Mormaerdom of Caithness
Encyclopedia
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.
Caithness was intermittently held, presumably always as fief of Scotland, by the Norse Earls of Orkney, at least since the days of the childhood of Thorfinn Sigurdsson in c 1020, but possibly already several decades before. The modern reconstruction of holders of peerage earldoms do not usually include those of Caithness, although there is no essential difference between them and, for example, those of mormaers of Lennox, mormaers of Strathearn and mormaers of Angus.
In 1334 the then Earl of Orkney, still a Norwegian vassal, was created or recognized as Earl of Caithness
(see there for how the mormaerdom of Caithness continued as Earldom). In the true circumstances of 14th century, this presumably was just a recognition of his hereditary right to the ancient earldom/ mormaership of Caithness
. Next year, all his Scottish titles were forfeited for treason. The next grant after Earl Malise's confiscation was to David Stewart, a younger son of King Robert II
of Scotland
.
Mormaer
The title of Mormaer designates a regional or provincial ruler in the medieval Kingdom of the Scots. In theory, although not always in practice, a Mormaer was second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a toisech.-Origin:...
in medieval Scotland in that it generally was held by a "foreign" prince, the Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
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...
, the ruler of neighboring "Norwegian" province.
Caithness was intermittently held, presumably always as fief of Scotland, by the Norse Earls of Orkney, at least since the days of the childhood of Thorfinn Sigurdsson in c 1020, but possibly already several decades before. The modern reconstruction of holders of peerage earldoms do not usually include those of Caithness, although there is no essential difference between them and, for example, those of mormaers of Lennox, mormaers of Strathearn and mormaers of Angus.
In 1334 the then Earl of Orkney, still a Norwegian vassal, was created or recognized as Earl of Caithness
Earl 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...
(see there for how the mormaerdom of Caithness continued as Earldom). In the true circumstances of 14th century, this presumably was just a recognition of his hereditary right to the ancient earldom/ mormaership 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...
. Next year, all his Scottish titles were forfeited for treason. The next grant after Earl Malise's confiscation was to David Stewart, a younger son of King Robert II
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...
of 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...
.
List of Mormaers of Caithness
The list is by necessity a fragmentary one, archives being not fully preserved, actual reign of some supposed mormaers being not fully attested, and so forth:- Donnchad of Caithness, (or Dungadr) whose wife was Groa, daughter of Thorstein OlafssonThorstein the RedThorstein the Red or Thorstein Olafsson was a viking chieftain who flourished in late ninth-century Scotland. He was born around 850 AD and was the son of Olaf the White, King of Dublin, and Aud the Deep-minded, who was the daughter of Ketil Flatnose...
.
- Thorfinn IThorfinn Turf-Einarsson, Earl of OrkneyThorfinn 'Skullsplitter' Hausakljufr was earl of Orkney. He was the youngest son of Torf-Einarr. Thorfinn married Grelod, daughter of the Mormaer of Caithness and granddaughter of Thorstein the Red. Thorfinn and Grelod had five sons and two daughters...
of Orkney (Torfin mac Enar), possibly succeeding as Donnchad's son-in-law, husband of his daughter Gruaidh inghen Donnchaidh
- Skuli Thorfinnsson of Orkney, son of Gruaidh and Thorfinn, mormaership (of Caithness) confirmed by Kenneth II of Alba
- Lodvi Thorfinnsson of Orkney
- Sigurd II Lodvisson of Orkney
- 1014- Thorfinn II of Orkney, mormaership of Caithness specifically given to him over his half-brothers by king Malcolm of Alba, his maternal grandfather
- Madadhan of Caithness (apparently in StrathnaverStrathnaverStrathnaver or Strath Naver is the fertile strath of the River Naver, a famous salmon river that flows from Loch Naver to the north coast of Scotland...
, Muddan, Moddan), created mormaer of Caithness by king Duncan I of Alba in mid-1030s, killed 1040
- Ottar of Thurso, son of another Madadhan, presumably a descendant of the previous Madadhan
- Haakon I of OrkneyHaakon PaulssonHaakon Paulsson was a Norwegian Jarl and jointly ruled the Earldom of Orkney together with his cousin Magnus Erlendsson....
, brother-in-law of Ottar and grandson of Thorfinn II
- Arailt mac Haquin, Harold I of OrkneyHarald HaakonssonHarald Haakonsson was joint Earl of Orkney in 1122–1127.-References:...
, nephew of Ottar, and son of Haakon; recognized in Caithness by king David I
- Elga inghen Madadhan (Helga Moddansdottir)
-
- Rögnvald Kali Kolsson of Orkney
- Erlend III of OrkneyErlend HaraldssonErlend Haraldsson was joint Earl of Orkney in 1151–1154....
, recognized of Caithness by Malcolm IV
- Harold II of OrkneyHarald MaddadssonHarald Maddadsson was Earl of Orkney and Mormaer of Caithness from 1139 until 1206. He was the son of Matad, Mormaer of Atholl, and Margaret, daughter of Earl Haakon Paulsson of Orkney...
(Arailt mac Mataidh)
-
- Harald the YoungHarald EirikssonHarald Eiríksson was joint Earl of Orkney with Harald Maddadsson. Harald Eiríksson, also known as Harald the Young, was the son of Orkney chief Eirik Stagbrell and Ingerid Ragnvaldsdotter, the daughter of Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, the former Earl of Orkney....
, grandson of Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, confirmed by king Uilleam I of Alba - Ragnald IV of the Isle of ManRagnald IV of the Isle of ManRögnvaldr Guðrøðarson was a late 12th century and early 13th century sea-king who ruled a kingdom which encompassed the Isle of Man and parts of the Hebrides...
, given Caithness by king Uilleam I of Alba
- Harald the Young
- David of OrkneyDavid HaraldssonDavid Haraldsson was joint Earl of Orkney from 1206 to 1214.David Haraldsson and his brother Jon Haraldsson were the sons of Harald Maddadsson with his second wife Hvarflod, daughter of Earl Máel Coluim of Moray. Jon and David became joint Earls of Orkney after the death of their father in 1206...
- Iain mac Arailt mac Mataidh, John I of Orkney (murdered in Thurso 1231)
- MagnusMagnus II, Earl of OrkneyMagnus 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...
mac Gille-Brighde of Angus, earl of Orkney
- Gilbert II of Orkney
- Malcolm or Magnus III of Orkney
- Magnus IV of Orkney
- John II of OrkneyJon Magnusson, Earl of OrkneyJón Magnússon was Earl of Orkney in 1284–c. 1300....
- Magnus V of OrkneyMagnus Jonsson, Earl of OrkneyMagnús Jónsson was Earl of Orkney c. 1300–1321....
- ?princess Catherine of Orkney
- c 1334-35 Maol Íosa V, Earl of StrathearnMaol Íosa V, Earl of StrathearnMaol Íosa V of Strathearn was the last of the native Gaelic family of Strathearn mormaers. He ruled Strathearn as mormaer/earl between 1330 and 1334, and was Earl of Orkney between 1331 and 1350....
, earl of Orkney
- Maud of Strathearn, and her husband Wayland de le Arde
- Alexander de le Arde, in 1375 sold his hereditary rights to Robert II of ScotlandRobert II of ScotlandRobert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...
- 1375-before 1389 David StewartDavid Stewart, Earl of StrathearnDavid Stewart , Prince of Scotland, was a 14th century Scottish magnate. He was the eldest son of the second marriage of King Robert II of Scotland with Euphemia de Ross...
, Earl palatine of Strathearn
- c 1389-1390 Euphemia StewartEuphemia Stewart, Countess of StrathearnEuphemia Stewart was a medieval Scottish noblewoman, the daughter of David Stewart, Earl Palatine of Strathearn and Caithness. She succeeded to both her father's titles after his death between 1385 and 1389, probably March 1386....
, countess palatine of Strathearn
- 1402-28 Walter Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl
- 1428-31 Alan Stewart
- 1431-37 again: Walter Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl (d. 1437) (forfeit 1437)
- 1452 George Crichton, 1st Earl of CaithnessGeorge Crichton, 1st Earl of CaithnessGeorge Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness , was a Scottish peer.Succeeding his father as sheriff of Linlithgowshire, he was knighted before 1438. In 1441 he was ambassador to the Brittany to negotiate the marriage of James II's sister Isabella...
(d. 1455) (created 1452, resigned 1452)
- 1455-76 William Sinclair, Earl of OrkneyWilliam Sinclair, 1st Earl of CaithnessWilliam Sinclair , 1st Earl of Caithness , 3rd Earl of Orkney , Baron of Roslin was a Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian....
, created 1st Earl of CaithnessEarl of CaithnessEarl 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...
, great-grandson of Iseabail inghen Maoliosa, youngest daughter of Malyesu V of Strathearn and his designated heiress of Orkney