Earldom of Orkney and Caithness

Who rules

Name

Harald Maddadsson (Haraldr Maddadarson)

Title

Earl (jarl) of Orkney under the king of Norway, and earl of Caithness under the king of Scots

Since

1139, made joint earl as a child; sole earl since the killing of Rognvald Kali in 1158

Born

About 1134; he is about 65

Family

Son of Maddad, earl of Atholl, and Margaret, daughter of Earl Hakon Paulsson. First wife: Affrica (perhaps of the house of Fife), mother of Heinrek, Hakon, Helena and Margaret. Second wife (about 1168): Hvarflod (Gormflaith), daughter of an earl Malcolm (MacHeth or mac Alaxandair), which ties him to the MacHeth claim to Ross and Moray; her children are Thorfinn, David, Jon, Gunnhild, Herborga and Langlif. Thorfinn is a hostage in William's hands since the settlement of 1196-1197.

Confidence

high

In 1193-1194 the Oyskjeggs (island-beards) of Orkney and Shetland, led by Harald's brother-in-law Olaf, raised Sigurd Magnusson against King Sverre and were routed at Florvag near Bergen on 3 April 1194; Harald went to Bergen to make his peace (1195) and Sverre took Shetland from him. William the Lion then invaded Caithness (1196 and 1197), took hostages and gave part of Caithness to Harald the Young, Rognvald Kali's grandson, whom Harald killed near Wick in 1198.

Overlord

Sverre, king of Norway, for Orkney; William, king of Scots, for Caithness

What the realm holds

• Orkney: the earl's estates, the skatt (land tax), the earl's halls at Orphir and Kirkwall, and the leadership of the Orkney fleet
• A claim to Caithness and Sutherland (see Caithness)
• Formerly Shetland, taken by Sverre in 1195

How it was acquired

Hereditary in the line of the Norse earls, through his mother; granted by King Ingi in 1139 jointly with Rognvald Kali.

Allies and rivals

Rivals: William the Lion; Rognvald of Man; Sverre (who took Shetland). Ties: the MacHeth and MacWilliam enemies of the Scottish king through his second wife; Bishop Bjarni, who mediates.

The realm that morning

Harald holds Orkney. He is not in possession of Caithness this winter (not pinned; see Caithness). His son Thorfinn is William's hostage.

Wealth

Grain, malt and cattle of Orkney; fish; the skatt; the sea-trade between Norway, Scotland and Ireland. No figures.

Military

The earl's fleet of longships and the levy (leidang) of Orkney; Caithness men when he holds it. No numbers.

Threats

• William's expeditions
• Rognvald of Man
• The life of his hostage son Thorfinn
• Sverre's suspicion

Officers

Not pinned. The bishop of Orkney is Bjarni Kolbeinsson (since 1188), a skald; the bishop of Caithness is John, at Scrabster and Halkirk.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1201Harald crosses to Caithness, lands at Thurso, has one of Rognvald's stewards killed and the bishop John mutilated at Scrabster (his man Lumberd cuts out the bishop's tongue).Depends on: Harald's belief that the bishop informed against him; Rognvald's absence Stopped by: A settlement with William or a royal garrison
2. 1201-1202William leads a great army north; Harald submits without a fight and agrees to pay a quarter of the revenues of Caithness; Thorfinn is blinded and castrated in prison and dies.Depends on: The 1201 attack Stopped by: Peace before 1201
3. 1206Harald dies of natural causes, aged about 72; his sons David and Jon succeed jointly.Depends on: Natural death Stopped by: Death in war first

Places of note

• St Magnus cathedral, Kirkwall: Cathedral of the bishop of Orkney, begun 1137
• Orphir: The earl's hall and round church
• Birsay: Old seat of the earls and bishops

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Orkneyinga saga, Sverris saga and Roger of Howden; the saga chronology is loose and the order of events between 1196 and 1202 is debated.

Primary sources for this realm

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Saga of the Earls of Orkney, Anonymous (Icelandic) (about 1200 to 1230; surviving text mainly from Flateyjarbok, about 1390). The saga's last chapters are about Earl Harald Maddadsson, who in 1200 held Orkney under King Sverre of Norway and Caithness under William the Lion: his long rule, his quarrel with the Scottish king that cost him Caithness in 1196 to 1197, his recovery of it, and the maiming of Bishop John of Caithness and the king's revenge in 1201 to 1202. Read online
• The saga of King Sverre of Norway, Karl Jónsson and a continuator (begun about 1185 under Sverre's own supervision, completed about 1210 to 1220). The king's own authorised saga. Read online
• The Norwegian diplomatarium and the Norwegian regesta (documents of 1050 to 1590; Regesta vol. 1 covers 991 to 1263 and was published 1898). The Norwegian documents of the year are few and mostly papal: Innocent III's letters on Sverre's excommunication and the interdict, the correspondence of the exiled Archbishop Eirik and the bishops, and a handful of church grants. Read online
• Early Sources of Scottish History, Various; collected and translated by A. O. Anderson (sources of the 6th to 13th centuries; collection published 1922). The quickest way to every non-English witness to Scotland and the Isles in 1200, in translation and in date order: the Irish annals on the Isles and Galloway, Orkneyinga saga and the Norwegian sagas on Harald Maddadsson of Orkney and Caithness and his war with William the Lion, the Chronicle of Mann on Ragnall and the Hebrides, Melrose and Holyrood, and Scottish charters. Read online