Bolli Bollason

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Varangian Guardsmen, from the near contempory Skylitzis Chronicle.
Varangian Guardsmen, from the near contempory Skylitzis Chronicle.

Bolli Bollason (also Bolli Bollison) was a key historical character in the Medieval Icelandic Laxdœla saga, born around 1006 in Orlygsstadir, at Helgafell[1] on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in Iceland. He was held in the highest regard among the contempory Scandinavian rulers, and also in the Byzantine Empire, where he became the first known West Norseman[2] in the Varangian Guard.[3] It is believed that he had reached the rank of "Manglabites" in the Byzantine army,[4] and on his return to Iceland, his finery and recognition earned him the name "Bolli the Elegant".[3]

His importance in the literary context of the saga is his prominence as the son of Bolli Þorleiksson and Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, the two central characters of the work. In addition to this role, his own tale, the Bollaþáttur, was later appended to the end of the manuscripts in the early 14th century.

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[edit] Family and early life

Snæfellsnes, where Bolli was born.
Snæfellsnes, where Bolli was born.

Bolli Bollason was one of the People of Laxárdalur, born in 1006 to Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, the winter after the killing of his father, Bolli Þorleiksson. Guðrún had been courted by Þorleiksson and his foster-brother Kjartan Ólafsson, but although she preferred Kjartan, she gave herself to Þorleiksson on the basis of a false rumour that Kjartan was engaged. The consequent hostilities between the two foster-brothers ended with Þorleiksson killing Kjartan, and then he in turn being killed by Kjartan's kinsmen. Bolli Bollason grew up with his brother Thorleik, who was four years his senior, and his mother Guðrún in Helgafell, after she exchanged homes with the renowned Snorri the Goði.[5]

In 1020, Guðrún remarried, this time to Thorkell Eyjolffsson, who became a great chieftain in his own countryside and took over the running of the household at Helgafell. This left Bolli able to spend his time both at Helgafell and with Snorri in Tongue, and Snorri became very fond of him.[6] Thorkell was fond of both his stepsons, but Bolli was regarded as "being the foremost in all things".[6] Thorleik journeyed abroad to Norway, and stayed with King Olaf II for several months.

When Bolli was eighteen years old he asked for his father's portion, as he intended to woo Thordis Snorradottir, the daughter of Snorri the Goði. He set out with his step-father and a good many followers to Tongue. Snorri welcomed them, and the wedding feast took place that summer. Bolli abode at Tongue, and love grew between him and Thordis. The next summer, in 1026, Thorleik returned in a goods-laden ship to White-river, "and the brothers greeted each other joyfully".[6]

The two brothers made peace with the sons of Ólaf, Kjartan's kinsmen, at the Thorness Thing; it is not known how much money was exchanged in compensation as part of the agreement, but Bolli received a good sword, and after the assembly "both sides were thought to have gained in esteem from these affairs".[7]

[edit] Travels abroad

A trade-cog of the type that Bolli is recorded as taking to Denmark.
A trade-cog of the type that Bolli is recorded as taking to Denmark.[3]

Bolli's later travels abroad with his brother Thorleik are well documented and notable for his role in the Varangian Guard. They departed Iceland in 1027, taking "a great deal of money abroad with him", reaching Norway in the autumn. They stayed in Thrandheim for the winter, while King Olaf II was wintering in the east in Sarpsborg. Bolli soon became highly thought of in Norway, and his arrivals at the guild meeting-places were noted for being better arrayed as to raiment and weapons than other townsfolk. Early in the spring the brothers prepared their ship and went east to meet the king. The king thought Bolli "a man of high mettle," "even peerless among men", and "the man of greatest mark that has ever come from Iceland."[8]

Bolli boarded a trade-ship bound for Denmark, departing King Olaf in great friendship and with fine parting gifts.[9] Thorleik remained behind, but Bolli wintered in Denmark and became as well regarded as he had been in Norway.[8] Travelling next to Constantinople, he spent many years in the Varangian Guard; "and was thought to be the most valiant in all deeds that try a man, and always went next to those in the forefront."[10] The saga also records the finery his followers received from the Byzantine Emperor (most likely Romanos III), and the influence he held after his return to Iceland, some time after the death of King Olaf II:[3]

"Bolli rode from the ship with twelve men, and all his followers were dressed in scarlet, and rode on gilt saddles, and all were they a trusty band, though Bolli was peerless among them. He had on the clothes of fur which the Garth-king had given him, he had over all a scarlet cape; and he had Footbiter girt on him, the hilt of which was dight with gold, and the grip woven with gold, he had a gilded helmet on his head, and a red shield on his flank, with a knight painted on it in gold. He had a dagger in his hand, as is the custom in foreign lands; and whenever they took quarters the women paid heed to nothing but gazing at Bolli and his grandeur, and that of his followers."[11]

It is believed by some historians that this account indicates he had reached the rank of "Manglabites", based on his gold-hilted sword.[4] In Iceland, his finery and recognition earned him the name "Bolli the Elegant".[3] His return to Thordis was joyful, and he took over the manor of Tongue when Snorri died at 67 years of age.[12] Bolli's daughter, Herdis Bolladottir, was born in 1037.[13]

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ "Holyfell" in English translations of the Saga.
  2. ^ "Northman" in the saga can be taken to mean "Icelander or Norwegian", as Old Norse had spilt along East/West lines. According to the Annales Bertiniani, the Swedes had reached "Miklagarðr" (Constantinople) in the 830s, and many of them were in the service of the Empire prior Bolli's arrival.
  3. ^ a b c d e Sagas of the Icelanders, Penguin Group
  4. ^ a b Heath, I. Byzantine Armies, 886-1118. Osprey, London 1979
  5. ^ Chapter LVI
  6. ^ a b c CHAPTER LXX
  7. ^ Chapter LXXI
  8. ^ a b CHAPTER LXXIII
  9. ^ Although the Muriel Press 1899 translation uses the ambiguous "trade-ship" for knarrarbátinn, the newer 2002 Penguin edition translates it as "cog".
  10. ^ Chapter LXXIII
  11. ^ Chapter LXXVII
  12. ^ Chapter LXXVIII
  13. ^ Genealogy of Herdis Bolladottir

[edit] External links

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