The Orkneyinga Saga

Torf-Einar,[226] son of Earl Rögnvald, succeeded him. He was a man of great power, and was Earl a long time. Hálfdán Hálegg[227] (high-legs) made an expedition against Torf-Eina...

THERE was a powerful and wealthy man, by name Amundi, who lived in Hrossey,[239] at Sandvik on Laufandaness. He had a son, by name Thorkel, who was the most accomplished man in...

THORFINN went east to King Olaf in Norway, where he was well received, and spent the summer there; and when he prepared to go westward again, King Olaf gave him a large and exce...

AFTER the death of Earl Einar, Earl Brúsi took possession of that portion of the domain which had belonged to his brother (Einar), for there had been many witnesses to the compa...

The King said: “I will now make publicly known the treaty between me and the Earls of the Orkneys. They have acknowledged my suzerainty over all the Orkneys and Hjaltland (Shetl...

NOW it is to be told of King Karl that he went to Scotland after the battle with Earl Thorfinn, and collected an army as well from the south as the west and east of Scotland, an...

EARL THORFINN made himself famous in the Orkneys by entertaining his own men and many other men of note throughout the winter, so that no one had to go to inns—providing food an...

RÖGNVALD, Brúsi’s son, remained in Gardariki (Russia) when Harald, Sigurd’s son, went to Mikligard (Constantinople); he had the defence of the frontier in summer, and spent the...

WHEN Rögnvald, Brúsi’s son, came to Norway, he heard of the death of his father Brúsi, and at the same time, that Earl Thorfinn had taken possession of the whole of the Islands....

EARL RÖGNVALD sailed for the Orkneys, and went first to the estates which his father had possessed. Thence he sent messengers to his kinsman, Earl Thorfinn, and asked for that t...

EARLY in the spring Thorfinn sent word to his kinsman Rögnvald, and asked him to go out with him on an expedition, bringing as many men as he could. As soon as Rögnvald received...

ONE summer Earl Thorfinn made war in the Sudreyar (Hebrides) and in Scotland. He had sent men into England to foray, and they carried away all the spoil they could find. But whe...

AT that time Hardicanute was King of England and Denmark. Earl Thorfinn went to the Orkneys and spent the winter there. Early in the spring he called out a levy from all his dom...

ABOUT this time Kálf Arnason was banished by King Magnus. He crossed the seas, and went to Earl Thorfinn, his brother-in-law. Thorfinn’s wife was then Ingibiorg, the mother of t...

EARL RÖGNVALD sailed from Norway for the Orkneys, and landed in Hjaltland (Shetland), where he collected men, and went thence to the Orkneys. There he summoned his friends to me...

NOW it is to be told of Earl Thorfinn that on the morning after the battle he sent boats to all the islands to search for the fugitives. Many were killed, and some were pardoned...

RÖGNVALD first came off the coast of Hjaltland (Shetland), and heard that Earl Thorfinn was in the Orkneys with few men, because he did not expect any enemies in the depth of wi...

EARL RÖGNVALD resided in Kirkiuvag (Kirkwall), and brought there all necessaries for the winter; he had a great number of men, and entertained them liberally. A little before Ch...

THE body of Earl Rögnvald was brought to the larger Papey[271] and buried there. Men said that he was one of the most accomplished and best-beloved of all the Earls of the Orkne...

ABOUT this time King Harald, Sigurd’s son,[273] King Magnus’s uncle, arrived in Norway, and King Magnus gave him the half of the kingdom. One winter they called out men from the...

EARL THORFINN now ruled the Orkneys and all his dominions. Kálf Arnason was frequently with him. Sometimes he made viking expeditions to the west, and plundered in Scotland and...

EARL THORFINN retained all his dominions to his dying day, and it is truly said that he was the most powerful of all the Earls of the Orkneys. He obtained possession of eleven E...

NOW the sons of Earl Thorfinn succeeded him. Paul was the elder of the two, and he ruled for both of them. They did not divide their possessions, yet they almost always agreed i...

When the brothers Paul and Erlend had succeeded to the government of the Orkneys, King Harald Sigurdson (Hardradi) came from Norway with a large army. He first touched Hjaltland...

AFTER this well-disposed men interfered and tried to reconcile them. A meeting for reconciliation was appointed in Hrossey,[287] and at that meeting they made peace on the under...

WHEN Hákon, Paul’s son, was in Sweden he had heard of a man in that country who practised sorcery and spae-craft, whether he used for those purposes witchcraft or other magical...

AFTER this Hákon went to see King Ingi, and stayed with him a short while. Then he obtained leave from the King to depart. He went first to Norway to see his kinsman, King Magnu...

THIS was after King Magnus had put Steigar Thórir and Egil to death, and put down all opposition to his rule. Hákon was a sagacious man, and he thought he could understand from...

WHEN the brothers Paul and Erlend ruled the Orkneys, King Magnus came from Norway. He had a large army. Many of his vassals followed him, among whom were Vidkunn Jonsson, Sigurd...

AFTER Hugh’s death the British (Normans) fled, and King Magnus obtained a great victory. He lost there many brave men, and many others were wounded. Kali had received many wound...

EARLY in the spring King Magnus left the Sudreyar, and went first to the Orkneys, where he heard of the death of the Earls. Erlend died in Nidaros,[295] and was buried there; an...

When Magnus had been king nine winters, he went to the west, and made war in Ireland, and spent the winter in Kunnáttir (Connaught). The next summer, on St. Bartholomew’s Day, h...

WHEN Earl Hákon had ruled the Orkneys for some time, Magnus, the son of Earl Erlend, came from Scotland, and wished to take possession of his patrimony. The Bœndr were highly pl...

THE holy Magnus, Earl of the Islands, was a most excellent man. He was of large stature, a man of a noble presence and intellectual countenance. He was of blameless life, victor...

MAGNUS and Hákon ruled their lands and defended them for some time, the two agreeing very well. In a song made about them, it is said that they fought with a chief called Dúfniá...

TWO men with Earl Hákon are chiefly mentioned as being the worst in creating enmity between the two kinsmen. These were Sigurd and Sighvat Sokki (sock). Through the slander of w...

NOW it is to be told of Earl Hákon that he gathered together a numerous army, and had many ships equipped as if for battle. And when the troops were assembled, he made known to...

HAKON and his men came up in the morning, and ran first to the church and ransacked it, but did not find the Earl. He had gone to another part of the island, to a certain hiding...

THE worthy Earl Magnus was as cheerful as if he were invited to a banquet, and spoke neither words of offence nor anger. After these words had passed, he fell on his knees to pr...

THE place where Earl Magnus was slain was previously covered with moss and stones, but shortly afterwards his merits before God became manifest in this wise, that it became gree...

THORA, the mother of Earl Magnus, had invited both the Earls to a banquet after their meeting, and Earl Hákon went there after the murder of the holy Earl Magnus. Thóra herself...

SOON after this a heavenly light was seen above his burial-place. Then men who were placed in danger began to pray to him, and their prayers were heard. A heavenly odour was fre...

William was Bishop of the Orkneys at this time. He was the first bishop there. The bishop’s seat was at Christ’s Kirk in Birgishérad (Birsay). William was bishop for six winters...

AFTER the murder of Earl Magnus, Hákon, Paul’s son, took possession of all the Orkneys, and exacted an oath of fealty from all men, and took submission from those who had served...

WHEN Earl Hákon ruled over the Orkneys there lived a noble and wealthy man, by name Moddan, at Dal (Dale), in Caithness. His daughters were Helga and Frákork Thórleif. Helga, Mo...

AFTER the death of Earl Hákon, his sons succeeded him; but they soon disagreed, and divided the dominions between them. Then also dissensions arose between the great men, and th...

ONCE the brothers were to be entertained at Orfjara (Orphir), one of Earl Harald’s estates, and he was to bear the expense of the entertainment for both of them that Christmas....

EARL PAUL then ruled the Orkneys, and was very popular. He was somewhat taciturn, spoke little at the Things, and gave others a large share in the government with himself. He wa...

KOL, who was a very wise man, resided on his estates at Agdir (in Norway), and did not go to the Orkneys. His son Kali grew up there, and was a most promising man. He was of mid...

WHEN Kali was fifteen winters old, he went with some merchants to England, taking with him a good (cargo of) merchandise. They went to a trading place called Grímsbœ (Grimsby)....

Unpleasantly we have been wading In the mud a weary five weeks. Dirt we had indeed in plenty, While we lay in Grimsby harbour; But now on the moor of sea-gulls Ride we o’er the...

ONE summer Kali went to Thrándheim; he was detained by weather in an island called Dolls, and there was a cave called Dollshellir. It was said that money was hidden there. The m...

ONE evening, when Jón and Kali had gone to bed, many remained drinking, and talked a great deal. The guests were getting drunk, and at last they began comparing men,[316] and di...

AFTER that, Kol and Kali had an interview with Sölmund. Kol wished to send men to Jón to try to make peace between them; but Sölmund and Hallvard, Hávard’s brother, refused ever...

SHORTLY afterwards King Sigurd came to the town, and these difficulties were laid before him. Then the King summoned both to appear before him, and they came accompanied by thei...

THIS winter King Sigurd resided in Osló.[317] During Lent he was taken ill, and died one night after Lady-day. His son Magnus was in the town, and held a Thing, and was accepted...

KOL resolved to send men to the Orkneys to ask Earl Paul to give up half the Islands which King Harald had given to Rögnvald, and they should be friends and good kinsmen. But if...

EARL PAUL was then at a feast with Sigurd at Westness, in Hrólfsey (Rousay), and when he heard that Earl Rögnvald had arrived in Hjaltland, and at the same time that an army whi...

It was now resolved to make a beacon in Fridarey (Fair Isle), which should be lighted if enemies were seen coming from Hjaltland. Another beacon was made in Rínarsey (North Rona...

THEN they went to evensong. There was a large homestead there (at Orphir); it stood on the hill-side, and there was a height behind the houses. From the top of the hill Aurridaf...

A SHORT time after the slaughters had been committed in Jórfiara, the men ran from the church, and carried Swein into the house, for he was not yet dead, but insensible, and he...

WHILE they were lying at Hernur, Earl Rögnvald called together a meeting of his men, and spoke of Earl Paul’s preparations, and also of the great enmity the Orkneymen showed aga...

Once Kol said to him: “What plan would you propose, Uni, in order to get the beacon in Fridarey discontinued, or how would you manage to prevent it from being lighted a second t...

WHEN Dagfinn had lighted the beacon, he went to Paul, as has been mentioned before. All the Earl’s leading men came to him also. A watch was kept for Rögnvald’s movements, and i...

EARL RÖGNVALD and his men said they would wait until the tidal currents were met by an east wind, for then it is hardly possible to go from Westrey to Hrossey, but with east win...

ON Sunday Earl Rögnvald had mass celebrated there in the village.[339] As they were standing outside the church, they saw sixteen men approaching unarmed, and with their hair cl...

AFTER Earl Rögnvald’s arrival in the Orkneys, and when many had submitted to him, Earl Paul held a meeting in Hrossey with his men for consultation. The Earl asked their opinion...

EARLY in the spring, Swein, Asleif’s son, left the Sudreyar (Hebrides), and went to Scotland to see his friends. He stayed a long time at Atjöklar (Athole) with Earl Maddad and...

ONE day Margaret announced that Swein, Asleif’s son, should go to the Orkneys to see Earl Rögnvald, and ask him whom he preferred to share in the dominion of the Orkneys with hi...

IT happened at Westness, when the Earl did not come home, that Sigurd sent men to search for him. When they came to the stone-heap they saw the slain, and then they thought the...

WHEN Earl Rögnvald had ruled the Orkneys two winters he had a Yule-feast at his estate called Knarrarstadir.[351] The sixth day of Yule a ship was seen crossing the Pentland Fir...

The Earl said: “Do you not think, Swein, that Olvir and that old hag Frákork, who is good for nothing, will scarcely be able to do us any harm now?”

THIS winter Swein married Ingirid, and remained there, greatly honoured. In the spring he gathered men together, and went to see Höldbodi, and asked for his assistance, but he e...

WHILE Swein was in the Sudreyar, Earl Rögnvald went over to Caithness, and was entertained at Vík (Wick) by a man named Harald. His son was named Swein, an active fellow. While...

AT this time there came a certain Icelandic ship to the Orkneys, in which was a man by name Hall, the son of Thórarinn Breidmagi (broad waist). He went to Rínarsey (North Ronald...

SWEIN, Asleif’s son, is said to have heard that Höldbodi had arrived in the Sudreyar. Then he asked Earl Rögnvald to give him troops to avenge himself. The Earl gave him five sh...

THIS news came to the ears of Earl Rögnvald, and Swein, Hróald’s son, and he asked the Earl to help him to obtain redress in this cause; and many supported Swein’s request. At l...

WHEN Swein and Margad had left Lambaborg,[366] those that were in the fort resolved to surrender it to Earl Rögnvald. He asked them what they knew last of Swein and Margad, and...

AT that time the sons of Harald Gilli[370] ruled over Norway. Eystein was the oldest of them, but Ingi was a legitimate son, and he was most honoured by the Lendermen, because h...

IT was resolved that they should spend the winter there. Some lived at their own expense, others were quartered with the Bœndr, and many were with the Earl. There was a great tu...

THE tenth day of Yule-tide was a fine day, and Earl Rögnvald arose and commanded his men to arm themselves, and summoned them with trumpets to the attack of the castle. They dra...

WHEN the men in the Drómund saw the ships pulling towards them, to attack them, they spread fine clothing and costly stuffs out on the bulwarks, and made a great shouting, which...

RÖGNVALD and his men came to Mikligard, and were well received by the Emperor and the Væringiar.[385] At this time Menelaus, whom we call Manuli,[386] was the Emperor of Mikliga...

IN the summer the Earl made himself ready to go west to his dominions in the Orkneys, but it was late before he was ready, because many things kept him back. He went to the west...

NOW we have to tell what happened in the Orkneys while Earl Rögnvald was away. The same summer that the Earl went on his journey, King Eystein, son of Harald Gilli, arrived from...

THEN King Eystein returned to his kingdom, and his expedition was variously thought of. Earl Harald remained in his dominions in the Orkneys, and most of the inhabitants were sa...

ERLEND, the son of Harald Sléttmáli, spent most of his time in Thórsá. Sometimes he was in the Sudreyar, or on war expeditions, after the death of Earl Ottar. He was a very prom...

IMMEDIATELY after Easter week, Swein, Asleif’s son, went with a barge and a boat rowed by oars to the Orkneys; and when they came to Skálpeid (Scapa), they took there a ship fro...

AFTER this Swein prepared to go away, and the King of Scots and he parted very good friends. Then Swein went to his ships, and sailed from the south to the Orkneys. Anakol was a...

WHEN Swein and Anakol were lying off Hofsness, Earl Erlend arrived there from Norway. Anakol and Thorfinn endeavoured to reconcile him to Swein, but he gave an unfavourable answ...

THE eleventh day of Yule-tide, it happened in Gáreksey that Swein was sitting at his drink with his men. Rubbing his nose, he said: “I think Earl Harald is now on his way to the...

IN the spring Earl Harald prepared to go from Caithness north to Hjaltland. His intention was to take the life of Erlend Ungi, who had wooed his mother Margarét, although the Ea...

THEN there went men immediately between Earl Erlend and Earl Rögnvald, and tried to make peace between them, the Bœndr pleading the agreement they had come to with Earl Erlend,...

NOW it is to be told that Earl Harald came to Thórsá with six ships. Earl Rögnvald was in Sutherland, at the wedding of his daughter Ingirid, whom he married to Eirík Slagbrelli...

AFTER this their friends made an effort to establish peace between them, and the result was that they made peace, which they confirmed by oaths. They renewed their alliance, ple...

DURING the night there fell a shower of sleet, and Earl Rögnvald left his ship with six men, intending to go to his residence at Jórfiara (Orphir), because he expected no danger...

FIVE nights before Christmas, Swein, Asleif’s son, went east to Sandvik,[423] to his kinswoman Sigríd, because he had to make peace between her and her neighbour by name Björn....

AFTER Earl Erlend’s death Swein, Asleif’s son, went to Rennadal (Rendale), and there he saw Margad, who was able to give him all the tidings of what happened in Daminsey. Then S...

AFTER Christmas a meeting was appointed to make peace between the Earls and Swein, when they should finally settle all matters about which reconciliation had been made. When the...

ONE morning early Swein and his men saw a large long-ship coming from Hrólfsey (Hrossey?) to Rögnvaldsey,[433] and Swein recognised it immediately as Earl Rögnvald’s ship, which...

THEN Earl Rögnvald and Swein went on shore, and had a long conversation by themselves, and agreed very well. While they were talking, they saw Earl Harald sailing from Caithness...

AFTER Easter Swein commenced a journey to the Sudreyar, taking with him sixty men. He went to the Orkneys, and landed first in Hrólfsey (Rousay). There they took a man, by name...

THEN Earl Rögnvald gave Earl Harald the ship which had belonged to Swein, but all other things which had been awarded him from Swein he returned to him. Earl Rögnvald and Swein...

A SHORT time after, the three chiefs—Swein, Thorbiörn, and Eirik—went out on a plundering expedition. They went first to the Sudreyar, and all along the west to the Syllingar, w...

THEN Swein went on a marauding expedition, having five long-ships. When he came west to Scotland’s Fiord, he heard that Sumarlidi Höld had gone on board a ship, and was about to...

EVERY summer the Earls were wont to go over to Caithness, and up into the forests to hunt the red-deer or the reindeer.[441] Thorbiörn Klerk was with the King of Scots, and some...

WHEN Earl Rögnvald had been an Earl two-and-twenty winters from the time that Earl Paul was taken prisoner, the Earls went over to Caithness during the latter part of the summer...

EARL RÖGNVALD KALI died five nights after the summer Marymas.[446] Earl Harald brought the body with a splendid following to the Orkneys, and it was buried at the Magnus Kirk; a...

AFTER Earl Rögnvald’s death, Earl Harald took possession of the whole of the Islands, and became their sole ruler. He was a mighty chief, and a man of large stature and great st...

ONCE it happened that Swein went out on a spring expedition, taking with him Hákon, the son of Earl Harald. They had five rowing ships, all large. They plundered in the Sudreyar...

SHORTLY after this Swein prepared to go on a marauding expedition with seven long-ships, all of them large. Hákon, the son of Earl Harald, went with him. They went first to the...

NEXT morning Swein and his men arose and armed themselves, and went to the town; and when they came near the gates the Dýflin men ranged themselves on both sides from the gates...

NOW Earl Harald ruled the Orkneys, and was a great chief. Afterwards[449] he married Hvarflod,[450] the daughter of Earl Malcolm,[451] of Mærhæfi (Moray). Their children were Th...

WILLIAM, King of Scots, heard that Earl Harald (Ungi) had been killed, and also that Earl Harald, Maddad’s son, had subdued the whole of Caithness without asking his leave. He b...

NOW Earl Harald prepared to leave the Orkneys, and when he was quite ready he went first to Thórsá, and landed from his ships there. The Bishop was in the borg at Skárabólstad (...

NOW it is to be told of the stewards (sýslumenn) that they went six together to Scotland, and saw the King during Advent. They were able to give particular intelligence of every...

WHEN Bishop Jón, he who was maimed by the order of Earl Harald, died in Caithness, a man who was called Adam was made Bishop in his stead. None knew his family, because when a c...

Franks and the House of Capet. 3. Early Germanic and Frison Currency. 4. Norwegian and Irish Currency. 5. Morabetin and Early Spanish Currency. 6. Early English Currency and Sta...