Olaf The Peacock - Return To Iceland

Return To Iceland

Olaf returned home around 957 with great wealth. Upon his return, his father Hoskuld arranged a marriage for him with Thorgerd Egilsdottir, the daughter of Egil Skallagrimsson. Thorgerd was initially reluctant to marry the son of a slave, refusing to believe that Olaf's mother was a princess. However, she ultimately agreed to the match after an hours-long private conversation with Olaf. At the wedding Olaf gave Egil an ornate sword from Ireland. Olaf and Thorgerd lived happily together at Hoskuldstead for some time. Around 962 Olaf's foster father Thord died, leaving Olaf his property and goðorð Olaf bought land and built a new homestead at Hjardarholt, which, according to the saga, he had to cleanse of the draugr of its former owner, Killer-Hrapp. As time went on people began to settle near Olaf's hall and regarded him as their goði. Olaf's ever-increasing wealth caused jealousy from Hoskuld's wife Jorunn. Around the same time Olaf and Thorgerd had a daughter, Thurid. Hjardarholt was renowned for its rich decorations; some two decades later, the skald Úlfr Uggason composed the famous poem Húsdrápa, about certain mythological scenes illustrated on the walls of Olaf's hall.

Olaf's half-sister Hallgerd Hoskuldsdottir married Gunnar Hámundarson, a chieftain who lived at Hlíðarendi in southern Iceland, during this period. Olaf and Gunnar became close friends.

Hoskuld died around 965, leaving Olaf a full mark of gold, causing tension between Olaf and Hoskuld's legitimate sons, Bard and Thorleik. As an illegitimate son, Olaf was entitled to one mark of his father's wealth; this was, however, customarily understood to be a mark of silver and not gold. Olaf eased the tension by paying one-third of the communal funeral feast for Hoskuld.

Olaf and Thorgerd had a number of children after Thurid, the sons Kjartan (named after King Myrkjartan), Steinthor, Halldor, Helgi, and Hoskuld and the daughters Thorbjorg, Thorgerd and Berghora. The ill-fated Kjartan would be his father's favorite.