Kjotve the Rich (812-872) was King of Agder during the late 9th century AD.
Biography[]
Kjotve was born in Agder, Norway in 812 AD. He came to rule over Agder as a prosperous and cruel king; he was variably known as "the Rich" in Agder and "the Cruel" in rival Rogaland. In 856, he led a raid on Fornburg during a banquet hosted by King Styrbjorn of Rogaland, his rival of three generations, massacring the local villagers and orphaning the young boy Eivor. In 872, he captured Eivor - who was seeking vengeance for his parents' deaths - at Avaldsnes, but Eivor escaped from his clutches and returned to Fornburg to report to Styrbjorn. After Kjotve sent spies to assassinate King Styrbjorn, Eivor and Styrbjorn's son Sigurd Styrbjornson led a retaliatory attack on Nottfall, and they proceeded to ally with King Harald Fairhair, whose uncle Guthorm the Wise had already met with King Styrbjorn. Kjotve went on to fight Harald and Rogaland's armies at the Battle of Hafrsfjord that same year, during which he was challenged to a holmgang duel with Eivor. Eivor's Hidden Ones friend Hytham failed to assassinate Kjotve, whom he believed was a leader in the Order of the Ancients, as Kjotve threw him aside before he could stab him. However, Eivor ultimately succeeded in stabbing Kjotve dead with his hidden blade, avenging his father's murder. Kjotve's eldest son Thor Haklang and many other nobles were killed in the battle, but Kjotve's son Gorm Kjotvesson survived to fight another day.
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