Geirmund is known as the most renowned Viking of Western Norway. Archaeological finds reveal that the county of Rogaland in South-Western Norway was the area of Scandinavia with the closest contacts with Dublin during the 9th century. He owned hundreds of Christian slaves from Scotland and Ireland.

King Hjor belonged to Western Norway’s leading royal dynasty, and as a descendant of Augvald, he could trace his family roots back to divine beings. Hjor’s father was the Viking hero King Halv, who became famous during his lifetime. The power of the Avaldsnes kings stemmed from their control of trade and ships along the “Nordvegen” fairway. According to the saga, the kings of Avaldsnes travelled far and wide themselves and we are told that even Hjor’s grandfather, Hjorleif the Woman-Lover, travelled to Bjarmeland in Siberia.

Hjor is called Hjør in Norvegian, and Hjorr in Old Norse, a word that means sword. Hjor and Ljufvina reigned as king and queen at Avaldsnes when Harald Fairhair came to power. Hjor was the last of the kings at Avaldsnes who descended from the Augvald dynasty.
His wife Ljufvina was a princess of Mongolian descent and despite her dark skin and unusual looks, she reigned as queen over the Norsemen at Karmsundet.
Ljufvina came from the Sikhirtya tribe, a Mongolian people belonging to the indigenous populations of Siberia. They lived by the coast, along the eastern border of an area that the Norsemen called “Bjarmeland”.

The Sikhirtya made a living from catching marine mammals and were highly skilled walrus hunters. Their dark skin and language distinguished them from other Samoyed peoples. Russian excavations have revealed that an advanced maritime culture existed in Northern Siberia.


Hjor’s journey to Bjarmeland

Hjor knew about Bjarmeland and the natural resources that were to be found in this country far to the north, where the walrus represented the greatest source of riches. Due to excessive hunting, the walrus became extinct in Nordvegen. But demand continued to increase. Apart from oil and the valuable tusks (“the ivory of the North”), the Vikings needed walrus hides to make the rigging for their ships, which were increasing in size and number.

Hjor sailed to Bjarmeland to look for walruses, and here he finds the Bjarmeland princess who was to become his queen and the mother of his heirs. The marriage between Hjor and Ljufvina was arranged as an alliance in order to keep control of the walrus trade.


Hjor and Ljufvina had two sons: the twins Hamund (Håmund) and Geirmund. They, too, had dark skin and were therefore nicknamed Heljarskinn; the “Black-Skinned”.

Geirmund the Black-Skinned – the black Viking – never became king at Avaldsnes. But in old sources he is called a sea-king who became an ally of the Dublin kings before crossing the sea to Iceland and earning himself a reputation as “the greatest of all settlers in Iceland”.
Written sources call Geirmund a seafaring king. He was away when Harald Fairhair ousted Hjor and Ljufvina from power. Perhaps he was on an expedition to Iceland when the Battle of Hafrsfjord took place? Or perhaps he was on a trade mission to Bjarmeland?

When Geirmund returned home, he learnt that Harald Fairhair had taken control of Nordvegen. He could not therefore go to the family farm at Avaldsnes and claim his rights and the royal throne – at least, not yet. Instead, he sailed to Ireland and sought his fortune further west.

The Dublin kings needed walruses and seals for their large fleet of ships.
Geirmund knew that walruses could also be found on a newly discovered island in the North Atlantic: Iceland. He joined forces with the Dublin kings and provided them with ropes, oil and tusks from Iceland. In return, he was given slaves. For Geirmund needed workers, not gold, on this newfound island of resources.

Geirmund is called the greatest of all settlers in Iceland. He left Ireland with a large number of people, of whom several came from Rogaland and became major players in the so-called “Realm of Geirmund”. Geirmund also took many slaves from Ireland with him to Iceland. Geirmund’s power depended on walrus hunting. Geirmund had learned how to process and use walrus products from his relatives in Bjarmeland. Perhaps some of them accompanied him on his travels to Ireland and Iceland.