Tormod Kark

Tormod Kark (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a slave in Viking Age Norway. He appears in the saga Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar.

Biography His life was closely tied to Haakon Sigurdsson (c. 937 – 995). In 995, a quarrel broke out between Haakon and Olaf Tryggvason (ca 960 –1000) just as Olaf had arrived back in Norway. Hoping for a reward, Tormod Kark killed Haakon and brought his head to Olaf who would become king of Norway. The murder happened at Rimul in Melhus. However, as a punishment for betraying his lord, Kark was himself decapitated, and his head reputedly sat on a stake in Munkholmen alongside Haakon's head. The events are described in the Saga of King Olaf Tryggvason.

Tormod's Sourcing Problems There are a plethora of sources and Icelandic sagas about Haakon Sigurdsson and Olaf Tryggvason, but Tormod is only mentioned within those sources, and not in any standalone manuscripts. Tormod is a strange case, in which a slave was important enough to have been named within Icelandic sagas but not enough of an exception to get his own writing. There are a few sagas that refer to his death, and none about how he lived, meaning all evidence about Tormod’s life as a slave is evidenced from secondary sources and arguments about Scandinavian slavery. Two main sagas include Tormod’s death, the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason by Oddr Snorrason, and the collection Heimskringla attributed to Snorri Sturluson. However, the sagas have questionable authorship, and there are many debates about their usefulness and the extent to which they are fantastical.

Oddr Snorrason’s Saga of Olaf Tryggvason is potentially the earliest known saga for Olaf Tryggvason. Another work titled the Oldest Saga of Saint Olaf or the preserved version the Legendary Saga of Saint Olaf, has been dated as early as 1155, and as late as 1200. The actual saga itself has questionable sources, and evidence, which has forced historians to debate the definition of fantastical works in the sagas. Many elements of Oddr’s saga attempt to dismiss the disbelief that the reader of the 13th century may have. It’s possible that Oddr knew this, and attempted to convince the reader that the events of the saga where true. Although in the saga, Oddr also refers to what (other) people have said, rather than citing specific sources.

The Heimskringla is a collection of sagas that is typically attributed to Snorri Sturluson, but his authorship has been debated. The debate of authorship stems from the lack of written source within the saga, but based on Snorri’s expertise in history and as a politician in Iceland, he was the prime candidate. The debates surrounding Scandinavian slavery are broad because of the significant lack of written and archaeological evidence. As a result, many Scandinavian historians use a mixture of the Icelandic sagas, provincial laws, and personal accounts from Europeans and Muslims to gauge the extent of the Scandinavian slave trade, and how Scandinavian slavery functioned. As mentioned in the sourcing section, using the Sagas for textual evidence of slavery can be difficult because of their often-hagiographical motifs and fantastical elements, but are still useful, nonetheless. The provincial laws, nonetheless. However, provincial laws and personal accounts can be one of the most important sources we have for constructing slavery in Scandinavia. In contrast to the accounts of the Arabic traders, written sources from Ireland like the Annals of Ulster record that many slaves from Ireland were taken and transported to Scandinavia and especially Iceland. The terms seta, deigja, pjonn, and bryti, were also all special to different slaves and suggested different functions. However, domestically the fostri for males, and fostra for women, would have referred to those raised on a farm, and suggest they were domestic slaves. The difference in terminology between slaves suggests a rigid slave structure in Scandinavian society but also suggests a difference between domestic and foreign slaves.

One of the largest open debates about the effects of slavery on Europe and especially the involvement of Scandinavians revolves around the whole European economy. Newer opinions on the extent of the Scandinavian and Viking slave trade networks place it at a greater extent than previously thought. Older consensus largely disregards Vikings and Scandinavians and the extent of their influence in trading slaves in Eastern Europe. As seen from the written sources of the Arabic traders, the influence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe shouldn’t be understated. Slave raiding and trading in the British Isles picked up from the 8th century to the 11th century due to increased Viking raids and involvement. The increase in the slave trade in the British Isles also coincided with a large increase in Muslim slave demand. One major difference between the two areas of trading, is that slave trading in the British Isles were documented much more, and especially by the Irish. The Celtic regions have more documentation regarding slavery, coincidentally the same region Tormod is believed to be from, based on his last name of Celtic origin. The newest consensus regarding a slave driven market in Europe is that Northern Europeans and especially Scandinavians were poised at the center to take advantage of a growing Muslim slave market. This is an indicator that the increasing raids on the British Isles and Northern Europe were driven by Scandinavians and that Tormod existed within that slave system.

Tormod is an exceptional case, existing inside of a hotly contested 10th century, where historians have argued over how influential and expansive the Scandinavian slave trade was. He was also part of a domestic slave system which was unusual for foreign slaves, with him more likely being closer to a bryti slave than anything else. The use of provincial laws, linguistics, and accounts from the traders show that slavery in Scandinavia was complex, and although the sourcing can be questionable, it's clear that Tormod existed in an under-explored but very important period for Europe moving into the 11th and 12th centuries.

Death According to Icelandic Sagas Below are two explorations of Tormod’s death according to Oddr and Snorri, from the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason and the Heimskringla respectively. The comparison of the two deaths is helpful when comparing a source with many fantastical elements and hagiographic motifs, that of Oddr, and the collection of sagas generally deemed to be more grounded, by Snorri. The death of Tormod is important in its association and narrative ties to the death of Haakon and paganism in Scandinavia. Tormod was one of few slaves in Scandinavia whose name is known, while simultaneously sitting at a turning point in Scandinavian slavery and conversion to Christianity.

Oddr Snorrason has one version of Tormod’s death in the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason. After a local rebellion rose against Hakon Sigurdsson from Gaulardalr. After being alerted to the rebellion, Hakon and his slaves, including Tormod, boarded boats to escape via the local fjord. Soon after embarking, Hakon, Tormod, and a few other men turned back toward shore to avoid the inbound ships of Olaf Tryggvasonar. Tormod and fellow slaves began the trek to Gaulardalr with Hakon to escape Olaf. Tormod was the only slave remaining with Hakon when he made it to a local farm called Rimull, where they would hide from Olaf’s hunting party. Inside the pigsty of Rimull, both Tormod and Hakon overheard Olaf give a speech offering reward to anyone who brought him Hakon’s head. While hiding Tormod had four dreams: A dream of escaping on boat, a dream of Hakon’s son’s death, a dream of their impending death, and finally a dream of Olaf rewarding him for killing Hakon. When Hakon fell asleep Tormod decapitated him and brought his head to Olaf for reward. Upon receiving Hakon’s head, Olaf had Tormod hanged for betraying Hakon.

Snorri Sturluson gives another version of Tormod’s death in the Heimskringla. Similarly, to Oddr’s version, Hakon embarks from Meðalhús after a local rebellion originating in Gaulardalr. Hakon sends his son out to the fjord and embarks to the Jarlshellir himself (Jarl’s Cave) with only Tormod. In the cave Tormod had two dreams: the first, that Hakon’s son sent to the fjord was dead, and two, that all their escape routes had been closed. Tormod and Hakon then traveled to Rimull, hiding inside of a pigsty to evade Olaf Tryggvason’s hunting party. Hakon notes that Tormod is unusually dark and that they have the same birthday which meant they would die at the same time if Tormod betrayed him. After hearing Olaf give a speech outside of the pigsty to anyone who killed Hakon, Tormod had another dream of Olaf placing a golden necklace onto him. During the night while Hakon slept, he made noises that Tormod worried would alert Olaf, and so he cut Hakon’s throat and eventually decapitated him out of panic. After Tormod brought Hakon’s head to Olaf, Olaf had Tormod taken away to have his own head cut off. Both of the heads were taken to Niðarhólmr and put on display for Olaf’s army.