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Vol. II , Issue I |
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The Viking Saga of Åland
Hlödver the TallIf there had been a newspaper in Åland one thousand years ago, the front page would have trumpeted: Local Boy Makes
Good Hlödver den Långe of Saltvik Chosen To Join Viking King Tryggvason Since the Vikings were known as fierce fighters, Hlödver must have been one of the biggest and baddest. After all, the King Tryggvason handpicked him as a guard. But history has a way of forgetting the names of supernumeraries like guards. Usually, only the most important rulers are remembered after a thousand years. So why is Hlödver still remembered? Of course the Vikings did not leave us a newspaper article about Hlödver, also known as "The Tall." He does rate a mention in a saga written two hundred years after he died. Snorre Sturlasson wrote his chronicle, Heimskringla in 1225. It included the "Saga of King Olaf Tryggvason." According to Sturlasson, the king handpicked the crew for his ship,
"The Long Serpent," a Viking equivalent of Air Force One. Hlödver den
Långe of Saltvik is described as one of the King's closest men and a bodyguard.
Unluckily for Hlödver, he joined the great Tryggvason just in time to be
present for the great King's final battle. About Author
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