Kári Sölmundarson (Modern Icelandic:[ˈkʰauːrɪˈsœlˌmʏntarˌsɔːn];Old Norse:Kári Sǫlmundarson[ˈkɑːreˈsɔlˌmuntɑz̠ˌson]) was aHebrideanviking andsoldier of fortune who lived in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. He is a major character inNjál's Saga. Kári was the son of Solmund, who was the son of Thorbjorn "Jarl's Champion," an Icelander exiled before the establishment of theAlthing for murder.[1]
It is unknown where Kári was born (though possibly Iceland). He was, however, ahirdman ofSigurd the Stout,jarl of Orkney. He came to the rescue ofHelgi Njálsson andGrim Njálsson, the sons ofNjáll Þorgeirsson ofBergthorshvoll,Iceland in the 990's. The brothers, who were on a trading expedition to theBritish Isles, had come under attack by the vikingsSnaekolf andGrjotgard Mordansson. After killing the raiders, Kári brought the Njálssons to Orkney, where they stayed for a time at Jarl Sigurd's court and fought in his campaigns in northern and centralScotland.[2]
Kári came to the aid of Helgi and Grim again when the brothers were arrested byHakon Jarl of Norway for indirectly aiding in the escape of their fellow Icelander,Thrain Sigfusson.[3]
When Helgi and Grim returned to Iceland, Kári accompanied them. He bought a landholding atDyrholmar, but settled at Bergthorshvoll, where he married Njál's daughterHelga and became close friends with Njál's sonSkarphéðinn.[4] He likely became at least nominally aChristian when Iceland converted during theAlthing of 1000.
Kári became entangled in the Njálssons'blood feud with the clan of Thrain Sigfusson, and participated in Skarphéðinn's ambush and murder of Thrain.[5] In around 1010, Thrain's allies and kinsmen, led byFlosi Þórðarson, attacked Bergthorshvoll andburned it with its inhabitants inside. Kári managed to escape under cover of smoke, but his friends Helgi and Skarphéðinn were both killed. Njál, his wife Bergthora, and Kári's sonThord all refused Flosi's offer of reprieve and died in the flames.[6]
Kári's sword was Fjörsváfnir.
Kári gathered supporters and prompted the prosecution of the Burners, and there is a legal joust between the parties. Fighting broke out and almost escalated into a full-scale civil war untilSnorri Goði and his followers separated the belligerents. As part of an imposed settlement, the Burners were exiled for three years, but Kári attacked them on their way home, and pursued those who escaped abroad. Kári and a small group of followers spent the next several years taking vengeance on the Burners, following them toOrkney andWales. In a particularly brazen display, Kári entered the hall of Jarl Sigurd of Orkney asGunnar Lambason was telling aslanderous version of the story of the burning of Bergthorshvoll. Kári killed Gunnar andcomposed the verse:
Kári stayed inCaithness during theBattle of Clontarf in 1014, when Jarl Sigurd and his allies fought againstBrian Boru,High King of Ireland. During his stay in Scotland his wife Helga died. Flosi returned to Iceland after a pilgrimage toRome. Kári followed, but was shipwrecked near Flosi's home. Testing Flosi's nobility he went to him for help, and they arranged a final peace. Kári married Flosi's niece Hildigunn, who was the widow ofHoskuld Thrainsson, the son of Thrain Sigfusson and foster-son of Njál.
Kári had four children with Helga, his first wife: his son Thord, who died during the Burning of Bergthorshvoll, and the daughters Thorgerd, Ragnheid, and Valgerd.
By his second wife Hildigunn, Kári had three sons: Starkadr, Thord and Flosi.