Einar Thambarskelfir

He made his debut both as a saga character and in the political arena at the sea Battle of Svolder in 1000, fighting on the losing side of Olaf Tryggvason.

Einar, together with Erling Skjalgsson, supported Lade jarl Sveinn Hákonarson against Olaf Haraldsson at the Battle at Nesjar in 1016.

While Sveinn had to flee the country after the battle, and Erling was forced to join an uneasy alliance with the new king, Einar remained unscathed.

This was more due to luck than calculation – when news of Olaf's presence in Trøndelag broke, Einarr was in England, making a political visit to the Anglo-Danish King Cnut the Great.

However, the Anglo-Danish king instead made his son Svein a viceroy, in effect placing his mother Ælfgifu in charge of his recent conquest.

Forming a political alliance with former Stiklestad peasant army leader Kalv Arnesson, he then proceeded to broker an agreement between the puppet king Magnus and the newly installed Danish ruler, Harthacnut, son of Cnut the Great.

Kalv Arnesson and Thorir Hund, two nobles who did, both faded out into insignificance; the latter perhaps forced to go to Jerusalem in search of forgiveness for killing the holy king.

At this point, Olaf Haraldsson's half-brother Harald Sigurdsson, later dubbed Hardrada (roughly "harsh ruler"),[4] returned with a vast fortune amassed as a military commander in Constantinople.

Conflict ensued, threatening civil war, and Einar began raising another peasants' army against the increasingly unpopular and tyrannical Harald.

[6] According to the saga, Einar Thambarskelfir played a crucial role both in terms of the sanctification of Olaf in 1031 and in the restoration of Magnus as Norwegian regent in 1035.