The Tale of Halldor Snorrason II (Old Norse: Halldórs þáttr Snorrasonar inn síðari; Icelandic: Halldórs þáttur snorrasonar hinn síðari) is the second Icelandic þættir of Halldor Snorrason.
A friend and naval commander of King Harald,[1] ancestor of Snorri Sturluson[2] and son of Snorri the Godi,[3] Halldor Snorrason II tells the tale of the conflict between him and King Harald.
[3] Halldor Snorrason is a friend of King Harald since before his reign, when he was in Constantinople's Varangian Guard.
Halldor wakes the king and queen, with sword drawn at his throat, demanding the gold.
The following season, he receives a message to rejoin the king's court stating that "he will have a higher place than any man of low birth".
[3] Although the þættir has been used to argue the link between the Icelandic and Norwegian identity,[4] it is important to note that throughout the tale Halldor is treated as, and definitively referred to as, a man of low birth, despite being the son of one of the most powerful Icelandic families.
The tale states directly,[3] King Harald distrusted Halldor because of his strength of character, especially when he was commanding other men.