text: olvir rosta olvir rosta ( old norse : ölvir rósta , and ölvir ) , also known as aulver rosta , is a character within the mediaeval orkneyinga saga , who is purported to have lived during the early 12th century . his old norse byname , rósta , means " brawl " , " riot " . his name , and byname , appear variously in english secondary sources . ölvir appears in the saga as the son of þorljót , and steinnvör ' the stout ' . the mother of steinnvör is frakökk , who has been described as one of the great villains of the entire saga . one of frakökk 's sisters , helga , is the concubine of earl hákon pálsson . part of the saga relates of how the earldom of orkney is for a time jointly run by half - brothers — haraldr hákonsson and páll hákonsson , who are both sons of earl hákon . with the death of earl haraldr , son of helga , frakökk 's family falls out of favour , and are forced to leave orkney . in time , frakökk conspire with the father of earl rögnvaldr , and agrees to a plan to take the orkney by force and split it with earl rögnvaldr . she and ölvir eventually make their way to the suðreyjar , and may their return in a bid to win half of the earldom . however , their small fleet of ships are defeated in battle against earl páll . the saga also tells of how ölvir kills an orkney chieftain who fought against him during the sea - battle — by burning the man to death within his house . the chieftain 's vengeful son later tracks down ölvir and frakökk , at their own home in sutherland . after a short battle behind their homestead , ölvir 's men are routed and frakökk is burned to death within her house ; ölvir flees from the scene , making for the suðreyjar , and is not heard from again . ölvir has also been associated with several places in sutherland , some of which may bear his name . it has been proposed that ölvir rosta may be an ancestor of either one of two scottish clans from the outer hebridean island of lewis . in 1962 a runestone was uncovered in the inner hebrides which bore the name ölvir . it has been suggested that the men mentioned on this stone were family relations of ölvir . background ölvir rósta , is a character in the mediaeval orkneyinga saga . his name in old norse is ölvir rósta . the 17th - century icelandic historian þormóður torfason , who wrote latin histories which covered events the northern isles and north - east of scotland , rendered ölvir 's name as aulver rosta . ölvir 's byname , rósta , means " brawl " , " riot " . both his name and byname are represented various ways in english secondary sources . the saga describes him as " the tallest of men , and strong in limb , exceedingly overbearing , and a great fighter " . the orkneyinga saga states that ölvir was the son of þorljót , from . the 19th - century historian joseph anderson was of the opinion that likely refers to rackwick on the island of hoy , orkney ; or possibly , but less likely , to rackwick on the island of westray , orkney . the saga states that ölvir 's mother was þorljót 's wife , steinnvör ' the stout ' . ölvir 's parents had several other children in the saga : sons magnús , , moddan , ; and daughter . steinnvör 's mother is given as frakökk ; her father was frakökk 's husband , ljótr ' villain ' , from sutherland . the saga states that frakökk was a daughter of moddan , a wealthy and noble farmer from i dali , " dale " . according to 21st - century historian gareth williams , this probably refers to a dale within the " dales of caithness " . the 21st - century historian barbara crawford stated that the dales of caithness refer to " that part of caithness which includes the river valleys running down towards the pentland firth " . the saga records that another daughter of moddan 's was helga , who was the concubine of the orcadian earl , hákon pálsson , and the mother of the earl 's son , earl haraldr hákonsson . according to the saga , frakökk 's brothers included : ' the generous ' ; and earl óttarr , from thurso , who is described as " a man worthy of honour " . the saga declares that the descendants of moddan " were high - born and thought a lot of themselves " , and williams suggested that they could be related to a powerful dynasty in the irish sea zone that included an óttarr who seized control of the kingdom of dublin in 1142 . williams noted that frakökk appears as one of the great villains of the orkneyinga saga . williams noted that while some of moddan 's descendants had legitimate claims for the earldom , frakökk did not — however , she made a claim on behalf of her descendants , specifically ölvir . williams was of the opinion that the power base of moddan , and his son earl óttarr , was in caithness and sutherland , not in orkney . the saga states that frakökk held lands , which according to williams , were located near the modern town of helmsdale , sutherland . williams noted that the saga specifically states that frakökk 's husband was from and in consequence , williams considered that these lands probably passed to her through her marriage . the size of these lands is unknown . crawford suggested that they covered most of sutherland : that after the frakökk 's death , and the departure of ölvir , the lands were inherited by her relative eiríkr ' stay - ' ( see illustrated family tree ) , and in turn by his son , before passing into the possession of the de moravia family . in williams ' opinion , crawford may have exaggerated the extent of these lands somewhat . williams observed that another base of power for frakökk and ölvir may have been the suðreyjar ( " southern islands " ) — which can include both the hebrides , and the isle of man . the saga states at one point , frakökk and ölvir travelled to the suðreyjar to gather ships and men ; later the suðreyjar are the destination of ölvir in his last appearance in the saga . williams noted that the suðreyjar appear many times in the sagas as a target for raids , and conquests , for orcadian earls ; as well as being the source for attacks on the earldom itself . williams also noted that it is possible that saga 's association of frakökk and ölvir with the suðreyjar may be a red - herring . he stated that " if there was an orcadian tradition of the suðreyjar as a haunt of ne ’ er - do - wells , this would provide an alternative explanation for the references within orkneyinga saga , including those to do with moddan 's family " . even so , williams considered that the saga seems to imply that the family had dynastic connections with important individuals of the suðreyjar , including ' óláfr ' ' , king of mann and the isles . orkneyinga saga the main source for the life of ölvir is the orkneyinga saga , which was compiled sometime around 1200 by an unknown icelander . the saga is thought to have been based upon poetry , oral tradition , and other written material . the original version ended with the death of sveinn ásleifarson ( who is portrayed as an enemy of ölvir and frakökk ) . the saga is considered to become more accurate as events approach the writer 's own time . in the late 14th century , the saga was revised and edited and included in the icelandic . the saga can be summed up as an account of the lives of many of the earls of orkney , from the 9th to 13th centuries . according to research fellow ian , the saga is useful not for the specific events it describes , but rather for the ability to learn of " the ideas shaping the texts during the periods of composition or revision " . for example , it is possible that even one of the main characters of the saga , sveinn ásleifarson , never existed ; or at least it is quite possible that the historical sveinn was different from the saga 's portrayal of him . another source which mentions ölvir is þormóður torfason 's 17th - century history of orkney , which follows the orkneyinga saga . frakökk , and helga , forced out of orkney by earl páll the orkneyinga saga relates how after the death of earl hákon pálsson , his sons , haraldr hákonsson , and páll hákonsson , divided the earldom between themselves . however , the half - brothers soon began to disagree with one another , and their vassals divided into competing factions . the saga relates how one day frakökk , and her sister helga ( mother of earl haraldr ) , were sewing a snow - white garment embroidered with gold . this garment was enchanted , and the two sisters had intended it for earl haraldr 's half - brother , earl páll . unfortunately for the sisters , earl haraldr noticed the beautiful garment and , despite their protestations , put the garment on and soon after died . the saga states that earl páll immediately took control of his deceased half - brother 's possessions , and that he was highly suspicious of the two sisters . in consequence , frakökk and helga were no longer welcome in the earldom , and they left for caithness , and from there move to sutherland where frakökk had an estate . in time , several of frakökk 's descendants were brought up in sutherland — including her daughter , steinnvör ' the stout ' , and grandson , ölvir . alliance with earl rögnvaldr against earl páll the saga relates of how , during an earlier time , kali kolsson assisted haraldr gille in being recognised as an illegitimate son of the deceased norwegian king , magnús ' barefoot ' . in consequence , the reigning king , sigurðr magnússon , was haraldr gille 's half - brother . the norwegian king , appointed kali as an earl of one half of orkney , and also had kali 's name changed to rögnvaldr ( after a prominent earl from the past ) . on the death of sigurðr , his son , magnús sigurðarson , succeeded to the kingdom . when haraldr gille learned of sigurðr 's death he gathered his supporters and successfully underwent an ordeal to prove his paternity , and was accepted as king of one half of the kingdom . for three years the joint - kings maintained an uneasy peace with one another , but on the fourth year hostilities finally broke out . a battle was fought where the vastly outnumbered haraldr gille was defeated ; in consequence he fled to the protection of the king of denmark . the following yule - tide , haraldr gille returned to norway , captured magnús and maimed him . haraldr gille then became king of the entire kingdom . that spring , in recognition for rögnvaldr 's assistance , the king renewed the grant of islands and the title of earl to rögnvaldr . james gray , who summarised the events depicted within the saga , dated the death of sigurðr magnússon to the year 1126 ; he dated the capture and mutilation of magnús sigurðarson to 1135 . according to the saga , sometime after haraldr gille 's victory over magnús sigurðarson , earl rögnvaldr 's father , kolr , sent messengers to earl páll , demanding that earl páll hand over the lands which the norwegian king had granted to earl rögnvaldr . when earl páll refused this , kolr 's messengers proceeded to caithness , where frakökk lived . the messengers related to frakökk of kolr 's proposal — that if she and ölvir were to defeat earl páll , half of the earldom would be theirs . frakökk agreed to the plan , saying that she would attack in mid - summer ; she promised that during upcoming winter she would gather forces from her kinsmen , friends , and connections in scotland and the suðreyjar for the task . the next winter earl rögnvaldr and two of his chiefs , and jón , gathered a force of men and about five or six ships for their expedition . the following summer their forces sailed from norway to shetland , where they were well received by the local bondsmen . meanwhile , frakökk and ölvir assembled a small fleet of twelve ships in the suðreyjar — although the saga describes the ships as small and poorly manned . at the middle of summer , frakökk and ölvir sailed for orkney to fulfil their pledge of wresting the earldom from earl páll . sea - battle against earl páll according to the orkneyinga saga , when earl páll herd of earl rögnvaldr 's arrival in shetland , he held council and decided to immediately gather forces and attack earl rögnvaldr before he could be reinforced by the incoming men he knew were coming from the suðreyjar . that night earl páll was joined by five chieftains , with four ships — this brings his total forces to five ships . the fleet sailed to rousay , where they arrive at sunset . during the night the force is further strengthened by arriving men . in the morning , as the fleet is about to set out for shetland to meet earl rögnvaldr , about ten or twelve ships were spotted coming from the pentland firth . earl páll and his men were certain these ships were those of frakökk and ölvir ; in consequence , the earl ordered the fleet to intercept . the saga states that when ölvir 's ships were east of tankerness , they then sailed west from head , deerness . by this time , earl páll was further strengthened by a chieftain from tankerness . the earl then ordered his ships to be bound together , and for a bondi to gather stones for the upcoming battle . when the earl and his troops have fully prepared themselves , the saga states that ölvir 's forces made their attack . although the saga states that the forces of ölvir were superior in numbers to those of earl páll , it also notes that ölvir 's ships were smaller . ölvir brought his own ship up next to the earl 's , where the fighting was the fiercest . one of the earl 's chieftains , ólafr hrólfsson , attacked ölvir 's smallest ships , and cleared three of them in a short time . ölvir urged his men forward and was the first to board earl páll 's own ship . when he spotted earl páll , ölvir threw a spear at him , and although it was blocked by a shield , the force of the blow knocked the earl onto the deck . with the fall of earl páll , a great shout goes up ; but just at that moment , one of the earl 's best men , sveinn ' ' , hurled a large stone at ölvir , hitting him square in the chest and knocked him overboard . although ölvir 's men dragged him from the water , it was unclear to the whether he lived or not . ölvir 's disheartened men were driven off the earl 's ship , and began to withdraw . ölvir eventually recovered his wits , but was unable to rally his troops — the battle was lost . earl páll pursued ölvir 's fleeing fleet into the pentland firth , before giving up the chase . five of ölvir 's ships were left behind , and were captured and manned by the forces loyal to earl páll . the earl is later further strengthened by two longships , and his forces swells to twelve ships . the next day , earl páll sailed to shetland , where he destroyed earl rögnvaldr 's fleet . although , earl rögnvaldr 's forces remained on shetland itself , earl páll successfully held onto the earldom . gray stated that these battles were fought in the year 1136 . burning of óláfr hrólfsson the orkneyinga saga states that three days before yule , ölvir , and his band of men , arrived in duncansby . williams stated that the farm of duncansby , located near the dales of caithness , was then in hands of an orkney chieftain , óláfr hrólfsson . joshua prescott stated that óláfr appears to have been earl páll 's main supporter in caithness ; according to williams , óláfr appears to have held these lands directly from the earls of orkney , rather than as a family possession . the saga relates of how at duncansby , ölvir and his party surprised óláfr within his own house . they then set fire to the house , and burn óláfr to death within . ölvir and his men took all the movable property they could get their hands on , before leaving the scene . when earl páll heard of what has happened , he takes - in the slain chieftain 's son , sveinn óláfsson . with the death of his father , sveinn óláfsson becomes known as sveinn ásleifarson — after his mother . such house - burnings — in which individuals are burnt to death , or slain as they flee the fire — are found throughout the sagas as a part of blood feuds . the saga states that some time later , sveinn , who has spent time in the suðreyjar and atholl , returned to orkney . on his way , sveinn he stopped at thurso , where his accomplice , ljótólfr , negotiated a truce between sveinn and frakökk 's brother , earl óttarr . the earl paid sveinn compensation for the death of óláfr , and promised his friendship . in return , sveinn promised to aid earl óttarr 's relative , haraldsson , in a possible bid for the earldom of orkney . defeat of ölvir , and the burning of frakökk the saga states that some time later , sveinn approached earl rögnvaldr , and asked the earl for men and ships to take vengeance upon ölvir and frakökk who were involved in the burning of his father . the earl consented to this request , and gave sveinn two ships . sveinn travelled south to , and then west to the trading place of dúfeyrar . according to anderson , may refer to the moray firth ; and dúfeyrar likely refers to the shore in the parish of duffus , on the coast of moray . the saga states that from dúfeyrar , sveinn travelled to ekkialsbakki , and from there went to atholl , where he met earl maddaðr . anderson stated that ekkialsbakki , in this case , likely refers to the coast on the moray firth , next to atholl ; the 19th - century historian william forbes skene agreed with this , specifically locating it to findhorn , where ships could enter an estuary and follow a route into atholl . however , hermann pálsson and paul geoffrey edwards , in their 1981 translation of the saga , identified the town of banff with dúfeyrar , and the river with ekkialsbakki . the saga then relates how the earl maddaðr gave sveinn guides , and how sveinn travelled through the interior of the country — over mountains , and through woods , away from inhabited areas — until he came upon strath helmsdale , near where ölvir and frakökk lived . williams stated that since the saga records that sveinn approached the area by land , the site of ölvir and frakökk 's estate was probably located somewhere in the dale of helmsdale — not where the modern village is situated on the coast . williams also noted that this area was quite remote from orkney , and that it may have been outside of the control of the earldom . the saga states that ölvir and frakökk had spies on the lookout ; however , because of the route taken by sveinn , they were unaware of his presence until occupied a certain slope behind their homestead . the saga states that ölvir and sixty of his men confronted sveinn , although þormóður torfason 's account of the incident gives forty . after a short clash , the saga states that , ölvir 's men soon gave way , and many were killed in the ensuing rout . ölvir survived the clash , and fled up helmsdale river . meanwhile , sveinn and his men continued on towards the houses . the area was plundered , and the houses were burnt to the ground with their inmates still inside — and in this way frakökk perished . the saga states that sveinn and his men committed many ravages in sutherland before returning home . upon reaching the river , ölvir fled through the mountains , and is last heard making for the suðreyjar ; he is not mentioned again within the orkneyinga saga . later on within the saga , another of frakökk 's grandsons , ' clerk ' , who is a brother - in - law and close friend of sveinn , has two of sveinn 's men killed for their part in the burning . while the saga records that frakökk was killed to avenge the burning of óláfr , recently scholars angelo forte , richard oram , and frederick pedersen , stated that her fate was actually sealed by her support of haraldsson 's bid for the earldom , over the claim of haraldr maddaðarson . haraldr was the son of earl maddaðr , and margrét ( married in about 1134 ) . margrét was a niece of frakökk , and earl maddaðr was possibly a cousin of the david i. the union between earl maddaðr and margrét benefited the scottish crown by increasing scottish influence in the north at the expense of norwegian influence . also , in the 1120s and 1130s , david i had faced challenges to his authority . a large part of the support for these challengers came from moray and ross — these lands were directly between the northern lands of caithness and orkney , and david 's strength to the south . according to the forte , oram , and pedersen , the prospect of having the son of one his northern supporters as the earl of caithness was too good for the king to pass up — especially since haraldr was still a minor , and would thus be under the direction of an appointed tutor . as it turned out , the installation of haraldr as an earl of orkney and caithness was a triumph for the scottish crown : in the 1140s , sutherland and caithness were further integrated into the kingdom , and the norwegian influence in orkney was neutralised . locations associated with ölvir , frakökk , and sveinn several writers have noted a place which is said to be the location of the burning . the website states that a supposed castle in which frakökk was burned may be located at grid reference , near , within the parish of kildonan . in 1769 , thomas pennant noted the episode of the burning , and stated that certain ruins at were called " cairn " ; and that these were the remnants of the homestead that sveinn burnt . rev. sage , in his account of the parish in the ( old ) statistical account of scotland , noted the ruins mentioned by pennant ; he called them " cairn - " , and translated this to " old cairns " . sage , however noted þormóður torfason 's account of the burning , and suggested that a possibly more etymology is " field " . pennant stated that " though the ruins are great , yet no man can tell of what kind they were ; that is , whether round like pictish houses , or not " . according to the website , pennant may have been referring to any of the chambered cairns in the area . the site of the supposed castle was visited by the ordnance survey in 1961 , but no evidence of it was found . in the mid - 19th century , alexander pope noted " carn " , and stated that nearby there were certain ruins called " shu carn aulver " . pope also stated that to the south - west of this location there was a part of helmsdale river called " aulver " . another location he connected with ölvir was a hill , in the forest of " " , called " aulver " . speculation of scottish descendants according to williams , it is possible that after sveinn defeated ölvir and frakökk , ölvir may have fled to kinsmen of his in the suðreyjar . williams suggested that the blood feud between the families may be a reason for sveinn 's military activities in the hebrides and the isle of mann , afterwards ; although sveinn had other interests in the area , since he is stated to have married the window of a manx king . in the late 19th century , antiquary thomas speculated that the memory of ölvir may have been preserved in the hebrides . thomas stated that within the mythological history of the outer hebridean island of lewis , the island clan of macaulays were said to be the descendants of a man named , who was one of the twelve sons , or near relations , of a man named oliver , among whom lewis was divided . this oliver was said to have been the eldest son of the norse king who was given the isles and highlands by a son of kenneth macalpin , for his assistance in driving his own brother from scotland . thomas speculated that oliver could represent ölvir rósta ; meaning that he was the progenitor of the macaulays . it has also been suggested that ölvir may be an ancestor of the macleods . until quite recently , it was commonly believed by historians that the eponymous ancestor of the macleods , leod , was the son of olaf the black , king of mann and the isles . in the late 20th century , william matheson proposed that the macleods descended in the male line from ölvir rósta , rather than olaf the black . matheson proposed that , within several gaelic pedigrees which record ancestors of leod , the great - grandfather of leod has gaelic names which very likely represent the old norse name ölvir . these gaelic names are considered to equate to other gaelic names found within the early bardic poetry of the macleods . about a century before , thomas had noted the similarity in these names , when discussing ölvir , but he did not pursue a specific link between ölvir and the macleods . matheson speculated that leod 's great - grandfather would have flourished at roughly the same time as when ölvir is said to have fled to the suðreyjar . matheson noted that leod 's name is derived from the old norse name ljótr : a name which matheson considered to be rare in scandinavia and iceland , and even more so in scotland . in consequence , he considered it significant that ölvir 's maternal grandfather ( ljótr ' villain ' ) also had this name . when comparing the relevant gaelic pedigrees , matheson noted that they were inconsistent in the generations preceding leod 's great - grandfather . in lieu of this , matheson proposed that these inconsistencies may show that the leod 's great - grandfather was a newcomer to the hebrides , like ölvir . later , historian sellar noted matheson 's proposed link between the macleods and ölvir , but commented that the evidence matheson used was entirely circumstantial . sellar was of the opinion that ölvir was not such a rare name as matheson had previously thought . sellar also noted that the genealogy and family of ölvir , recorded in the orkneyinga saga , has no similarity with the line recorded in the gaelic genealogies concerning the ancestry of leod . matheson 's association of ölvir to the macleods was also attacked by clan historian alick morrison . morrison commented that the name was also not as rare as matheson had proposed . morrison noted that , in the previous century , thomas had considered another saga character to be an eponymous ancestor of the macleods — this character was ljótólfr ( mentioned earlier in the article ) , who would have lived on lewis about a century before leod 's time . in fact , morrison did not consider ölvir 's name — and the singled - out gaelic names — to be anything but other forms of óláfr . however , óláfr and ölvir are considered by others to be quite different names , with separate origins . morrison , and sellar , also noted that the bynames of ölvir , and leod 's great - grandfather , do not appear to match up — in three of the relevant gaelic pedigrees , the byname of leod 's great - grandfather appears as , , and . thomas considered these bynames to mean " " ; although , both matheson and sellar disagreed with this translation . morrison considered these to equate to , " white " ; ' however , sellar noted that morrison gave no further explanation for this assertion . sellar , himself , proposed that the byname may be not be gaelic , but norse in origin . he suggested that it may refer to some sort of deformity to the man 's nose ; another suggestion forwarded to him was that it may refer to a cleft palate . later , a.p. macleod noted that the gaelic — which has a secondary meaning of " grief " , and " trouble " — may be a nominative form of the genitive , and thus may equate to ölvir 's byname . hebridean runes : possible family connections in 1962 , on the inner hebridean island of iona , close to grid reference , a fragment of a carved stone bearing the runic inscription of a man named ölvir was found . it is one of only three examples of rune - stones found in the west of scotland . the fragment is about half the size of the original stone , which would have measured 1 . 11 by 0 . 77 metres ( 3 . 6 by 2 . 5 ft ) . the stone is decorated with a crude knotted cross ; the runes are located on the side , along the border . at the end of the inscription there are a few runes missing , due to the corner having been broken off . the full inscription translates into english : " kali , son of ölvir , laid this stone over fugl his brother " . these three men do not appear in any other sources , and it is unknown who they were . in the 1980s , norwegian runologist aslak liestøl proposed that the stone is evidence that the two brothers were scandinavian speakers , who were members of a leading family in the district , who had the social status to be buried near . the runic inscriptions , and artwork , suggests that the stone dates to the late 10th century , or 11th century . liestøl suggested that the three men were somehow related to ölvir . liestøl noted that three names were those of characters in the orkneyinga saga , which all had connections with the hebrides . kali was the original name of earl rögnvaldr , whom ölvir fought for . the earl was named after his grandfather , kali , who according to the saga , accompanied magnús ' barefoot ' to the hebrides , and died there of wounds he received on anglesey . according to liestøl , the name fugl , in a west norse context , is only found on this inscription and of a minor character in the saga . this character was the son of ljótólfr , from lewis , who negotiated a truce between sveinn ásleifarson and earl óttarr . in 1922 , historian alan orr anderson noted that the mediaeval chronicle of man records that , sheriff of man , died in 1183 , and anderson stated that it is possible that ljótólfr 's son was the mentioned sheriff . concerning the name ljótólfr , liestøl also noted that the saga names ölvir 's father þorljót , and his maternal - grandfather ljótr . he concluded that the men mentioned on the stone likely lived around the year 1000 , about four to six generations before their namesakes in the saga . in consequence , liestøl suggested that kali would have been a contemporary of the children of the rune - stone 's kali . the stone , among many others , is housed in the museum at iona abbey .