Sveinn features less prominently in the sources than his half-brother Eiríkr jarl Hákonarson (q. v.), though it seems that he too fought at Hjǫrungavágr (Liavågen) c. 985 and at Svǫlðr c. 1000, and shared power in Norway after Svǫlðr. On Eiríkr’s departure to England (c. 1014), Sveinn ruled for up to two years with his nephew Hákon Eiríksson. Supported by the chieftains Erlingr Skjálgsson (see ‘Biographies of other dignitaries’) and Einarr þambarskelfir, Sveinn seems to have resisted Óláfr Haraldsson (q. v.), for instance by burning down the Christian settlement of Niðaróss (Nidaros, Trondheim) c. 1014 and engaging with him at Sauðungssund (Sauesund). Óláfr eventually defeated Sveinn’s forces at the battle of Nesjar c. 1016. Sveinn fled east (sources differ as to the destination), and never returned. See Anon Nkt 25-7^II (c. 1190); Theodoricus (MHN 24-5, 27-8; McDougall and McDougall 1998, 18-21); Ágr (ÍF 29, 18, 211-6; Ágr 2008, 24-5, 27); Fsk (ÍF 29, 129, 131-2, 164, 167, 172-8; Finlay 2004, 102-3, 130, 133, 139-42); Hkr (ÍF 27, 39, 52-69, 71-2; Hollander 1964a, 266-7, 275-85, 287-8). In Skáldatal (SnE 1848-87, III, 257, 266, 281), the 761a^x redaction names Bersi Skáld-Torfuson as skald to Sveinn jarl (assigned to Hákon jarl Eiríksson in U); Eyjólfr dáðaskáld and Skúli Þorsteinsson are assigned in U to Sveinn, but in error for Eiríkr jarl Hákonarson.

Events documented in poetry: Sveinn’s burning of Niðaróss (Trondheim) c. 1014 (ÞSjár Klœingr); the battle of Nesjar c. 1016 (Bersi Ólfl 1-3). See also poetry for Hákon jarl Sigurðarson, Eiríkr jarl Hákonarson and Óláfr Haraldsson.

References

1. Bibliography
2. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
3. Ágr = [Anonymous] Ágrip af Nóregs konunga sögum.
4. MHN = Storm, Gustav, ed. 1880. Monumenta historica Norvegiæ: Latinske kildeskrifter til Norges historie i middelalderen. Kristiania (Oslo): Brøgger. Rpt. 1973. Oslo: Aas & Wahl.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. Finlay, Alison, trans. 2004. Fagrskinna: A Catalogue of the Kings of Norway. Leiden: Brill.
7. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
8. McDougall, David and Ian McDougall, trans. 1998. Theodoricus monachus. Historia de antiquitate regum norwagiensium: An Account of the Ancient History of the Norwegian Kings. Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series 11. University College, London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. Theodoricus = Theodrici monachi historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium. In MHN 1-68.
10. Ágr 2008 = Driscoll, Matthew J., ed. and trans. 2008. Ágrip af Nóregskonungasǫgum: A Twelfth-Century Synoptic History of the Kings of Norway. 2nd edn. Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series 10. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. Hollander, Lee M., trans. 1964a. Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson. Austin: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. Rpt. 1991 (rpt. cited in SkP II).
12. Internal references
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 6 April 2025)
14. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘(Biography of) Bersi Skáld-Torfuson’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 789.
15. Russell Poole 2012, ‘(Biography of) Eyjólfr dáðaskáld’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 453.
16. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=56> (accessed 6 April 2025)
17. Kate Heslop 2017, ‘(Biography of) Skúli Þorsteinsson’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 360.
18. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Poems, Nóregs konungatal 25’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 777-8.
19. Kari Ellen Gade 2012, ‘ Þórðr Særeksson (Sjáreksson), Flokkr about Klœingr Brúsason’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 241. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1418> (accessed 6 April 2025)
20. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Bersi Skáld-Torfuson, Flokkr about Óláfr helgi 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 791.
21. Not published: do not cite ()