He is depicted as the quintessential Viking, a freebooter whose activities include drunkenness, murder and plundering and whose support is crucial to the politics of the Orkney earldom. His tale is closely bound up with that of Earl Rögnvald, a more rounded character who is also a troubadour and ultimately a saint, and it may be that the saga writers were seeking to portray them as exemplars of the Viking lifestyle.
He is portrayed as a typical Viking, a freebooter whose activities include drinking, murder, and plundering, and whose support is essential to the politics of the Orkney earldom. His story is closely linked to that of Earl Rögnvald, a more well-rounded character who is also a troubadour and ultimately a saint, and it may be that the saga writers were aiming to portray them as exemplars of the Viking lifestyle.