Caithness has been fought over every year since 1196: William's armies came in 1196 and 1197, Harald Maddadsson killed Harald the Young near Wick in 1198, and Rognvald of Man's army then overran the province for the king of Scots.
On the likeliest reading Rognvald's stewards hold it this winter while Harald waits across the Pentland Firth in Orkney; his men will kill a steward and land at Thurso before the bishop is mutilated in 1201. The lowland farms between Thurso and Wick lie open to raids from Orkney by sea.
Who raids here
Earl Harald's men from Orkney raid across the Pentland Firth; Rognvald's stewards and the king's partisans hold the farms.
Anchor castles
- Harald
- Orkney: Kirkwall, Orphir, the earl's strongholds
- Stewards
- Thurso
- Wick
- Scrabster (the bishop's castle)
Last campaign
Rognvald's conquest after 1198 (dated about 1200, not pinned); Harald's counter-stroke comes in 1200-1201.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The saga and Howden give the sequence, not the years; this belt is a judgement that the province is unsettled this winter.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.