Ulf the Quarrelsome

Ulf the Quarrelsome, or Ulf Hreda, is described in Njals Saga as a brother (or sometimes identified as stepson) to Brian Boru, High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He is primarily mentioned in Njals saga's account of the Battle of Clontarf of 1014, in the aftermath of which he gruesomely killed Brodir of the Isle of Man to avenge his brother's death at the hands of the invaders:

Ulf the Quarrelsome cut open his belly, and led him round and round the trunk of a tree, and so wound all his entrails out of him, and he did not die before they were all drawn out of him.

Some have identified Ulf as a brother of Brian named Cuiduligh. There is no historical evidence from the annals that Ulf is anything more than a fictional figure from Njals saga.

External links

• The Story of Burnt Njal (Njal's Saga) Part 11
• indexed online version of Njåls saga translated to English by George Dasents. The part referring to Clontarf, Brian's Battle, is in chapter 156
• Wolf The Quarrelsome Written by Ben Thompson, author of Badass: A relentless onslaught of the toughest warlords, vikings, samurai, pirates, gunfighters, and military commanders to ever live