Þórkell Þórmóðarson is a character from the mediaeval Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, a kings' saga composed in the last half of the 13th century. The saga relates that in about the year 1230, a Norwegian-Hebridean fleet sailed down through the Hebrides, where it attacked certain islands there, and proceeded on to the Isle of Man. As the fleet made its way southward through the Hebrides, several members fought a battle with Þórkell at Vestrajǫrðr, near Skye. The exact location of Vestrajǫrðr is unknown, although Loch Bracadale, Loch Dunvegan, and Loch Snizort, all located on the western coast of Skye, have been proposed as possible locations. According to the saga, Þórkell and two of his sons were slain in the encounter, however a third son, named Þórmóðr, managed to escape with his life. Early the next year, the fleet headed northwards through the Hebrides back home. When it approached the Isle of Lewis, a man named Þórmóðr Þórkelson fled for his life, leaving behind his wife and possessions to be taken by the marauding fleet. In the late 19th century, it was suggested that the Þórmóðr Þórkelsson that fled Lewis in 1231, was the same Þórmóðr Þórkelsson who survived the battle at Vestrajǫrðr, in 1230. It is uncertain why Þórkell, and Þórmóðr, were singled out by the marauding fleet. One of the noted members of the fleet was Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of Mann and the Isles, who is known to have been at odds with his nephew, Guðrøðr Rögnvaldsson. One theory, put forward in the 19th century, asserts that Þórkell and Þórmóðr, had backed the side of Guðrøðr, and were killed by adherents of Óláfr. It has also proposed that Þórkell and Þórmóðr could be descendants of another saga-character, Ljótólfr, who is recorded in the mediaeval Orkneyinga saga. Furthermore, it was asserted that all three men were ancestors of Clan MacLeod—that Ljótólfr's name is preserved in the surname: MacLeod; and that Þórkell's, and Þórmóðr's, names are preserved in the traditional branches of the clan: Sìol Thormoid, and Sìol Thorcaill. Another suggestion is that Þórkell was somehow related to the Skye MacNicols. Sources Þórkell Þórmóðarson is recorded in the mediaeval kings' saga Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar ("Hakon Hakon's son's Saga"). The saga was composed by Sturla Þórðarson, sometime around 1263–1284. Sturla based it on both written sources and oral traditions. The saga is preserved in several manuscripts that slightly differ from each other—these are: