Life in Harald's Court
Fleeing his attackers, Olvir joined King Harald's retinue as a court skald, a post he would hold for many years along with such notables as Þorbjörn Hornklofi and Þjóðólfr of Hvinir.
Olvir mollified the king's rage when Kveldulf refused to come pay homage by convincing Thorolf to join Harald's hird, or armed retinue. Along with Thorolf and Eyvind Lambi, Olvir fought on Harald's ship at the Battle of Hafrsfjord (probably around 885). Over the years, both as a result of slander by Thorolf's enemies, and of Thorolf's growing popularity and power in northern Norway, Harald began to see him as a threat; despite Olvir's continuous attempts to ameliorate the deterioration in the relationship between the two.
Even when the king attacked Thorolf's farm, Olvir still pleaded to save his kinsman's life. After Thorolf was killed by Harald, the king gave his body to Olvir for burial. Olvir tried to convince Harald to pay wergeld for Thorolf but the king consistently refused, claiming that Thorolf was a traitor. Ultimately, Olvir went to Fjordane to tell Kveldulf and Skallagrim Kveldulfsson of Thorolf's death. Skallagrim went with Olvir to King Harald after Thorolf's murder. He demanded compensation, or monetary compensation, which resulted in his being chased out of the king's court. Together with his father Kveldulf, and their kinsman Ketil Trout, Skalla-Grimr took revenge by killing those of Harald's servants who took part in Thorolf's killing before fleeing to Iceland.
Following these events, Olvir begged Harald to permit him to leave the court and return to his own estate, saying that he had "no desire to sit with the men who murdered Thorolf". The king, however, refused, and, in the words of William Pencak, "Olvir, the would-be peacemaker who sold out to the king, is condemned to a life of praising his family's murderers."
Olvir's subsequent fate is not recorded. There is no record of his ever having married or having had children.
The Hauksbók contains a tale called the Skaldasaga Haralds harfagra ("Saga of the Skalds of Harald Fairhair") describing an expedition to Sweden undertaken by Olvir, Thorbjorn Hornklofi, and Audun Ill-skald to expiate an offense. Its historiocity is disputed.
Read more about this topic: Olvir Hnufa
Famous quotes containing the words life in, life and/or court:
“That’s playgirl stuff, Brownie. I’ve seen them in London, Paris, Rome. They start life in a New York nightclub and end up covering the world like a paid advertisement. Not an honest feeling from her kneecap to her neck.”
—John Lee Mahin (1902–1984)
“The more the development of late capitalism renders obsolete or at least suspect the real possibilities of self, self- fulfillment and actualization, the more they are emphasized as if they could spring to life through an act of will alone.”
—Richard Dean Rosen (b. 1949)
“GOETHE, raised o’er joy and strife,
Drew the firm lines of Fate and Life,
And brought Olympian wisdom down
To court and mar, to gown and town,
Stooping, his finger wrote in clay
The open secret of to-day.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)