Earldom of Orkney
Encyclopedia
The Earldom of Orkney was a Norwegian
dignity in Scotland
which had its origins in the Viking
period. The title of Earl of Orkney
was passed down the same family line through to the Middle Ages.
Orkney and Shetland to the north, lie off the northernmost tip of Caithness
Scotland
. Picts
came to Orkney during the Bronze Age
and extant archaeological data shows that certainly, there were people living there prior to the Vikings who came to Orkney, probably by the latter part of the 8th century although this is up for dispute. Norwegian Vikings probably either came to the islands first as farmers who were seeking land or as warriors who were claiming territory and riches as was common with Viking conquests elsewhere. The question of whether the Picts were completely massacred by the settling Vikings, migrated away, or were assimilated, in peaceful coexistence and gentle mergeance, is a matter of contention. However, aside from traces of their lives there, their culture did not endure in the early history or character of Orkney.
By the 12th century, Orkney was under Norwegian control and by the 13th century, the Orkneyingasaga
was written in Iceland, providing one of the earliest and most repeated versions of the history of Norse life on these isles. The Orkneyingasaga is largely fictional however and was not, being written in Iceland, any sort of primary source. Instead, it should be culled for historical details with great care and these data should be matched and compared against data from other sources.
, claimed Orkney and Shetland for his kingdom around 875 and due to political differences and problems had to take military action to secure these isles as realms friendly to his rule at home. Some of his enemies left Orkney for Iceland and perhaps the Faroes. Harald took control of the warrior leaders of Orkney at this point and appointed the jarls, or earls of Orkney
, who would be the highest-ranking nobility of the islands and would form the localized government in his stead. The martyrdom of Earl Magnus
in 1117 resulted in the building of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. In 1231, the line of jarls which Harald established became extinct and in the same year, the earldom or mormaerdom of Caithness
was given over to Magnus
, the son of the Mormaer of Angus, forming the basis for a new governing presence. In 1379 Haakon VI Magnusson
granted the earldom to Henry Sinclair
In 1468, the Orkney and Shetland were ceded by Christian I of Denmark
and Norway against the unpaid dowry of his daughter Princess Margaret who was betrothed to the Scottish prince James III. Christian I never paid the money owed to James' father and thus the two island groups became part of the Scottish kingdom. The jarldom, without a clear Norse line nor the political support or mechanism for that line to continue, were given over to Scottish lords. In 1471, James gave lands in Caithness Scotland to William, the Earl of Orkney in exchange for his lands and thus Orkney and Shetland became part of the Kingdom of Scotland.
in 1470, moving the connection between these two earldoms back towards the mainland once again.
In 1567 James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, was created as the Duke of Orkney. When Mary lost her claim to the throne, her husband also lost his to Orkney and the title was considered extinct.
Robert Stewart was created as the Earl of Orkney and the title revived but his son, Patrick Stewart forfeited the title.
George Hamilton
was created as the Earl of Orkney in the third creation of the title in 1696. It is through his family and those families his has married into that the title has survived today.
Life under the Scottish earls—especially after the creation of the second line of Earls of Orkney—over time incorporated aspects of Scottish culture while still keeping the Norn language
place and family names and other distinct aspects of Norse influence on the isles. Today, these influences are still found in Orkney and Shetland, making their character somewhat novel and distinct from that of other parts of Scotland.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
dignity in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
which had its origins in the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
period. The title of Earl of Orkney
Earl of Orkney
The Earl of Orkney was originally a Norse jarl ruling Orkney, Shetland and parts of Caithness and Sutherland. The Earls were periodically subject to the kings of Norway for the Northern Isles, and later also to the kings of Alba for those parts of their territory in mainland Scotland . The Earl's...
was passed down the same family line through to the Middle Ages.
Orkney and Shetland to the north, lie off the northernmost tip of Caithness
Caithness
Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...
Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
came to Orkney during the Bronze Age
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
and extant archaeological data shows that certainly, there were people living there prior to the Vikings who came to Orkney, probably by the latter part of the 8th century although this is up for dispute. Norwegian Vikings probably either came to the islands first as farmers who were seeking land or as warriors who were claiming territory and riches as was common with Viking conquests elsewhere. The question of whether the Picts were completely massacred by the settling Vikings, migrated away, or were assimilated, in peaceful coexistence and gentle mergeance, is a matter of contention. However, aside from traces of their lives there, their culture did not endure in the early history or character of Orkney.
By the 12th century, Orkney was under Norwegian control and by the 13th century, the Orkneyingasaga
Orkneyinga saga
The Orkneyinga saga is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200...
was written in Iceland, providing one of the earliest and most repeated versions of the history of Norse life on these isles. The Orkneyingasaga is largely fictional however and was not, being written in Iceland, any sort of primary source. Instead, it should be culled for historical details with great care and these data should be matched and compared against data from other sources.
Norwegian Earldom of Orkney
Harald I Hårfagre, Harald I of NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, claimed Orkney and Shetland for his kingdom around 875 and due to political differences and problems had to take military action to secure these isles as realms friendly to his rule at home. Some of his enemies left Orkney for Iceland and perhaps the Faroes. Harald took control of the warrior leaders of Orkney at this point and appointed the jarls, or earls of Orkney
Earl of Orkney
The Earl of Orkney was originally a Norse jarl ruling Orkney, Shetland and parts of Caithness and Sutherland. The Earls were periodically subject to the kings of Norway for the Northern Isles, and later also to the kings of Alba for those parts of their territory in mainland Scotland . The Earl's...
, who would be the highest-ranking nobility of the islands and would form the localized government in his stead. The martyrdom of Earl Magnus
Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney
Saint Magnus, Earl Magnus Erlendsson of Orkney, sometimes known as Magnus the Martyr, was the first Earl of Orkney to bear that name, and ruled from 1108 to about 1115...
in 1117 resulted in the building of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. In 1231, the line of jarls which Harald established became extinct and in the same year, the earldom or mormaerdom of Caithness
Mormaerdom of Caithness
The Mormaer of Caithness ruled a distinct mormaerdom in medieval Scotland in that it generally was held by a "foreign" prince, the Norse Earl of Orkney, the ruler of neighboring "Norwegian" province....
was given over to Magnus
Magnus II, Earl of Orkney
Magnus II was Earl of Orkney.The son of Gille Críst, Mormaer of Angus by his wife Ingibiorg, sister of Harald III, Earl of Orkney and daughter of Eric Stalbregr by his wife Ingrid , he was granted the Earldom of Orkney by King Haakon IV of Norway in 1236...
, the son of the Mormaer of Angus, forming the basis for a new governing presence. In 1379 Haakon VI Magnusson
Haakon VI of Norway
Haakon VI of Norway was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden from 1362 until 1364, when he was deposed by Albert of Mecklenburg in Sweden.-Background:...
granted the earldom to Henry Sinclair
In 1468, the Orkney and Shetland were ceded by Christian I of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Norway against the unpaid dowry of his daughter Princess Margaret who was betrothed to the Scottish prince James III. Christian I never paid the money owed to James' father and thus the two island groups became part of the Scottish kingdom. The jarldom, without a clear Norse line nor the political support or mechanism for that line to continue, were given over to Scottish lords. In 1471, James gave lands in Caithness Scotland to William, the Earl of Orkney in exchange for his lands and thus Orkney and Shetland became part of the Kingdom of Scotland.
Scottish Earldom of Orkney
William Sinclair exchanged the title for that of Earl of CaithnessEarl of Caithness
Earl of Caithness is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland, and has a very complex history. Its first grant, in the modern sense as to have been counted in strict lists of peerages, is now generally held to have taken place in favor of Maol Íosa V, Earl of...
in 1470, moving the connection between these two earldoms back towards the mainland once again.
In 1567 James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
Earl of Bothwell
The title Earl of Bothwell has been created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. It was first created for Patrick Hepburn in 1488, and was forfeited in 1567. It was then created for Francis Stewart in 1587...
, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, was created as the Duke of Orkney. When Mary lost her claim to the throne, her husband also lost his to Orkney and the title was considered extinct.
Robert Stewart was created as the Earl of Orkney and the title revived but his son, Patrick Stewart forfeited the title.
George Hamilton
George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney
Field Marshal George Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney KT was a British soldier and Scottish nobleman and the first British Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. The son of the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, he fought for William of Orange in Ireland and the Low Countries...
was created as the Earl of Orkney in the third creation of the title in 1696. It is through his family and those families his has married into that the title has survived today.
Life under the Scottish earls—especially after the creation of the second line of Earls of Orkney—over time incorporated aspects of Scottish culture while still keeping the Norn language
Norn language
Norn is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken in Shetland and Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland, and in Caithness. After the islands were pledged to Scotland by Norway in the 15th century, it was gradually replaced by Scots and on the mainland by Scottish...
place and family names and other distinct aspects of Norse influence on the isles. Today, these influences are still found in Orkney and Shetland, making their character somewhat novel and distinct from that of other parts of Scotland.
See also
- Kingdom of the IslesKingdom of the IslesThe Kingdom of the Isles comprised the Hebrides, the islands of the Firth of Clyde and the Isle of Man from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the Suðreyjar, or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the Norðreyjar or Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland...
- Earl of OrkneyEarl of OrkneyThe Earl of Orkney was originally a Norse jarl ruling Orkney, Shetland and parts of Caithness and Sutherland. The Earls were periodically subject to the kings of Norway for the Northern Isles, and later also to the kings of Alba for those parts of their territory in mainland Scotland . The Earl's...
(contains further information on the line of earls after Orkney became part of Scotland) - Fief of ViborgFief of ViborgFief of Viborg or Margraviate of Wiburg 1320-1534, was for some two centuries a late medieval feudal fief in the southeastern border of Finland and the entire Swedish realm, held by its chatelain, a fiefed, appointed feudal lord....
(concerning the Swedish nominal title)
Sources
- Morris, Christopher. "Viking Orkney: A Survey." In: The Prehistory of Orkney. Ed. Colin Renfrew. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 1985.
- Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Pálsson. Orkneyinga Saga. (English translation of the Orkneyingasaga) New York: Penguin. 1978
External links
- Orkneyjar detailing the history and culture of the Orkney Isles.