Editing Orkney (section)

===Norwegian rule===
{{Main|Earldom of Orkney}}
[[File:Flateyjarbok Haraldr Halfdan.jpg|thumb|alt=A page from an illuminated manuscript shows two male figures. On the left, a seated man wears a red crown and on the right, a standing man has long fair hair. Their right hands are clasped together.|According to the ''[[Orkneyinga saga|Orkneyinga Saga]]'', [[Harald I of Norway|Harald Fairhair]] (on the right, with fair hair) took control of Orkney in 875. He is shown here inheriting his kingdom from his father [[Halfdan the Black]], in an illustration from the ''[[Flateyjarbók]]''.]]
Both Orkney and [[Shetland]] saw a significant influx of Norwegian settlers during the late 8th and early 9th centuries. [[Viking]]s made the islands the headquarters of their [[pirate]] expeditions carried out against Norway and the coasts of mainland Scotland. In response, Norwegian king [[Harald I of Norway|Harald Fairhair]] (Harald Hårfagre) annexed the [[Northern Isles]], comprising Orkney and Shetland, in 875 (it is clear that this story, which appears in the ''[[Orkneyinga saga|Orkneyinga Saga]]'', is based on the later voyages of [[Magnus III of Norway|Magnus Barelegs]] and some scholars believe it to be [[apocryphal]]).<ref>Thompson (2008) pp. 24–27.</ref> [[Rognvald Eysteinsson]] received Orkney and Shetland from Harald as an earldom as reparation for the death of his son in battle in Scotland, and then passed the earldom on to his brother [[Sigurd Eysteinsson|Sigurd the Mighty]].<ref>Thompson (2008) p. 24.</ref> Sigurd went on to conquer northern parts of mainland Britain in the late 9th century, including [[Caithness]] and [[Sutherland]].<ref name=Grant>{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Alexander |editor1-last=Cowan |editor1-first=Edward J. |editor2-last=McDonald |editor2-first=R. Andrew |title=Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages |date=2000 |publisher=Tuckwell Press |location=East Linton |isbn=1-86232-151-5 |pages=98–110 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/albacelticscotla0000unse/page/98/mode/2up |access-date=28 August 2024 |chapter=The Province of Ross and the Kingdom of Alba}}</ref>

However, Sigurd's line barely survived him and it was [[Torf-Einarr]], Rognvald's son by a slave, who founded a dynasty that controlled the islands for centuries after his death.<ref>Thompson (2008) p. 29.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Sigurd The Mighty's son Gurthorm ruled for a single winter after Sigurd's death and died childless. Rognvald's son Hallad inherited the title but, unable to constrain Danish raids in Orkney, he gave up the earldom and returned to Norway, which according to the ''[[Orkneyinga saga|Orkneyinga Saga]]'' "everyone thought was a huge joke."<ref>Thompson (2008) p. 30 quoting chapter 5.</ref>|group="Notes"}} He was succeeded by his son [[Thorfinn Turf-Einarsson, Earl of Orkney|Thorfinn Skull-splitter]] and during this time the deposed Norwegian King [[Eric Bloodaxe]] often used Orkney as a raiding base before being killed in 954. Thorfinn's death and presumed burial at the [[Hoxa, Orkney|broch of Hoxa]], on [[South Ronaldsay]], led to a long period of dynastic strife.<ref>Wenham, Sheena "The South Isles" in Omand (2003) p. 211.</ref><ref>Thompson (2008) pp. 56–58.</ref>
[[File:Peter nicolai arbo, olaf tryggvasson king.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A group of warriors in medieval garb surround two men whose postures suggest they are about to embrace. The man on the right is taller, has long fair hair and wears a bright red tunic. The man on the left his balding with short grey hair and a white beard. He wears a long brown cloak.| Artist's conception of [[Olaf I of Norway|King Olaf Tryggvason]] of Norway, who forcibly Christianised Orkney.<ref name=T69/> Painting by [[Peter Nicolai Arbo]].]]

Initially a pagan culture, detailed information about the turn to the Christian religion in the islands of Scotland during the Norse era is elusive.<ref>Abrams, Lesley "Conversion and the Church in the Hebrides in the Viking Age: "A Very Difficult Thing Indeed" in Ballin Smith ''et al'' (2007) pp. 169–89</ref> The  ''Orkneyinga Saga'' suggests the islands were Christianised by [[Olaf I of Norway|Olaf Tryggvasson]] in 995 when he stopped at [[South Walls]] on his way from Ireland to Norway. The King summoned the ''[[earl|jarl]]'' [[Sigurd the Stout]]{{#tag:ref|Sigurd the Stout was Thorfinn Skull-splitter's grandson.|group="Notes"}} and said, "I order you and all your subjects to be baptised. If you refuse, I'll have you killed on the spot and I swear I will ravage every island with fire and steel." Unsurprisingly, Sigurd agreed and the islands became Christian at a stroke,<ref name=T69>Thompson (2008) p. 69. quoting the ''[[Orkneyinga Saga]]'' chapter 12.</ref> receiving their own [[Bishop of Orkney|bishop]] in the early 11th century.{{#tag:ref|The first recorded bishop was [[Henry of Lund]] (also known as "the Fat") who was appointed sometime prior to 1035.<ref>[[D. E. R. Watt|Watt, D.E.R.]], (ed.) (1969) ''Fasti Ecclesia Scoticanae Medii Aevii ad annum 1638''. Scottish Records Society. p. 247.</ref> The bishopric appears to have been under the authority of the Archbishops of [[Archbishop of York|York]] and of [[Archbishopric of Bremen|Hamburg-Bremen]] at different times during the early period and from the mid-twelfth century to 1472 was subordinate to the [[Archdiocese of Nidaros|Archbishop of Nidaros]] (today's [[Trondheim]]).<ref>[http://www.cushnieent.force9.co.uk/New%20Diocese/orkney/diocese_orkney.htm "The Diocese of Orkney"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907182006/http://www.cushnieent.force9.co.uk/New%20Diocese/orkney/diocese_orkney.htm |date=7 September 2008 }} Firth's Celtic Scotland. Retrieved 9 September 2009.</ref>|group="Notes"}}{{#tag:ref|When the sagas were written down Orkney had been Christian for 200 years or more<ref name=Thomson66>Thompson (2008) pp.&nbsp;66–67</ref> and this conversion tale has been described as "blatantly unhistorical".<ref name=Beuer143>Beuermann (2011) pp.&nbsp;143–44</ref>|group="Notes"}}

[[File:Kirkwall cathedral.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A large church made from red and yellow stone with a square tower and a spire on the tower.|[[St Magnus Cathedral]] in Kirkwall]]

[[Thorfinn Sigurdsson|Thorfinn the Mighty]] was a son of Sigurd and a grandson of [[Malcolm II of Scotland|King Malcolm II of Scotland]] (''Máel Coluim mac Cináeda''). Along with Sigurd's other sons he ruled Orkney during the first half of the 11th century and extended his authority over a small maritime empire stretching from [[Dublin]] to [[Shetland]]. Thorfinn died around 1065 and his sons [[Paul and Erlend Thorfinnsson|Paul and Erlend]] succeeded him, fighting at the [[Battle of Stamford Bridge]] in 1066.<ref>Crawford, Barbara E. "Orkney in the Middle Ages" in Omand (2003) pp. 66–68.</ref> Paul and Erlend quarrelled as adults and this dispute carried on to the next generation. The [[martyr]]dom of [[Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney|Magnus Erlendsson]], who was killed in April 1116 by his cousin [[Haakon Paulsson]], resulted in the building of [[St Magnus Cathedral]], still today a dominating feature of Kirkwall.{{#tag:ref|The Scandinavian peoples, relatively recent converts to Christianity, tended to confer martyrdom and sainthood on leading figures of the day who met violent deaths. Magnus and Haakon Paulsson had been co-rulers of Orkney, and although he had a reputation for piety, there is no suggestion that Magnus died for his Christian faith.<ref>Crawford, Barbara E. "Orkney in the Middle Ages" in Omand (2003) p. 69.</ref>|group="Notes"}}{{#tag:ref|"St Magnus Cathedral still dominates the Kirkwall skyline – a familiar, and comforting sight, to Kirkwallians around the world."<ref>[http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/stmagnus/magcath.htm "St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130123631/http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/stmagnus/magcath.htm |date=30 January 2021 }} Orkneyar. Retrieved 10 September 2009.</ref>|group="Notes"}}

The [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scottish crown]] claimed the overlordship of the Caithness and Sutherland area from Norway in 1098.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crawford |first1=Barbara E. |editor1-last=Stringer |editor1-first=Keith J. |title=Essays on the Nobility of Medieval Scotland |date=2004 |publisher=John Donald |location=9781788853408 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0tWEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT48 |access-date=6 October 2024 |chapter=The Earldom of Caithness and the Kingdom of Scotland, 1150–1266|isbn=978-1-78885-340-8 }}</ref> The jarls thereafter owed allegiance to the Scottish crown for their territory on mainland Britain, which they held as the [[Mormaer of Caithness]], but owed allegiance to the Norwegian crown for Orkney and Shetland.<ref name=Grant/><ref>Crawford, Barbara E. "Orkney in the Middle Ages" in Omand (2003) p. 64.</ref> In 1195, the jarls lost control of Shetland when it became a separate lordship.<ref name=Crawford>{{cite journal |last1=Crawford |first1=Barbara E. |title=The Earldom of Orkney and Lordship of Shetland: A reinterpretation of their pledging to Scotland in 1468–70 |journal=Saga Book |date=1966 |volume=17 |page=157 |jstor=48613121 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48613121 |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref>

In 1231 the line of Norse earls, unbroken since Rognvald, ended with [[Jon Haraldsson]]'s murder in [[Thurso]].<ref>Crawford, Barbara E. "Orkney in the Middle Ages" in Omand (2003) pp. 72–73.</ref> The [[Earldom of Caithness]] was granted to [[Magnus II, Earl of Orkney|Magnus]], second son of the [[Earl of Angus]], whom [[Haakon IV of Norway]] confirmed as Earl of Orkney in 1236.<ref>Thompson (2008) pp. 134–37.</ref> Around the same time, the earldom lost the southern part of its territory on mainland Britain when it was made the separate earldom of Sutherland.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fraser |first1=William |title=The Sutherland Book |date=1892 |location=Edinburgh |page=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/sutherlandbook01fras/page/102/mode/2up |access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref>
[[File:Margaret, Maid of Norway.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Margaret depicted in the [[Lerwick Town Hall]]|[[Lerwick Town Hall]] stained glass window depicting "Margaret, queen of Scotland and daughter of Norway"]]

In 1290, the death of the child princess [[Margaret, Maid of Norway]] in Orkney, en route to mainland Scotland, created a disputed succession that led to the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]].<ref name=T146>Thompson (2008) pp. 146–47.</ref>{{#tag:ref|It is often believed that the princess's death is associated with the village of [[St Margaret's Hope]] on South Ronaldsay but there is no evidence for this other than the coincidence of the name.<ref name=T146/>|group="Notes"}} In the 14th century the earls of Orkney also lost Caithness, after which the earldom just covered the islands of Orkney itself.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Pulsiano |editor1-first=Phillip |title=Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia |date=1993 |publisher=Garland Publishing |location=New York and London |isbn=0824047877 |pages=63–65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-XiZO8V4qUC&pg=PA63 |access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Paul |editor1-first=James Balfour |title=The Scots Peerage: Volume 2 |date=1905 |publisher=David Douglas |location=Edinburgh |page=321 |url=https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun02paul/page/320/mode/2up |access-date=30 September 2024}}</ref> In 1379 the earldom passed to the [[Clan Sinclair|Sinclair]] family, who were also barons of [[Roslin Castle|Roslin]] near [[Edinburgh]].<ref>Thompson (2008) p. 160.</ref>{{#tag:ref|The notion that [[Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney|Henry]] the first Sinclair Earl, voyaged to North America many years before [[Christopher Columbus]] has gained some currency of late.<ref name="Haswell-Smith 2004 p. 354"/> The idea is however dismissed out of hand by many scholars. For example, Thompson (2008) states "Henry's fictitious trip to America continues to receive a good deal of unfortunate publicity, but it belongs to fantasy rather than real history".<ref>Thompson (2008) pp. 168–69.</ref><ref>[http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/historicalfigures/henrysinclair/princehenrytrip.htm "Earl Henry Sinclair: The Zeno Narrative"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925013609/http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/historicalfigures/henrysinclair/princehenrytrip.htm |date=25 September 2009 }} Orkneyjar. Retrieved 4 October 2009.</ref>|group="Notes"}}

Evidence of the Viking presence is widespread and includes the settlement at the [[Brough of Birsay]],<ref>Armit (2006) pp. 173–76.</ref> the vast majority of [[Toponymy|place names]],<ref>Thompson (2008) p. 40.</ref> and the [[Runic alphabet|runic]] inscriptions at Maeshowe.{{#tag:ref|The Maeshowe inscriptions date from the 12th century.<ref>Armit (2006) pp. 178–79.</ref>|group="Notes"}}