The Saga of the Wolf Clan

In the late 9th century, Harald Fairhair began a quest to rule all of what is now Norway. His sucsess remained mostly in the south and up along the coastline. The concept that helped him consolidate his rule was a rudimentry form of what would become the feudal system. Many local leaders were appointed as jarl (earl) and it remained buisness as usual for them with the exception of having to send a portion of their taxes and fighting men to King Harald. The wealthiest of the petty kingdoms remained, in essence, unchanged. The people most hurt and disrupted were the smaller landholders who were forced out by the hundreds if not thousands, for being unwilling or unable to pay the new extortional taxes and were deposed from their lands. The fiercly independant region of Trondheim was particularly hard hit by the political changes. The result of the hundreds and maybe thousands of deposed families led to an exodus of sorts. Robbed of their lands and thus, their livelyhood, many were left the option of going viking, or raiding, pillaging, burning, travelling, trading, and generally looking for a place to settle. A place where they could intermingle with the indiginous people, put up their swords, axes and armor, and return to agriculture and homesteading. It is these circumstances that brought the Wolf Clan to the Tribe Woden Thor. It began with raiding down the River Ems into Saxony. Over a period of time raiding turned into trading. Eventually covinced to join with a group of free landholders for mutual protection and profit. Beorn the Oldwolf became the first Clan Chieftan of the Wolf Clan, and the surname Oldwolf became a hereditary title passed down from Chieftan to Chieftan.