Þorgeirr Þjóstarson

Thorgeir Thjóstarson is the powerful Westfjords chieftain whose force backs Sám's lawsuit against Hrafnkell at the Thing — the muscle behind the impossible case. Brother of the worldly Thorkell, who takes up the cause of the poor old Thorbjörn and his nephew Sám, Thorgeir is the established great man whose body of supporters gives the underdogs the standing they need to face down the mighty Hrafnkell in the courts. Without the Thjóstarsons' backing, two weak men could never have outlawed a chieftain. Thorgeir is the saga's image of the powerful ally whose support makes justice possible — the Westfjords chief whose followers and standing turn a hopeless suit into a real one, the weight on the underdogs' side of the scales that lets the small men, for one extraordinary moment at the Thing, bring down the great one. The strength behind Sám's improbable victory.