Harald Fairhair was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from c. 872 to 930 and was the first King of Norway. Supposedly, two of his sons, Eric Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good, succeeded Harald to become kings after his death.
Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, also known as Leif the Lucky, was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have set foot on continental North America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According to the sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, which is usually interpreted as being coastal North America. There is ongoing speculation that the settlement made by Leif and his crew corresponds to the remains of a Norse settlement found in Newfoundland, Canada, called L'Anse aux Meadows, which was occupied approximately 1,000 years ago.
Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir was an Icelandic explorer, born at Laugarbrekka in Snæfellsnes, Iceland.
The Saga of Erik the Red, in Old Norse: Eiríks saga rauða, is an Icelandic saga on the Norse exploration of North America. The original saga is thought to have been written in the 13th century. It is preserved in somewhat different versions in two manuscripts: Hauksbók and Skálholtsbók.
Snorri Þorbrandsson was a 10th-century Icelandic warrior. The main sources of Snorri's life are the semi-historical Icelandic sagas.
Hrafnkels saga or Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It tells of struggles between chieftains and farmers in the east of Iceland in the 10th century. The eponymous main character, Hrafnkell, starts out his career as a fearsome duelist and a dedicated worshiper of the god Freyr. After suffering defeat, humiliation, and the destruction of his temple, he becomes an atheist. His character changes and he becomes more peaceful in dealing with others. After gradually rebuilding his power base for several years, he achieves revenge against his enemies and lives out the rest of his life as a powerful and respected chieftain. The saga has been interpreted as the story of a man who arrives at the conclusion that the true basis of power does not lie in the favor of the gods but in the loyalty of one's subordinates.
Gísla saga Súrssonar is one of the sagas of Icelanders. It tells the story of Gísli, a tragic hero who must kill one of his brothers-in-law to avenge another brother-in-law. Gisli is forced to stay on the run for thirteen years before he is hunted down and killed. The events depicted in the saga take place between 860 and 980. The saga existed in oral tradition until it was recorded, most likely in the 13th century.
Eyrbyggja saga is one of the Icelanders' sagas; its title can be translated as The Saga of the People of Eyri. It was written by an anonymous writer, who describes a long-standing feud between Snorri Goði and Arnkel Goði, two strong chieftains within the Norse community that settled in Iceland. The title is slightly misleading as it deals also with the clans from Þórsnes and Alptafjörðr on Iceland. The most central character is Snorri Þorgrímsson, referred to as Snorri Goði and Snorri the Priest. Snorri was the nephew of the hero of Gísla saga, and is also featured prominently in Njáls saga and Laxdœla saga. Another main interest of the Eyrbyggja Saga is to trace a few key families as they settled Iceland, specifically around the Snæfellsnes peninsula.
Thorfinn Sigurdsson, also known as Thorfinn the Mighty, was an 11th-century Jarl of Orkney. He was the youngest of five sons of Jarl Sigurd Hlodvirsson and the only one resulting from Sigurd's marriage to a daughter of Malcolm II of Scotland. He ruled alone as jarl for about a third of the time that he held the title and jointly with one or more of his brothers or with his nephew Rögnvald Brusason for the remainder. Thorfinn married Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, daughter of Finn Arnesson, Jarl of Halland.
Vinland Saga is a Japanese historical manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Yukimura. The series is published by Kodansha, and was first serialized in the boys youth-targeted manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine before moving to the monthly manga magazine Monthly Afternoon, aimed at young adult men. As of May 2022, its chapters have been collected in 26 tankōbon volumes. Vinland Saga has been licensed for English-language publication by Kodansha USA.
Bolli Bollason was a key historical character in the Medieval Icelandic Laxdæla saga, born around 1000. He grew up in Orlygsstadir, at Helgafell on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in Iceland. He divided his time between Helgafell and Tunga, the home of Snorri the Goði. He was held in the highest regard among the contemporary Scandinavian rulers, and also in the Eastern Roman Empire. It is believed that he had reached the rank of manglabites in the Eastern Roman army, and on his return to Iceland, his finery and recognition earned him the name "Bolli the Elegant".
Guðrún Ósvífsdóttir, was an Icelandic woman who was famed for her great wisdom and beauty. She was married four times. She is the main protagonist of the Medieval Icelandic Laxdœla saga, which recounts the history of the People of Laxárdalur. It is widely thought that the saga represents some historical fact.
Thorkel of Namdalen was a Norwegian jarl in Namdalen who lived in the mid to late ninth century CE. Thorkel married Hrafnhilda, the daughter of Ketil Trout of Hrafnista. Their son, named Ketil Trout after his grandfather, was to become one of the major players in the early settlement of Iceland. Through Ketil Thorkel was the grandfather of Hrafn Haengsson, the first lawspeaker of Iceland.
Ljósvetninga saga is one of the sagas of Icelanders, commonly dated to the thirteenth century and takes place between the end of the tenth century to the mid-eleventh century in the North of Iceland. The saga's main character is Guðmundr inn ríki Eyjólfsson, a powerful chieftain from North-Iceland's Eyjafjörður district. In the early-twentieth century it was an important part of the freeprose-bookprose debate of the oral vs. literary origins of the sagas of Icelanders, due to its problematic manuscript transmission.
Kári Sölmundarson was a Hebridean viking and soldier of fortune who lived in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. He is a major character in Njál's Saga. Kári was the son of Solmund, who was the son of Thorbjorn "Jarl's Champion," an Icelander exiled before the establishment of the Althing for murder.
Olaf the Peacock or Olaf Hoskuldsson was a merchant and chieftain of the early Icelandic Commonwealth, who was nicknamed "the Peacock" because of his proud bearing and magnificent wardrobe. He is a major character in the Laxdæla saga and is mentioned in a number of other Icelandic sources. The son of a slave woman, Olaf became one of the wealthiest landowners in Iceland and played a major role in its politics and society during the latter half of the tenth century. In addition to the Laxdæla Saga in which he takes a leading role, Olaf also is mentioned in Egils saga, Njáls saga, Gunnlaugs saga, Kormáks saga, Grettirs saga and the Landnámabók, among others.
Olaf Feilan Thorsteinsson was an Icelandic gothi of the Settlement period. He was the son of Thorstein the Red, jarl of Caithness, and his wife Thurid Eyvindsdottir. The byname "feilan" is derived from the Old Irish fáelán, meaning wolfling or little wolf.
Helga Moddansdóttir was the mistress of Haakon Paulsson who was Earl of Orkney from 1105 to 1123.
Thorfinn is the protagonist of the manga Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura. He is a teenage warrior in Askeladd's company, though he hates his commander for slaying his father Thors and has sworn to kill him in a duel. To earn the right to engage in these duels, he must complete difficult feats for Askeladd, such as sabotage or the killing of enemy generals. After over a decade of being a viking, the grown up Thorfinn starts questioning his actions and reflects on his original dream.
