The chieftaincy at Bjarkøy possibly goes back to the 2-300s. Tore Hund was maybe born around 980-90, and was thus part of this dynasty. Probably he could speak at least some Sami, and possibly also had in laws among leading Sami families.

King Olav II, later Saint Olav, sought from his ascension to the throne in 1015 both to centralise power and convert all Norway to Christianity. This was carried out with a fair bit of Viking style use of power. Tore Hund and the other chieftains rightly feared their influence could be reduced. Tore Hund allied himself with chieftains along the waterway from Northern Norway down to the western coast, forming a mighty opposition to the king.

In the early 1020’ies the grain harvest failed in the north. The king introduced an export ban from the south to the north, so when Tore’s nephew, Asbjørn, sailed south to buy grain, nobody dared sell him any. He then killed one of the king’s men, Tore Sel, gaining him the name Asbjørn Selsbane (killer of Sel), and could then buy grain from his allies. But in 1024, Asbjørn was killed by another of the king’s men on a mission in Lofoten. Asbjørn’s mother and Tore’s sister in law, Sigrid, gave the spear that killed Asbjørn to Tore Hund, and urged him to avenge Asbjørn. The conflict of interest had turned personal!