he deployed Åsmund Grankjellsson as his loom in Hålogaland next to Hårek. Thus, a division of power arose, which Hårrek was constantly opposed to. It ended in a full fight between the two. First, Åsmund chased Hårek's men from a hut on the Helgeland coast. Hårek apparently found himself in it, but later took revenge by burning inside Åsmund's father Grankjell with 30 men. Then quit Hårek to Danish King Knud the Great and became his lenderman when King Olav fled the country 1028. But Åsmund eventually his revenge when he beat 1036 Hårek to death by King Magnus the goodness, ax.

There will be a double symbolism in this action, as Hårek was also one of the leaders of the army that killed Magnus' father, Olav Haraldsson, during the battle of Stiklestad.

However, it is more clear than anywhere else at Snorre that it was not the controversy about Christianity, but about who should have the political and economic power, which was crucial to the Holes' opposition to Olav Haraldsson at Stiklestad. Just as Hårek had to share power with Åsmund Grankjellsson, Tore Hund had to share his upbringing with Karle from Langøya. It was these attempts to wing the old chiefs that caused the rebellion of the Holly Eyes to King Olav. Typically, it is Hårek, Tore Hund and Hårek's brother-in-law Kalv Arnesson from Trøndelag who Snorre refers to as the foremost leaders of the peasant army at Stiklestad.

Links

• https://snl.no/Tjøtta-ætten
• https://nbl.snl.no/Hårek_Øyvindsson_På_Tjøtta
• https://no.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A5rek_av_Tj%C3%B8tta
• http://www.torolvstein.no/sites/default/files/uploads/aettetavlen.pdf
• https://military.wikia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1rek_of_Tj%C3%B8tta

Source NORWEGIAN BIOGRAPHICAL LEXICON - https://nbl.snl.no/H%C3%A5rek_%C3%98yvindsson_P%C3%A5_Tj%C3%B8tta

Sources

• Birgitta Berglund (1995). The Tjøtta kingdom: an archaeological survey of power relations and center formation on the Helgeland coast from Kr. f. to 1700 AD. . Trondheim: UNIT, The Science Museum, Faculty of Archeology and Cultural History, Department of Archeology. ISBN 8290896913 . -
• Ståle Botn (1997). Lendmann and the Earl: a historical novel about Hårek Øyvindsson on Tjøtta . [Oslo]: Agricultural Extension. ISBN 8252922481 .
• HKR.
• T. Berntsen: From Legend to History, 1923
• H. Koht: biography in NBL1, vol. 6, 1934
• B. Wik and K. Pettersen: History of Helgeland, vol. 1, Mosjøen 1985
• HD Bratrein and E. Niemi: “Into the Realm”, in Northern Norwegian Cultural History, vol. 1, 1994
• B. Berglund: The Tjøtta Empire, PhD, Trondheim 1995
• S. Botn: Lendmann and Earl - A historical novel about Hårek Øyvindsson on Tjøtta, 1997
• Gerhard Schønings Norges riiges historie ...: deel. Fortale [af P. F. Suhm, by Gerhard Schøning - https://books.google.com/books?id=Oz9JAQAAMAAJ&pg=PT1&lpg=PT1&dq=Fi...
• Denies source information about the hollowheads, by Trond Gabrielsen , architect MNAL and historian HIFO, 16 October 2018 - http://finnmarkforlag.no/tese_2018_04.html
• VikingPedia / (Viking - Vikinger - Vikingr / History Book by SWD), by Sores Welat Demir - https://books.google.com/books?id=6BW9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA458&lpg=PA458&d...
• Romsdal Sogelag Årsskrift 2016, edited by Bjørn Austigard, Dag Skarstein, Rolf Strand - https://books.google.com/books?id=BKpCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA314&lpg=PA314&d...
• Billeder fra midnatssolens land. Bind 2, by Magdalene Thoresen - https://books.google.com/books?id=-84kDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT215&lpg=PT215&d...
• Romaner og fortaellinger: Billeder fra midnatsolens land, by Magdalene Thoresen - https://books.google.com/books?id=FWQPAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA483&lpg=PA483&d...

Snorre, Olav den Helliges saga, avsnitt 104:

Det var en mann som het Hårek, han var sønn til Øyvind Skaldespille. Han bodde på ei øy som heter Tjøtta, den er på Hålogaland. Øyvind hadde ikke vært noen svært rik mann, men ættstor og en mann det stod age av. Dengang bodde det bare småbønder på Tjøtta, og det var ikke få av dem. Hårek kjøpte først en gard der som ikke var svært stor; så flyttet han dit, og få år etter hadde han fått ryddet unna alle de bøndene som bodde der før, så at han eide hele øya alene, og der satte han opp en stor hovedgard. Hårek ble snart en grunnrik mann; han var en mann med godt vett som visste å komme seg fram. Han hadde lenge stått høyt hos høvdingene, han reknet seg i skyld til Norges konger, og derfor hadde Hårek mye å si hos landets høvdinger. Gunnhild, farmor til Hårek, var datter til Halvdan jarl og Ingebjørg som var datter til Harald Hårfagre.

---

Hårek fra Tjøtta (født i Alstahaug, 965, død 1036) var en vikinghøvding fra Tjøtta på Helgeland, i all vesentlighet kjent fra diverse beretninger om den tids stridigheter. Han regnet seg til ætten av Harald Hårfagre, og var sønn av Øyvind Skaldespiller som regjerte på Tjøttagodset. Hårek overtok gård og etterhvert tilgrensende eiendommer, og ble en av områdets rikeste med rett til innkreving av finneskatten. Han giftet seg med Ragnhild av Giskeætten.
Hårek var en tid lendmann under Olav Tryggvason og senere Olav Haraldsson. Dog, uenighet om avlønningen (sysselet) gjorde at Hårek, sammen med Tore Hund kom i opposisjon, og blant annet stoppet Olav Tryggvason på dennes tokt nordover i 996. Likevel var kongen innom i 999 og døpte Hårek. Hårek blir nevnt av Snorre Sturlason for klammeri med familien Grankjellson av Dønnesgodset, i anledning retten til å høste fjær og andre herligheter på kysten av Helgeland. I 1027 raidet Hårek øyene for fjær, men fangsten, menn og mangt ble tapt da de ble oppdaget av eieren Grankjell og sønnen Åsmund Grankjellson, på tilbakevegen. Hevntoktet året etter innebar en nedbrenning av Grankjellsons gods og Grankjell ble da drept. Hårek var med og ledet bondehæren under Slaget på Stiklestad i 1030, da nevnte Olav Haraldsson ble drept. Under et besøk sørover seks år senere, til kong Magnus Olavsson I, avdødes sønn, i Trondheim, ble Hårek øksedrept av kongens assistent, den nevnte nabo Åsmund Grankjellson som herved fikk sin hevn. Så sies det av Snorre Sturlasson.

https://nbl.snl.no/Hårek_Øyvindsson_På_Tjøtta

Snorre, Olav den Helliges saga, avsnitt 104:

The Tjøtta family, Norwegian chief executive, attached to the town center Tjøtta in Alstahaug municipality, Nordland. The family's ancestor was Øyvind Lambe from Berle in Nordfjord. He was the father of Finn Skjalge, who inherited the farm Sandnes furthest north of Alstahaug after his mother in the early 900's. Finn was married to Gunnhild (daughter of Halvdan Earl and according to the saga daughter daughter of Harald Hårfagre), and their son was Håkon the good friend Øyvind Finnsson Skaldespiller. He was the father of Hårek from Tjøtta (about 965-1036), who bought Tjøtta and moved there. Hårek's son was Lennart Einar Håreksson Fluga. The family's estate belonged to the late 13th century Bjarkøyetet.

https://snl.no/Tjøtta-ætten

https://nbl.snl.no/Hårek_Øyvindsson_På_Tjøtta