Editing Magnus II of Norway (section)

===Expedition to the West===
In 1058, Magnus headed an expedition into the Irish Sea that sought to extend Norwegian authority in the region, the Norwegians siding with a faction that opposed the Norse-Gaelic king [[Echmarcach mac Ragnaill]].{{sfn|Gillingham|2004|p=68}} The expedition also appears to have supported a branch of the Norse-Gaelic [[Uí Ímair|dynasty of Ivar]] that opposed Irish king [[Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó]].{{sfn|Gillingham|2004|p=67}} Magnus commanded a fleet that, in addition to Norway, recruited men from [[Orkney]], the [[Hebrides]], and [[Kingdom of Dublin|Dublin]].{{sfn|Barlow|1984|p=201}} His forces were later active in [[Wales]]{{sfn|Barlow|1984|p=342}} and perhaps in [[England]], and English chronicler [[John of Worcester]] associates the Norwegian fleet (along with the Welsh ruler [[Gruffydd ap Llywelyn]]), with returning the exiled [[Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia]] to power.{{sfn|Abels|Bachrach|2001|p=78}} The Irish ''[[Annals of Tigernach]]'' goes further in claiming that Magnus's goal was to seize power in England, but this is not supported by Welsh and English sources{{sfn|Jankulak|Wooding|2007|p=163}} which also includes the ''[[Annales Cambriae]]'' and the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]''.{{sfn|Woolf|2007|p=266}}

Magnus's campaign may have been part of his father's plans for an invasion of England, as control over the [[Kingdom of the Isles]] would have provided him with more troops.{{sfn|Gillingham|2004|p=68}} Historian [[Kelly DeVries]] has moreover proposed that Harald may have wanted to test the situation in England before a possible invasion, only to find that he could not be at war with [[Denmark]] and England at the same time.{{sfn|DeVries|1999|p=67}} The expedition of Magnus never made significant landfall in England, but for English king [[Edward the Confessor]] it probably signalled renewed Norwegian ambitions from Harald Hardrada, who considered himself Edward's rightful heir. At the same time, the rise in power of [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex]] and his sons, in particular [[Harold Godwinson]], had also started representing a threat to Harald's claim.{{sfn|Forte|Oram|Pedersen|2005|p=209}}

On the other hand, historian [[Alex Woolf]] has suggested that the expedition originally may only have been intended for Orkney, and that in search for plunder it was followed by an expedition into the Irish Sea that by mere luck presented Magnus with the opportunity of raiding with Earl Ælfgar.{{sfn|Woolf|2007|p=268}} The exact year that [[Thorfinn Sigurdsson]], [[Earl of Orkney]] died is not recorded anywhere, other than that it is stated in the ''[[Orkneyinga saga]]'' that it was in the later days of Harald Hardrada.{{sfn|Woolf|2007|p=309}} Thus, it may be that his death provoked Magnus's expedition, and that the expedition was the occasion on which [[Paul and Erlend Thorfinnsson]], Thorfinn's successors as earls, submitted to Harald.{{sfn|Woolf|2007|pp=267{{ndash}}268}} Woolf has also proposed that Magnus may have played some part in the war in [[Scotland]] in 1057–1058, perhaps supporting [[Malcolm III of Scotland|Máel Coluim mac Donnchada]] against [[Lulach]].{{sfn|Woolf|2007|pp=268{{ndash}}269}}