Einar Thambarskelfir
noble and politician from Norway (980-1050)
Einar Eindridesson Thambarskelfir (c. 980–c. 1050) (Old Norse: Einarr Þambarskelfir, Norwegian: Einar Tambarskjelve) was an influential Norwegian noble and politician during the 11th century. He headed the feudal lords in their opposition to Olaf Haraldsson.
Several references are made to him in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla. His cognomen, Thambarskelfir, has two strongly differing explanations. One is that it is derived from tomb, meaning "shaking bowstring". Thus, the name suggests a master of the longbow. The other is that it is derived from tambr, meaning "belly", and that it translates to "wobbly belly", surely an unflattering reflection of his physical build.
Background
Einarr Thambarskelfir was the son of Eindride, a rich and influential farmer at the Viking Age political center of Melhus.
“Einar Thambarskelfir” enters the record as noble and politician from Norway (980-1050). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Einar, Thambarskelfir and noble can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Einar Thambarskelfir” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Einar, Thambarskelfir and noble provides the most credible route into that argument.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 20, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q31706. VIAF identifies the subject as 232149106227068491829. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1050.
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This entry incorporates text from “Einar Thambarskelfir” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.