Tormod Kark Decapita Al Jarl Haakon. Ilustración de Christian Krohg (1899). Tormod Kark (c.935? - 995) is a character from the Scandinavian protohistory of the Olaf Tryggvason saga, one of the books composing Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson. It was a thrall of Lade Håkon Sigurdsson's jarl.
Håkon Sigurdsson ruled Norway from 970 to 995, supported by Harald Blåtand, the king of Denmark. When Håkon renounced Christianity and confronted Harald, the Danish king sent a fleet of jomsvikings and fought in the battle of Hjörungavágr, to ensure the triumph sacrificed one of his sons, Erling. It was Tormod who took care of killing the boy.
Håkon was in dispute with Olaf I and for a time was hiding as a fugitive on a farm of Melhus in Trøndelag next to Tormod, rather than slave also friend. Tormod had heard that King Olaf offered a reward for the head of Jarl Håkon, and one night tempted by greed he stabbed his master, cut off his head and took it to King Olaf to reclaim his prize.
Contrary to what he expected, a death by treason and by his own slave was not well seen, and instead of receiving the reward was beheaded without contemplations. The king distinguished between lords and slaves and wondered what would happen if all the slaves began to betray their masters ?, an important point to take into account as Tormod Kark as a free man would not have had problems and received their reward. p>
The heads of both were taken to Nidarholm (now Munkholmen), where Olaf's army threw stones at them while mocking them. Then the bodies were burned. Bibliography
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