Thorfinn "the Black" Hlodvirsson ¹⁶⁸⁹

  General Notes:

Thorfinn Sigurdson was born around 1009, and was a boy of five when his father Sigurd was slain at the Battle of Clontarf near Dublin in 1014, leaving him in competition with his brothers (Sumarlidi, Einar and Brusi) for a share of the Norse earldom of Orkney.

Thorfinn was brought up under the protection of his maternal grandfather (Malcolm II, King of Scots), and was made Earl of Caithness and Sutherland on his father's death. When his brother Sumarlidi died (probably in 1019/1020), his share of the Earldom was taken by Einar, but he held it for only a short time before being killed in 1020 by Thorkell [either Sumarlidason or Amundison - Orkneyinga Saga is unclear on this identification], known as Fostri because he had been the foster father of Thorfinn when he was younger. A third of the earldom was then held by Brusi, with the other two thirds in dispute, and so both Thorfinn and Brusi sailed for Norway to petition the King for justice in their claims.

The earldom was split in three, with Thorfinn and Brusi each holding a third, and the King holding the remainder, over which he appointed Brusi as his steward. With the fall of Norway to Canute, Thorfinn bargained his way to control over two thirds of the earldom, and full control of its defenses. Brusi's death, perhaps around 1035, he gained full control of the Earldom.

Around 1040, the King of Scots tried to replace Thorfinn as Earl of Caithness, which led to two battles between the men of Orkney and the Scots - a sea battle at Deerness in Orkney, and on land at Tarbat Ness, and in both cases Thorfinn was victorious despite being outnumbered.

Thorfinn ruled alone in Orkney until the arrival of his nephew Rognvald Brusason, who claimed his father's third of the Earldom, plus the third owed to the King of Norway, claiming that King Magnus had granted him the stewardship of his lands. The earldom was again split, but in time the earls fell out and engaged in a battle at sea against each other, after which Rognvald tried to have Thorfinn burned to death while he was staying at a farm. Surviving the attempt, Thorfinn gathered his supporters and set the same trap for Rognvald, and although he escaped from the fire, he was tracked down and killed by Thorkel Fostri.

Thorfinn was now secure in his possession of the Earldom, so much so that when he visited King Harald of Norway after the death of Magnus, he extended his trip into a pilgrimage to Rome.

Thorfinn died around 1065, although the Orkneyinga Saga suggests that the held the rank of Earl for 75 years. He was succeeded by his two sons, Paul and Erlend, who ruled jointly. His wife, Ingeborg, being of the Scottish royal line, was married by Malcolm Canmore to secure his position.

Thorfinn is buried in the church at Orphir which he had built. 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 of course the king at this time is recorded as being Macbeth - some have theorised that they are the same person, since Macbeth seems to spring from nowhere, and the two are recorded as going on pilgrimage to Rome in the same year, but Macbeth is recorded as dying in 1057, leaving this idea as only a slim possibility. ¹⁶⁸⁸

Thorfinn married Ingibjorg Finnsdottir. (Ingibjorg Finnsdottir died before 1070 ¹⁶⁸⁸.)