
Sigurd the Stout (965-23 April 1014) was Jarl of Orkneyar from 993 to 1014 (succeeding Hlodvir Thorfinnsson and preceding Sumarlidi Sigurdsson) and King of Sudreyjar from 1005 to 1014 (succeeding Ragnall mac Gofraid and preceding Einar Sigurdsson).
Biography[]
Sigurd was born in 965, the son of Hlodvir Thorfinnsson, and he inherited the title Jarl of Orkney from his father on his death in 993. He defeated an invasion by the Scottish earl Findlaech of Moray after flying the pagan raven banner, and he then took control of the Hebrides. From 985 to 989, he conquered the Isle of Man, defeating King Gofraid mac Arailt in battle. In 995, he was converted to Christianity by Olav Tryggvason, who threatened to kill him and ravage every island with fire and steel if he was not baptized. In 1004, Ragnall mac Gofraid secured the independence of the western isles from Orkney, but, on Ragnall's death in Munster in 1005, Sigurd re-established his control, and he ruled over Sudreyar for a decade. He later allied with the Dubliner king Sigtrygg Silkbeard, and he was killed at the Battle of Clontarf in Ireland in 1014.