Geirmund Hjørson Heljarskinn

Geirmund Hjørson, called Heljarskinn, was a leading Icelander of the late ninth century. He was the son of a Norwegian merchant and a Samoyed woman. His nickname, an apparent reference to his complexion, means "Hel skin", which indicates either dark or "black" skin or perhaps skin "pale as death".

The sources for Geirmund's life are the Landnámabók and the Geirmundar þáttr heljarskinns, the first saga in the Sturlunga saga collection. According to these, he was the son of a Norwegian petty king and made a fortune as a Viking. On Iceland, he held four large estates and travelled with a bodyguard of eighty men. His lifestyle was supported by the wealth from his raids and could not be sustained off of his estates alone.