 Abt 0788 - Abt 0870 (82 years)
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| Name |
IVARSSON Eystein Glumra |
| Birth |
Abt 0788 |
Opplandene, Østlandet, Norge  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
Abt 0870 |
Norge |
| Notes |
- Eystein Glumra Ivarsson was reputedly a petty king on the west coast of Norway, during the 9th century.
His father, Ivar Opplendingejarl, had the title Jarl but it is uncertain if Eystein had it or not.
Name(s)
Eystein Glumra Ivarsson. The byname Glumra means "the noisy" or possibly "the clatterer"
Birth and Parents
His birth year is not known, he is estimated to been born in the beginning of the 800s.
Father; Ivar Opplendingejarl (son of Halvdan Gamle)[1]
Mothers name is not known.
Spouse(s) and children
Some suggest he was married to a daughter of Ragnvald Heidumhære, daughter of a sibling to Harald Hårfagre.
MedLands has no spouse listed.[1]
According to the Heimskringla saga, he had at least two sons;
Ragnvald Mørejarl Eysteinsson
Sigurd Eysteinsson, Jarl of Orkney
Possibly also a daughter, Svanhild, Snorre names "Snahild, a daughter of Earl Eystein" as one of the wives of Harald Hårfagre.
According to MedLands [1] there would possibly also be a son named Malahulc, ancestor of the later Tosny family. However, they also say that "He is not mentioned in the Sagas and no other primary source has been found which either names him or links him with the later members of the Tosny family:" Some online trees seem to suggest this would have been the name of another daughter.
Death and burial
No death date/year or place is known.
Research Notes
About the Norse sagas including Eystein Glumra
Eystein Glumra ('the Clatterer' or 'the Noisy') is named in two Icelandic books; the Orkneyinga Saga (History of the Earls of Orkney) and Heimskingla (Lives of the Norse Kings). These were both written in the early 13th century, Orkneyinga Saga in about 1200 by an unnamed author, and Heimskringla, written by Snorre Stulasson, perhaps over a long period of time, but definitely finished by 1241.
Although both books probably relied on earlier works that have since been lost or oral histories, because they were written about four hundred years after Eystein would have lived, they are often considered poor sources to prove he was an historical figure.
Orkneyinga Saga
Eystein is just mentioned in a list of ancestors of Earl Rognvald the Powerful at the end of chapter 3.
Heiti, the son of Gor, was the father of the sea king Sveidi, father of Halfdan the Old, father of Earl Ivar of the Uplands, father of Eystein the Clatterer, father of the wise counsellor, Earl Rognvald the Powerful.[2]
Heimskringla
Here he is mentioned twice or possibly three times.
The Heimskringla Saga states that Eystein Glumra was the father of Rognvald Eysteinsson and Sigurd Eysteinsson. And, that he was grandfather of Guthorm Sigurdsson and Torf-Einarr. Although the Saga does mention a few Ivars, none are said to be Eystein's father.
The first earl in the Orkney Islands was called Sigurd, who was a son of Eystein Glumra, and brother of Ragnvald earl of More. After Sigurd, his son Guthorm was earl for one year. After him Torf-Einar, a son of Ragnvald, took the earldom, and was long earl, and was a man of great power. According to the Orkneyinga Saga, Eystein the noisy was the son of Ivar the Uplanders’ earl, and grandson of Halfdan the Old. He was also father of Rognvald The Wise.
Heiti, Gorr’s son, was father of Sveiði the sea-king, the father of Halfdan the old, the father of Ivar the Uplanders’ earl, the father of Eystein the noisy, the father of earl Rognvald the mighty and the wise in council. Orkneyinga Saga makes his grandson Hrolf identical to Rollo, conqueror of Normandy, and hence ancestor of William the Conqueror and the resulting Royal Families of England, although the connection is viewed skeptically by scholars.
Book of Bruce
According to Book of Bruce, Eystein or Euslin Glumra of Vors was the son of Ivar, Jarl of Upland in 830, who had married a daughter of Eystein Glumra who was king of Trondheim in 840. His first wife was Jocunda, the daughter of Hunthiof, king of North Mere and South Mere. His second wife was Ascrida, daughter of Rognvald, son of Olaf or Olaus, an independent king of Norway, who kept his court at Geirstead. His son was Sigurd, the first Earl of Orkney, who married Jocunda, daughter of Olaf Hviti, the White, King of Dublin.[3]
The Book of Bruce does claim to have used the sagas for its source material, and does reference known historians, but it does not mention the source for all these names. Jocunda and Ascrida are not known from anywhere else; the two women named Jocunda might possibly have been a corruption of a phrase meaning Unknown?
Sources
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 MedLands
↑ Orkneyinga Saga, p. 26
↑ Book of Bruce, p. 34.
Lyman Horace Weeks. Book of Bruce: Ancestors and Descendants of King Robert of Scotland. The Americana Society, New York, 1907.
See also:
https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opplandene
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eystein_Glumra
Wikipedia:Eystein_Glumra
Orkneyinga Saga: The history of the Earls of Orkney, trans. by Hermann Palsson & Paul Edwards, London: Penguin books, 1981.
Orkneyingasaga: Page 1
Eystein Glumra and Ascrida - discussion at Geni, accessed 3 May 2020
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| Person ID |
I58729 |
Freeman-Smith |
| Last Modified |
27 Jan 2026 |
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