Einar Thambarskelfir Einar Eindridesson Thambarskelfir ( c . 980 – c . 1050 ) ( Old Norse : " Einarr Þambarskelfir " , Modern Norwegian : " Einar Tambarskjelve " ) was an influential Norwegian noble and politician during the 11th century . He headed the feudal lords in their opposition to Olaf Haraldsson . Several references are made to him in Snorri Sturluson ' s Heimskringla . His cognomen , " Thambarskelfir " , has two strongly differing explanations . One is that it is derived from " tomb " , meaning shaking bowstring . Thus , the name suggests a master of the longbow . The other is that it is derived from " tambr " , meaning ' belly ' , and that it translates to ' wobbly belly ' , surely an unflattering reflection of his physical build . Background . Einarr Thambarskelfir was the son of Eindride , a rich and influential farmer at the Viking Age political center of Melhus . Einar Thambarskelfir was a jarl and chieftain at Husaby , and a powerful warlord with his own army . He descended from the Lade jarls , one of the dominant families of Norwegian Viking Age politics . He made his debut both as a saga character and in the political arena at the sea Battle of Svolder in 1000 , fighting on the losing King Olaf Tryggvason ' s side . From his description of this battle , Snorri presents us with one of the saga ' s most famous passages : Olaf Haraldsson ' s reign . King Olaf Tryggvason disappeared during the battle , though his corpse was never found after the Battle of Svolder . Einar , however , survived , and spent the next decades maneuvring through shifting political waters . Einar , together with Erling Skjalgsson , supported Lade jarl Sveinn Hákonarson against Olaf Haraldsson at the Battle at Nesjar in 1016 . While Sveinn had to flee the country after the battle , and Erling was forced to join an uneasy alliance with the new king , Einar remained unscathed . He returned to Melhus and remained an opponent of the king . Therefore , when Danish influences sought to overthrow Olaf Haraldsson in 1028 , he supported them . However , he did not join the peasants ' army at the Battle of Stiklestad . This was more due to luck than calculation – when news of Olaf ' s presence in Trøndelag broke , Einarr was in England , making a political visit to the Anglo - Danish King Cnut the Great . However , this move would later pay off handsomely . After Stiklestad , many Norwegian noblemen felt that King Cnut had promised to install them as rulers of Norway in his place . Einar Thambarskelfir expected that he would be the natural choice , being the oldest opponent of Olaf . However , the Anglo - Danish king instead made his son Sveinn a viceroy , in effect placing his mother Ælfgifu in charge of his recent conquest . This greatly infuriated Einar . Rise to power . As the pressure grew more intense on him during Sveinn Knutsson ' s viceroy reign , Einar made his greatest political masterstroke . He traveled to Garðaríki ( later Russia ) , where he found Olaf ' s eleven - year - old illegitimate son Magnus ( later dubbed ' the Good ' ) . Forming a political alliance with former Stiklestad peasant army leader Kalv Arnesson , he then proceeded to broker an agreement between the puppet king Magnus and the newly installed Danish ruler , Harthacnut , son of Cnut the Great . Thus , Einar became the de facto ruler of Norway , a position he at this point never could have held if he himself had fought Magnus ' s father at Stiklestad . Kalv Arnesson and Thorir Hund , two nobles who did , both faded out into insignificance ; the latter even forced to go to Jerusalem in search of forgiveness for killing the holy king . While Magnus did assume some power as he grew older , Einar remained a very influential figure throughout his reign . Turn of the tide . However , around 1045 the aging Einar ran out of luck . At this point , Olaf Haraldsson ' s half - brother Harald Sigurdsson , later dubbed " Hardrada " , returned with a vast fortune amassed as a military commander in Byzantium . According to the succession laws put in place by the earlier monarch Harald Fairhair , Harald had a legitimate claim to the throne , a claim he did not hesitate to put forward . Fearing that Harald would turn his economic power into military power , Magnus against Einar ' s advice let Harald become joint monarch in late 1046 . Only a year later , Magnus died , and the strong - willed Harald became sole monarch . Harald was determined to centralize power , and had little patience with the quarreling nobles and peasant leaders . Thus , he was bound to end up on a collision course with the equally determined Einar Thambarskelfir . Conflict ensued , threatening civil war , and Einar began raising another peasants ' army against the increasingly unpopular and tyrannical Harald . However , before this work was completed , Harald appeared to seek reconciliation . He asked Einar for a meeting at his farm in Nidaros , so that the two could sit down and broker an agreement . Harald , of course , had no such intentions . He had decided that Einar had to be removed before his support was too powerful . Thus , when arriving at the king ' s farm , Einar and his son Eindride were assassinated . Evaluation . According to the saga , Einar Thambarskelfir played a crucial role both in terms of the sanctification of Olaf in 1031 and in the restoration of Magnus as Norwegian regent in 1035 . The death of Einar Thambarskelfir concludes two important eras of Norwegian medieval politics . Firstly , he is the last of the Lade family to play a political role at this level . Secondly , he is also the last nobleman to seek power in Norway without a claim based on the succession laws of Harald Fairhair . From this point on , all potential kings – however dubious their alleged relation to the ancient king – would claim to be descended from Harald Fairhair . Legacy . The coat of arms of Melhus municipality in Sør - Trøndelag county shows an archer , symbolizing the famous chief and archer from Melhus , Einar Thambarskelfir .