Olaf The Peacock - Career Abroad

Career Abroad

Around 956, Olaf, at Melkorka's urging, decided to go abroad to seek his fortune. Hoskuld was opposed and would not provide trade wares, and the property of Olaf's foster-father Thord was mostly in immobile goods and land. In part to arrange financing for his expedition, his mother Melkorka married Thorbjorn the Feeble, a farmer who had previously assisted her in the management of Melkorkustead. Melkorka and Thorbjorn had a son named Lambi. Olaf sailed to Norway with Orn, a sea-captain and hirdman of King Harald Greycloak. He gained great honor at Harald's court, and was a favorite of the king's mother Gunnhild, who had, according to Icelandic sources, been the lover of Olaf's uncle Hrut Herjolfsson. When Olaf expressed a desire to find his mother's people in Ireland, Gunnhild financed his voyage.

Olaf set sail for Ireland with Orm to find his mother's people, taking with him tokens and gifts from Melkorka to her father and her nursemaid. During the voyage, their ship became lost in a fog. When the fog lifted, an argument arose between Orn and most of the rest of Olaf's men about the proper course to reach Ireland. When ask if the decision should be put to a vote of the majority, Olaf is supposed to have said, "I want only the shrewdest to decide; in my opinion the counsel of fools is all the more dangerous the more of them there are." With those words, the matter was accepted as settled, and Orn took charge of the navigation.

Upon arriving in Ireland they were stranded far outside the protection of the Norse-Gaelic longphorts. The ship was attacked by local Irishmen, despite the efforts of Olaf, who spoke the Gaelic language, to negotiate safe passage with them.

As luck would have it, the local king arrived on the scene, and proved to be Olaf's alleged grandfather Myrkjartan. Olaf remained with Myrkjartan for a time, and the king, according to Laxdaela Saga, even offered to make Olaf his heir. Olaf, however, ultimately returned to Norway, afraid of provoking Myrkjartan's sons. Olaf returned to the court of King Harald, where he was greatly honored by both the king and his mother Gunnhild.