Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson facts for kids

Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson was an important early settler in Iceland. His story, and the stories of other first settlers, are found in an old book called Landnámabók, which means "Book of Settlements."

Who Was Hjörleifr?

Hjörleifr was a close friend, almost like a brother, to Ingólfr Arnarson. Ingólfr is famous for being the very first Norse person to settle in Iceland in the late 800s.

How He Got His Name

Hjörleifr's original name was just Leifr. But one time, while he was on a raid in Ireland, he found a secret underground passage. There, he fought and defeated a man to get his sword. Because of this brave act, his name was changed to Hjörleifr. In the old Norse language, hjörr means 'sword', so his new name meant 'Sword-Leifr'.

Where He Settled

Hjörleifr chose to settle on a piece of land near a large mountain. This mountain, located east of a town called Vík, was later named Hjörleifshöfði in his honor.

His Tragic End

Sadly, Hjörleifr was later killed by his own thralls. Thralls were people who were forced to work, similar to slaves, and many of Hjörleifr's thralls were from Ireland or Scotland. These thralls ran away after killing him. However, Ingólfr Arnarson, Hjörleifr's blood brother, found the runaway thralls and killed them. This act saved the women who had been captured by the thralls.

See also

• List of slave owners