Thorir Rögnvaldarson

Family background

Thórir was born to Rǫgnvaldr Eysteinsson, first jarl of Møre and a close friend of King Harald Fairhair, and Hildr Hrólfsdóttir, a jarl's daughter who was also a skald. He had two full brothers: Ívarr, who died in battle in the early 870s while fighting alongside their father for King Harald, and Hrólfr, whose great size meant no horse could carry him, earning him the nickname Gǫngu-Hrólfr. Through his father, Thórir also had three half-brothers: Hallað, Einarr, and Hrollaugr.

After Ívarr's death, King Harald granted the jarldom of the Northern Isles to Rǫgnvaldr as compensation. Rǫgnvaldr never took the title himself but arranged for his brother Sigurd to become Jarl of Orkney instead. Einarr, better known as Torf-Einarr, later became the fourth Jarl of Orkney and established a direct bloodline that ruled for centuries. Snorri Sturluson wrote in chapter 24 of Haralds saga ins hárfagra that Gǫngu-Hrólfr was Rollo, the first ruler of Normandy and founder of the House of Normandy, but this claim is heavily contested by French and Norman texts written before Snorri's 1200s work.

Descendants

Thórir married Ólǫf árbót Haraldsdóttir, daughter of Harald I of Norway and Gyða Eiríksdóttir. Their daughter Bergljót Þórisdóttir, born around 914, married Sigurð Hákonsson, Jarl of Lade, and became the mother of Hákon Sigurðsson. Landnámabók records two illegitimate children by unnamed women: Vigdís Þórisdóttir, who married Ingimundr Þorsteinsson and settled in Iceland, and Jörundur háls Þórisson. Outside Norse tradition, Thórir is also charged with paternity of Ljot av Møre, Oluffa, Armond, and Thorbard av Møre.

Thorbard became head of his uncle Rollo's fleet during the conquest of Normandy, received the fief of Sainte-Opportune in Upper Normandy, and was named first lord of Sainte-Opportune-la-Mare, changing his name to Herbert de la Mare. He married his cousin Griselle, daughter of Rollo and Gisela. He built a Norse castle, Châteaux-de-la-Mare, which stood for centuries. The lands are now a Norse heritage site with a 53-km tourist trail, reconstructed longhouses, and a protected lake.

De la Mare descendants, including Norman FitzGuillaume De la Mare, are believed to have taken part in the invasion of Sicily led by Tancred de Hauteville in 1041. In 1066, FitzNorman Guillaume de la Mare and his brothers fought at the Battle of Hastings and received a 2400-acre tract named Delamare Forest. The Châteaux-de-la-Mare remained in De la Mare hands for nearly four centuries before being sold to the De la Moriniere family.