Thanks to receiving a large number of old family photographs from my cousin Mike, I’ve at last got round to investigating the family tree on my mother’s side of the family. Up till now my father’s side had provided sufficient entertainment to keep me busy for a few years, including the subject of my recent book ‘The Chieftain‘. This time however, literally and metaphorically, I’ve hit the mother lode! Tracing the ancestry of one of my 3x great-grandfathers yesterday afternoon has led me back to the Vikings. Apparently I’m 29 generations removed from a friendly Viking from Orkney called Thorfinn Skull Splitter, and also a few more generations removed from another Viking, Rollo, who fathered William Longsword (William I of Normandy), who himself fathered ‘Richard the Fearless’.
How did I find that out in a single afternoon you may ask? Online searches of course. Having built my family tree online, the host website’s search engines voraciously whirl round and select possible matches between the various family trees that it hosts. I must admit that checking some of these links makes one a bit uneasy when one comes across an ancestor in the middle ages whose birth location according to another ‘tree’ was apparently in an American township that had not been founded at that time….a sign perhaps that some considerable editorial checking will be needed to ratify my new findings.
However, having decided to check up on Thorfinn and Rollo etc. on other websites I’m pretty convinced that there are enough similarities between us to justify my likely Viking ancestry. Firstly, I understand that Rollo was known as ‘The Walker’, apparently because he was so big that no horse could carry him. That definitely sounds like me. Secondly, it appears that the Vikings were not without a sense of humour in the nicknames that they bestowed upon people. There was, apparently, a Thorfinn the Short who was actually noted for being very tall, and it is therefore within the bounds of possibility that Thorfinn ‘Skullsplitter’ was so named because he was a gentle old soul who wouldn’t hurt a fly. That I hope provides the definitive proof. We apparently share the same sense of humour.
I’m a bit worried about the ‘Richard the Fearless’ connection. But I suppose being a Viking means that one can ‘walk tall’. So just remember – don’t mess with me!
Hello. I too am related to the skullsplitter. He is one of my 30th great Grandfathers. [Thorfinn I Rollo (Brico) "Hausakliffer" (Skull-Splitter) (Earl of Orkney) Einarsson (890 - 977)]
There is a story about him that explains his name. It tells of him splitting the skull of another boy while “playing” . His mother was proud of what a strong and ruthless boy he was. Their sensibilities and morality were certainly different than ours today.
Thanks for your comment Frances. Very interesting.
Greetings son of skull splitter
. Yes, I too am a descendent of this guy. You are my distant cousin. Have you continued going back after the skull splitter to his ancestors? It is very interesting what you will find!!!!
Hei.
Yet another family member surfaces, vikings never die they spend their days lounging in Valhal, recounting their numerous battles. My own family history has been traced back to Rollo, since I am Scottish by birth yet living in Norway, I can claim to have a great deal of interest in my family origins. Rollo is a family name in Scotland, obviously descendants of Rollo. However there has been a certain amount of discussion as to the true identity of Rollo, some claim that Thorfinn and Rollo are one and the same while others claim otherwise. I include copy’s of some of the debates regarding the two, but before I do I would like to point out that Einarsson was Thorfinns surname and Ragnvaldsson was Rollo’s, just so that is made clear.
Thorfinn I Rollo (Brico) “Hausakliffer” (“Skull-Splitter”) Einarsson
born about 0890 Orkney Islands, Scotland
died after 0977
buried Burial Mound, Hoxa, Ronaldsay, Scotland
father:
*Einar “Turf” Rognvaldsson Jarl of Orkney
born about 0852 Maer, More og Romsdal, Norway
died 0910 Orkney, Orkney Islands, Scotland
Rollo Ragnvaldsson
West Norwegian Viking chieftain. Parents: Ragnvald Jarl and Hild Rolv Daughter. The sources don’t say if he was married or not. Half Brother of Einar Ragnvaldsson (d. ca. 910).
Rollo has historical significance, above all because he has been identified with Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy. 911 joined the French king, Charles the Simple and Viking leader Rollo a deal that was that Rollo and his men were going to get the area around the mouth of the Seine towards defending the country against other Vikings.
About Rollo as a Norwegian chieftain, we have not much information. He was the son of Ragnvald Jarl and Hild, the daughter of an otherwise unknown chief, Rolf Nefia, whom he named. The saga explains his nickname since he was so big that he could not ride a horse (Old Norse Gongu-Hrólfr, ‘admin that goes’). Otherwise, it is said that he was often out in Viking (Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe), and that Harald eventually made him an outlaw after he had raged in Norway. His mother should have complained about this in a skaldic stanza preserved.
The question of who Rollo was, can never be definitely answered. But among both Norwegian and French and British historians, it is now common to think that judging from the sources – and the choice between the two possibilities present – it is after all the most in favor of a Norwegian origin.
Very little is passed on government Rollo of Normandy. The sources can tell that he baptized 912, and he died probably sometime between 928 and 932 Rollo descendants set as dukes of Normandy until 1202, and his grandson grandson Guillaume (d. 1087) was King of England 1066 (William the Conqueror).
25. september 1911 in the town park in Ålesund during a major event unveiled a statue of Rollo / Rollo. The statue was a gift to the town from Rouen in Normandy. It is a bronze replica of the original statue in marble of 1863, standing outside the cathedral in Rouen.
I sincerely hope that this has either created enlightenment or caused greater confusion as to the identity of Thorfinn and Rollo, were they one and the same or were they two totally different entities, I will leave it for you the reader to decide for yourselves as I have made my own decision on what I believe to be correct.
Robb the Viking