Þorbjǫrn Þjóðreksson

Thorbjörn Thjóðreksson is the overbearing villain of Hávarðar saga — the mighty, grasping chief and priest of Icefirth whose arrogance sets the whole saga in motion. A confessed killer who pays for his crimes in worthless 'sack-coloured' coin and bullies his weaker neighbours with impunity, he murders the promising young Olaf, son of old Howard the Halt, and then denies the father even the wergild the law allows — adding insult to a killing. Untouchable by ordinary means, too strong to challenge and too well-connected to outlaw, Thorbjörn embodies the saga world's recurring nightmare: the powerful man who breaks the law and gets away with it because no one dares enforce it against him. His undoing — at the hands of a lamed old man he despised — is the saga's satisfying answer to that nightmare: that even the most untouchable bully can be brought down when the wronged finally find their courage.