It tells of Hreiðarr, an apparently mentally disabled Icelandic man who travels to Norway in the time of the joint rule of the kings Magnús góði and Haraldr harðráði.
Hreiðarr befriends Magnús with his eccentric behaviour but incurs the wrath of Haraldr when he kills one of his courtiers.
The story is preserved as a part of Morkinskinna and its derivative, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna, but it may originally have existed as a separate written work.
Hreiðarr's character is portrayed as a strong-minded Icelander who refuses to entirely conform to the social conventions of the Norwegian court.
[3] While Hreiðarr has been discussed in the context of intellectual disability,[4] it is also a likely interpretation that his actions reflect that of a prototype for court jester, or trickster.