Torgny the Lawspeaker is the name of one of at least three generations of lawspeakers by the name Þorgnýr, who appear in the Heimskringla by the Icelandic scholar and chieftain Snorri Sturluson, and in the less known Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa and Hróa þáttr heimska. They were the lawspeakers of Tiundaland, and all lawspeakers in the Swedish kingdom were their subordinates. The one who is the most famous is reported by the Heimskringla to have lived in the time of Olof Skötkonung and Olaf the Holy, and there is an extensive account on him in this source. This Þorgnýr is held to have historic basis, but Snorri's account is doubted by modern Swedish historians, who lack native Swedish documentation on the Tiundaland lawspeakers of this time. Snorri relates: The two kings were at war, and many wise men in both Sweden and Norway tried to reconcile the kings. In 1018, the earlRagnvald Ulfsson and the Norwegian king's emissaries Björn Stallare and Halte Skeggesson had arrived at the thing of Uppsala to sway the Swedish king to accept peace and as a warrant marry his daughter Ingegerd Olofsdotter to the king of Norway. The Swedish king was greatly angered and threatened to banish Ragnvald from his kingdom, but Ragnvald was supported by his foster-father Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker, who was the wisest and most respected man in Sweden. These arguments convinced the king to give in and he promised to have peace with the king ofNorway and to give him his daughter. However, he later broke his promise. In Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa about Styrbjörn Starke, appears a Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker who is probably the father of the previously mentioned Þorgnýr. This Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker was very old and almost blind and so he could not take part in the battle between Eric the Victorious and Styrbjörn. Still he influenced the course of battle by having cattle and horses driven against the Danish army. These animals were harnessed with spears and spikes and caused many casualties in Styrbjörn's army. This Þorgnýr is also mentioned in Hróa þáttr heimska as a wise and just old man.
