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The Orkneyinga saga is a narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands and their relationship with other local polities, particularly Norway and Scotland. The saga has "no parallel in the social and literary record of Scotland" and is "the only medieval chronicle to have Orkney as the central place of action". The main focus of the work is the line of jarls who ruled the Earldom of Orkney, which constituted the Norðreyjar or Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland and there are frequent references to both archipelagoes throughout.
Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, sometimes known as Magnus the Martyr, was Earl of Orkney from 1106 to about 1117.
Rognvald Eysteinsson was the founding Jarl of Møre in Norway, and a close relative and ally of Harald Fairhair, the earliest known King of Norway. In the Norse language he is known as Rǫgnvaldr Eysteinsson (Mǿrajarl) and in modern Norwegian as Ragnvald Mørejarl. He is sometimes referred to with bynames that may be translated into modern English as "Rognvald the Wise" or "Rognvald the Powerful".
Earl of Orkney, historically Jarl of Orkney, is a title of nobility encompassing the archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland, which comprise the Northern Isles of Scotland. Originally founded by Norse invaders, the status of the rulers of the Northern Isles as Norwegian vassals was formalised in 1195. Although the Old Norse term jarl is etymologically related to "earl", and the jarls were succeeded by earls in the late 15th century, a Norwegian jarl is not the same thing. In the Norse context the distinction between jarls and kings did not become significant until the late 11th century and the early jarls would therefore have had considerable independence of action until that time. The position of Jarl of Orkney was eventually the most senior rank in medieval Norway except for the king himself.
St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in Scotland, and the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built for the bishops of Orkney when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney. It is owned not by the church, but by the burgh of Kirkwall as a result of an act of King James III of Scotland following Orkney's annexation by the Scottish Crown in 1468.
Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, also known as Saint Ronald of Orkney, was a Norwegian earl of Orkney who came to be regarded as a Christian saint. Two of the Orkney Islands are named after Rögnvald, namely North Ronaldsay and South Ronaldsay.
Harald Maddadsson was Earl of Orkney and Mormaer of Caithness from 1139 until 1206. He was the son of Matad, Mormaer of Atholl, and Margaret, daughter of Earl Haakon Paulsson of Orkney. Of mixed Norse and Gaelic blood, and a descendant of Scots kings, he was a significant figure in northern Scotland, and played a prominent part in Scottish politics of the twelfth century. The Orkneyinga Saga names him one of the three most powerful Earls of Orkney along with Sigurd Eysteinsson and Thorfinn Sigurdsson.
Rognvald Brusason , son of Brusi Sigurdsson, was Earl of Orkney jointly with Thorfinn Sigurdsson from about 1037 onwards. He could possibly be the grandfather of Magnus Barelegs through an unnamed daughter. His life is recorded in the Orkneyinga Saga.
Paul Thorfinnsson and Erlend Thorfinnsson were brothers who ruled together as Earls of Orkney. Paul and Erlend were the sons of Thorfinn Sigurdsson and Ingibiorg Finnsdottir. Through Ingibiorg's father Finn Arnesson and his wife, the family was related to the Norwegian Kings Olav II and Harald II. They are both described as "tall, handsome men, shrewd and gentle, taking rather more after their mother's side of the family. Their lives and times are recounted in the Orkneyinga Saga, which was first written down in the early 13th century by an unknown Icelandic author.
Haakon Paulsson was a Norwegian jarl who ruled the earldom of Orkney together with his cousin Magnus Erlendsson from 1105 to 1123. Their lives and times are recounted in the Orkneyinga saga, which was first written down in the early 13th century by an unknown Icelandic author.
Erlend Haraldsson was joint Earl of Orkney from 1151 to 1154. The son of Earl Harald Haakonsson, he ruled with Harald Maddadsson and Rögnvald Kali Kolsson.
Harald Eiríksson , also known as Harald the Young, was joint Earl of Orkney with Harald Maddadsson. He was the son of Orkney chief Eirik Stagbrell and Ingerid Ragnvaldsdotter, the daughter of Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, the former Earl of Orkney.
Jon Haraldsson was a Norwegian noble who served as the Jarl of Orkney between 1206 and 1231. Jon Haraldsson and his brother David were the sons of Harald Maddadsson with his second wife Hvarflod, daughter of Earl Máel Coluim of Moray. Jon and David were joint Earls of Orkney after the death of their father in 1206. David Haraldsson died of sickness in 1214, leaving Jon Haraldsson to rule alone. William the Lion, king of Scotland, took Jon's daughter hostage in August 1214 as part of a peace agreement with the new sole Earl.
Sweyn Asleifsson or Sveinn Ásleifarson was a 12th-century Viking who appears in the Orkneyinga Saga.
Thorbjorn Thorsteinsson, also known as Thorbjorn the Clerk, was a pirate from the Orkney Islands who was executed in 1158.
William the Old was a 12th-century prelate who became one of the most famous bishops of Orkney. Although his origins are obscure in detail, William was said to have been a "clerk of Paris". Saga tradition had it that William had been bishop for 66 years when he died in 1168, meaning that his accession to the bishopric would have been around 1102. There is no contemporary evidence of his episcopate until a letter of Pope Honorius II in 1128, which even then does not name William specifically, but rather only mentions a bishop holding office at the same time as Radulf Novell. He was however definitively in charge by December 1135 during the earldom of Earl Paul Haakonsson.
Damsay is an islet in the Orkney archipelago in Scotland. It is approximately 18 hectares (0.07 sq mi) in extent and rises to only 11 metres (36 ft) above sea level. It is situated in the Bay of Firth north of the Orkney Mainland near Finstown. Nearby is the smaller islet of Holm of Grimbister.
Haakonsson is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Kristin Sigurdsdatter was a Norwegian princess and mother of King Magnus V of Norway.
Helga Moddansdóttir was the mistress of Haakon Paulsson who was Earl of Orkney from 1105 to 1123.
References
- ↑ Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney(tr. Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards. Penguin, London, 1978)
Norse earls of Orkney | ||
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Dates are approximate. Joint earldoms were frequent. | ||
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