Everything about Thorkell The Tall totally explained
Thorkell the Tall, also known as
Thorkell the High in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles (
Old Norse:
Þorke(ti)ll inn hávi;
Norwegian: Torkjell Høge;
Swedish; Torkel Höge:
Danish: Torkild den Høje) was a
Jomsviking, a son of the
Scanian chieftain
Strut-Harald, a brother of
Jarl Sigvaldi, commander of the Jomvikings and the legendary stronghold, mythical
Jomsborg, on the Island of
Wollin, while himself a notable lord.
He took part in the
Battle of Hjörungavágr in
986 and in the
Battle of Swold in
1000. In
1009, he attacked
England with a large army, eventually being paid an unusually large
Danegeld, in
1011.
In
1012, he and his men entered into the service of king
Ethelred the Unready, whom they fought under in
1013 against the invasion of king
Sweyn Forkbeard and his son
Cnut. After the death of Sweyn, and the English attacks on the Danish invaders which drove his son to abandon the conquest, Ethelred's forces were turned against the Jomsvikings in his service. Thorkell's brother Henning was killed, and he went back to Denmark, with a score to settle in England. He was to return with the future king, in
1015, and the invasion's success meant he was proclaimed to be the
Jarl of
East Anglia, in
1017, after the coronation of the Viking king of England. An explanation for Cnut the Great's acceptance of Thorkell's allegiance, not to mention his military prowess, may be that he was in fact his childhood mentor, and the Jomsvikings were also of special worth to Cnut. He himself held a score against the men responsible for the betrayal of oaths of allegiance given by the English nobles after his father Forkbeard's conquest. If it was Thorkell's men who taught Cnut to fight his battles, such bonds as these were surely hard broken, even with opposition in war.
In
1021, though, Jarl Thorkell fell out with king Canute, and had to make himself scarce and went to Denmark. He was soon reconciled with Canute again, who proclaimed him Jarl once more, of Denmark, although he seems to disappear, in
1023, as there's no mention of him after this point. It may be he was simply too old for anymore conflict, and the final years of his life spent at court, yet with no military commands. It may also be that he was cast out of the kingdom, to return to Jomsborg, or Scane, and lived the rest of his days as a wayward old soldier. Equally, he might have been dead soon after he was made Jarl of Denmark, and the causes either natural or malevolent.
While we're sure Thorkell is undoubtedly a real historical figure his career, especially its early part, is steeped in legendary associations with the mysterious Jomsvikings, which too often distract and distort from the facts of his life.
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