Earl of Orkney, historically Jarl of Orkney, is a title of nobility encompassing the archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland, which comprise the Northern Isles of Scotland. Originally founded by Norse invaders, the status of the rulers of the Northern Isles as Norwegian vassals was formalised in 1195. Although the Old Norse term jarl is etymologically related to earl, and the jarls were succeeded by earls in the late 15th century, a Norwegian jarl is not the same thing. In the Norse context the distinction between jarls and kings did not become significant until the late 11th century and the early jarls would therefore have had considerable independence of action until that time. The position of Jarl of Orkney was eventually the most senior rank in medieval Norway except for the king himself.
The jarls were periodically subject to the kings of Alba for those parts of their territory in what is now mainland Scotland (i.e. Caithness and Sutherland). In 1232, a Scottish dynasty descended from the mormaers of Angus replaced the previous family descended from the late 10th century jarl Torf-Einarr, although the isles remained formally subject to Norway. This family was in turn replaced by the descendants of the mormaers of Strathearn and later still by the Sinclair family, during whose time Orkney and Shetland became part of Scotland.
The second earldom was created by James VI of Scotland in 1581 for his half-uncle Robert Stewart but after only two incumbents the title was forfeited in 1614. After the third creation of 1696, a title that still exists today, the earls' influence on Orcadian affairs became negligible.
Norse Jarls
Rognvald Eysteinsson, Jarl of Møre 865–890 is sometimes credited with being the founder of the jarldom of Orkney. By implication the Orkneyinga saga identifies him as such for he is given "dominion" over Orkney and Shetland by King Harald Finehair, although there is no concrete suggestion he ever held the title. The Heimskringla states that his brother Sigurd was the first to formally hold the title.
Sigurd's son Guthorm ruled for a year and died childless. Rognvald's son Hallad then inherited the title. However, unable to constrain Danish raids on Orkney, he gave up the jarldom and returned to Norway, which "everyone thought was a huge joke". Torf-Einarr then succeeded in defeating the Danes and founded a dynasty that retained control of the islands for centuries after his death. Smyth concludes that the role of the brothers Eysteinsson lacks historical credibility and that Torf-Einarr "may be regarded as the first historical earl of Orkney".
Drawing on Adam of Bremen's assertion that Orkney was not conquered until the time of Harald Hardrada, who ruled Norway from 1043 to 1066, Woolf speculates that Sigurd "the Stout" Hlodvirsson, Torf-Einarr's great-grandson, may have been the first Jarl of Orkney. Dates are largely conjectural, at least until his death recorded in 1014.
Assuming Torf-Einarr is a genuine historical figure, all of the subsequent jarls were descended from him, save for Sigurd Magnusson, whose short rule was imposed by his father Magnus Barelegs, and who later became Sigurd I of Norway.
One of the main sources for the lives and times of these jarls is the Orkneyinga saga, which has been described as having "no parallel in the social and literary record of Scotland". One of the key events of the saga is the "martyrdom" of Jarl Magnus Erlendsson, later Saint Magnus, . The last quarter of the saga is taken up with a lengthy tale of Jarl Rögnvald Kali Kolsson and Sweyn Asleifsson — indeed the oldest version ends with the latter's death in 1171.
After the murder of Jarl Jon Haraldsson some sixty years later, Magnus, son of Gille Brigte became the first of the Scottish earls. He may have been a descendant of Jarl Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, although this has never been corroborated. However, the line of specifically Norse jarls is said to have come to an end when Jarl Magnus II was granted his title by Haakon IV of Norway .
NameBynameRelationship to predecessorRule commencesRule endsSigurd EysteinssonSigurðr inn riki "the Mighty"Brother of Rognvald EysteinssonGuthorm SigurdssonSon of Sigurd EysteinssonHallad RognvaldssonSon of Rognvald EysteinssonEinarr RognvaldssonTorf-Einarr "Turf"-EinarrSon of Rognvald Eysteinsson910Johnston, A.W. (July 1916) "Orkneyinga Saga". JSTOR/The Scottish Historical Review. Vol. 13, No. 52. p. 393. Retrieved 27 January 2014.Arnkel Torf-EinarssonSon of Torf-Einarr Rognvaldsson910with Erlend and Thorfinn to 954Erlend Torf-EinarssonSon of Torf-Einarr Rognvaldsson910with Arnkel and Thorfinn to 954Thorfinn Torf-EinarssonÞorfinnr hausakljúfr"Skull-splitter"Son of Torf-Einarr Rognvaldsson910with Erlend and Arnkel to 954 alone 954–963Arnfinn ThorfinnssonSon of Thorfinn Torf-Einarsson963Havard ThorfinnssonHávarðr inn ársæli"Harvest-happy"Son of Thorfinn Torf-EinarssonOn Arnfinn's deathLjot ThorfinnssonSon of Thorfinn Torf-EinarssonOn Havard's deathHlodvir ThorfinnssonSon of Thorfinn Torf-Einarsson 991Sigurd HlodvirssonSigurðr digri"the Stout"Son of Hlodvir Thorfinnsson9911014Sumarlidi SigurdssonSon of Sigurd Hlodvirsson1014with Brusi and Einar to Brusi SigurdssonSon of Sigurd Hlodvirsson1014with Einar and Sumarlidi to 1016 with Einar to 1025 with Einar and Thorfinn to c. 1031Einar Sigurdsson Einar rangmunnr"Wry-mouth"Son of Sigurd Hlodvirsson1014with Brusi and Sumarlidi to 1016 with Brusi to 1025with Brusi and Thorfinn to 1026Thorfinn SigurdssonÞorfinnr inn riki"the Mighty"Son of Sigurd Hlodvirssonc. 1025with Brusi and Einar to 1026 with Brusi to 1031alone to 1036with Rögnvald 1036 to 1046alone to Rögnvald BrusasonSon of Brusi Sigurdssonc. 1036with Thorfinn to c. 1046Paul and Erlend ThorfinnssonSons of Thorfinn Sigurdsson, co-rulers, later deposed together10641098Sigurd MagnussonSigurðr Jórsalafari"the Jerusalem-farer"Son of Magnus Barelegs10981103 Haakon PaulssonSon of Paul Thorfinnsson1104alone to 1106with Magnus to 1116 alone to 1123Magnus ErlendssonLater "Saint Magnus"Son of Erlend Thorfinnsson1106with Haakon to 1116Harald Haakonsson"Smooth-tongue"Son of Haakon Paulsson1123with Paul to Paul HaakonssonSon of Haakon Paulsson1123with Harald to 1130alone to 1136Rögnvald Kali KolssonLater "Saint Rögnvald"Son of Gunnhild, daughter of Erlend Thorfinnsson1136alone to 1138with Harald Maddadsson 1138 to 1151 and 1154 to 1158 with Harald and Erlend Haraldsson 1151 to 1154Harald Maddadsson"the Old"Son of Margaret, daughter of Haakon Paulsson1138with Rögnvald to 1151 and 1154 to 1158 with Rögnvald and Erlend Haraldsson 1151 to 1154 alone 1158 to 1191with Harald Eiriksson to 1198 alone to 1206Erlend HaraldssonSon of Harald Haakonsson1151with Harald Maddadsson and Rögnvald Kali Kolsson to 1154Harald EirikssonHaraldr ungi"the Young"Son of Ingiríðr, daughter of Rögnvald Kali Kolsson1191with Harald Maddadsson to 1198David HaraldssonSon of Harald Maddadsson1206with Jon to 1214Jon HaraldssonSon of Harald Maddadsson1206with David to 1214alone to 1231
Scottish Jarls under the Norwegian Crown
After the close of the Jarls' Saga on the death of Jon Haraldsson in 1230, the history of Orkney is "plunged into a darkness which is illuminated by very few written sources". The first jarl known to have held the title after the Norse dynasty came to and end in 1230 was Magnus II but the title may have been held by an unknown other prior to his investiture. Although successive jarls of Orkney were related, they each acquired the position by being personally appointed to the role by the Norwegian king; the jarldom was not inheritable.
The Angus Jarls NameRelationship to predecessorRule commencesRule endsMagnus IIHis parentage is unknown. Possibly a descendant of Ingrid, a daughter of Rögnvald Kali Kolsson.12361239?GilbertPossibly married to a niece of Magnus II, his existence is not certain.1239?Gilbert (Gille Brigte)Possibly the son of Gilbert, but there may have only been a single Gilbert.?1256 Magnus GilbertssonSon of Gilbert12561273Magnus MagnussonSon of Magnus Gilbertsson.12731284Jón MagnússonSon of Magnus Gilbertsson.12841303Magnus JónssonSon of Jón Magnússon.13031320
Strathearn and Sinclair Jarls
The lack of haste with which a new title was granted by the Norwegians to Orkney has led to the suggestion that Magnus Jonsson may have had an heir who was a minor, but who died before 1330. It is also likely that unravelling the genealogy of his potential successors and providing proofs of their descent was a time-consuming project. Whatever the reason, about a decade after Magnus's death the title was granted to Maol Íosa, mormaer of Strathearn, a distant relative of Earl Gilbert. He ruled Orkney and Caithness from 1330 to 1350 and had several daughters, but no sons.
The earldom was then left vacant for about three years, following which Erengisle Sunesson was a titular earl for a few years but when his right to the title lapsed prior to 1360 the jarldom lay vacant again. King Haakon VI of Norway had married Margaret, the daughter of King Valdemar IV of Denmark. The sudden death of Haakon's brother King Eric XII of Sweden triggered the foreign policy obligations Haakon had to Valdemar, as a result of the marriage. These drew Haakon's attention away from Orkney, until the death of Valdemar, in 1375.
In 1375, Haakon decided upon Alexander of Ard, the son of Maol Íosa's daughter Matilda and Weland of Ard (Aird, west of Inverness) as Sunesson's successor. However, Alexander was merely appointed "Lieutenant, Captain and Keeper" of Orkney for a year on 30 June 1375. This was to be a probationary role, the intention being that if Haakon had been satisfied by Alexander's behaviour after a year, he would be appointed as jarl. However, Haakon did not do so, possibly because Alexander failed to deal with the violence that had become rife during the long absence of an earl's authority. In 1379, the jarldom was granted to another grandson of Maol Íosa, Henry Sinclair, by Haakon VI on 2 August 1379.
NameRelationship to predecessorRule commencesRule endsMaol ÍosaA descendant of Malise II, Earl of Strathearn and Matilda, a daughter of Earl Gilbert.13301350Vacant13501353Erengisle SunessonMarried to Agneta, daughter of Maol Íosa.1353before 1360Vacantbefore 13601375Alexander of ArdSon of Maol Íosa's daughter Matilda and Weland of Ard. Appointed as "Lieutenant" only.13751376?Vacant13761379Henry SinclairSon of Maol Íosa's daughter Isabella and William de Sinclair of Rosslyn.13791401Henry IISon of Henry I1404?1420 WilliamSon of Henry II. David Menzies acted as "Guardian" from 1422 to 1434. William was de facto jarl from 1424. He was granted the newly created title "Earl of Caithness" in 1455.14341470
When James III of Scotland married Margaret of Denmark, her father, Christian I, king of the Kalmar Union, was unable to immediately provide a dowry. Instead, he promised that he would provide the dowry at a later date, and pledged the Norðreyjar as security for his promise. In 1470, James persuaded William to quitclaim his rights over Orkney and Shetland only, in return for lands in Fife; technically the Norðreyjar remained in existence as a Norwegian Jarldom, but William's authority became limited to the mainland parts, while Orkney and Shetland became jarl-free. After a few years, it became clear that the dowry was unlikely ever to be paid, so in 1472, James declared the Norðreyjar to be forfeit (and forwent the dowry). As an immediate consequence, the diocese of Caithness was transferred from the Archdiocese of Niðaróss (Trondheim), in Norway, to that of St Andrews, in Scotland.
Scottish Earls Dukes of Orkney The next Orkney title was the dukedom of Orkney, which was given to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1567. Later that year, however, he forfeited the title when Mary was forced to abdicate.
Earls of Orkney, Second Creation