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Erlend Haraldsson
Erlend Haraldsson (c.1124 – 21 December 1154) was joint Earl of Orkney from 1151 to 1154. The son of Earl Harald Haakonsson,Thomson (2008) p. 89 he ruled with Harald Maddadsson and Rögnvald Kali Kolsson.Thomson (2008) p. 101 This was a turbulent period of Orcadian history. Erlend's claim to the earldom was strong, his father having been earl before him but as happened on several previous occasions, rulership of the islands had become divided. His father had been poisoned c. 1130 when Erlend was still a child and after the death of Erlend's uncle, Paul Haakonsson, the earldom had become shared between Rögnvald and Harald "the Old" Maddadsson. Earl Rögnvald left Orkney in 1151 to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Erlend acted quickly to build on his inheritance. He obtained half of his father's lands in Caithness from the king of Scotland and claimed half of Orkney as well. Earl Harald refused, so Erlend set sail to Norway to request his share from King Eystein Har ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damsay
Damsay is an islet in the Orkney archipelago in Scotland. It is approximately in extent and rises to only above sea level. It is situated in the Bay of Firth north of the Orkney Mainland near Finstown. Nearby is the smaller islet of Holm of Grimbister. History It is now uninhabited, but at one time a Norse hall stood there, and it was the scene of the killing of Earl Erlend Haraldsson by Earls Rögnvald Kali Kolsson and Harald Maddadsson in 1154. Erlend celebrated after returning to the islet for Christmas and retired to his ship the worse for drink on the night of 21 December. Despite being warned of an attack by Sweyn Asleifsson and the presence of a full moon his men were taken by surprise by the attack by his co-rulers and Erlend was killed.Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 360 Later a small nunnery was built on the islet leading to a legend that no frogs or toads (or possibly rats and mice) could live there. It is also said that unmarried woman who became pregnant would go there ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eystein II Of Norway
Eystein Haraldsson (; ); – 21 August 1157), also called Eystein II, was King of Norway from 1142 to 1157. He ruled alongside his half-brothers, Inge Haraldsson and Sigurd Munn. He was killed in the power-struggle against his brother Inge in an early stage of the civil war era in Norway. Origins Eystein was born, apparently in Scotland, the son of Harald Gille, who was king of Norway from 1130 to 1136, and a woman named Bjaðǫk. Harald was born and raised in Ireland or Scotland, and Eystein was born there. When Harald went to Norway in 1127 to press his claim to royal inheritance, Eystein did not go with him. However, Harald let it be known that he had fathered a son before coming to Norway. Reign Eystein first appears in the sagas in 1142, when several Norwegian lendmenn travelled west and fetched him back to Norway from Scotland. His mother came with him to Norway. There, he was recognised as king, and given a share of the kingdom with his younger brothers. The divi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Year Of Birth Unknown
A year is a unit of time based on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. In scientific use, the tropical year (approximately 365 solar days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds) and the sidereal year (about 20 minutes longer) are more exact. The modern calendar year, as reckoned according to the Gregorian calendar, approximates the tropical year by using a system of leap years. The term 'year' is also used to indicate other periods of roughly similar duration, such as the lunar year (a roughly 354-day cycle of twelve of the Moon's phasessee lunar calendar), as well as periods loosely associated with the calendar or astronomical year, such as the seasonal year, the fiscal year, the academic year, etc. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by changes in weather, the hours of daylight, and, consequently, vegetation and soil fertility. In temperate and subpolar regions around the planet, four seasons ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earls Of Orkney
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saga
Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between Icelandic families. However, sagas' subject matter is diverse, including legendary saga, pre-Christian Scandinavian legends; Heilagramannasögur, saints and Biskupasögur, bishops both from Scandinavia and elsewhere; konungasögur, Scandinavian kings and Samtíðarsögur, contemporary Icelandic politics; and chivalric romances either translated from Continental European languages or composed locally. Sagas originated in the Middle Ages, but continued to be composed in the ensuing centuries. Whereas the dominant language of history-writing in medieval Europe was Latin language, Latin, sagas were composed in the vernacular: Old Norse and its later descendants, primarily Icelandic language, Icelandic. While sagas are written in prose, they s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orkneyinga Saga
The ''Orkneyinga saga'' (Old Norse: ; ; also called the ''History of the Earls of Orkney'' and ''Jarls' Saga'') is a narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands and their relationship with other local polities, particularly Norway and Scotland. The saga has "no parallel in the social and literary record of Scotland" and is "the only medieval chronicle to have Orkney as the central place of action". The main focus of the work is the Earl of Orkney, line of ''jarls'' who ruled the Earldom of Orkney, which constituted the ''Norðreyjar'' or Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland and there are frequent references to both archipelagoes throughout. The narrative commences with a brief mythical ancestry tale and then proceeds to outline the Norse take-over of the ''Norðreyjar'' by Harald Fairhair – the take-over is not in doubt although the role of the king is no longer accepted by historians as a likelihood. The saga then outlines, with varying degrees of detail, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweyn Asleifsson
Sweyn Asleifsson or Sveinn Ásleifarson ( 1115 – 1171) was a 12th-century Viking who appears in the '' Orkneyinga Saga''. Early career Sweyn was born in Caithness in the early twelfth century, to Olaf Hrolfsson and his wife Åsleik. According to the '' Orkneyinga Saga'', he came to prominence when he murdered Earl Paul of Orkney's cup-bearer c. 1134 in a quarrel over a drinking game, and fled to Tiree to take refuge with Holdbodi Hundason.''Orkneyinga Saga'' In 1140, Holdbodi called on Sweyn to join him raiding the coast of Wales, but they were beaten off; Holdbodi withdrew to the Isle of Man and Sweyn to Lewis. In the early summer of 1141, Sweyn arrived in Man to join Holdbodi, but the Hebridean had been persuaded to join forces with the Norman-Welsh lord Robert who had defeated them in the previous year, and attacked Sweyn. This created a feud between the former friends. Quarrels and feuds Some years later, after falling out with his own captains (led by his brother-in-la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caithness
Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The county includes the northernmost point of mainland Britain at Dunnet Head, and also the most north-easterly point at Duncansby Head near John o' Groats. The Flow Country is the largest blanket bog in Europe, and covers a large inland area in the west of the county. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by sea. The land boundary follows a drainage divide, watershed and is crossed by two roads (the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 and the A836 road, A836) and by one railway (the Far North Line). Across the Pentland Firth, ferries link Caithness with Orkney, and Caithness also has an airport at Wick, Highland, Wick. The Pentland Firth island of Stroma, Scotland, Stroma is within Caithne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harald Haakonsson
Harald Haakonsson (died December 1131) was joint Earl of Orkney 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 Scandinavian Scotland, founded by Norse invaders, the status ... in 1122–1127. References 1131 deaths Earls of Orkney 12th-century counts in Europe Year of birth unknown Mormaers of Caithness 12th-century mormaers {{Orkney-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holy Land
The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionally synonymous with what is known as the Land of Israel ( Zion) or the Promised Land in a biblical or religious context, or as Canaan or Palestine in a secular or geographic context—referring to a region that is mostly between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Today, it chiefly overlaps with the combined territory of the modern states of Israel and Palestine. Most notable among the religions that tie substantial spiritual value to the Holy Land are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A considerable part of the Holy Land's importance derives from Jerusalem, which is regarded as extremely sacred in and of itself. It is the holiest city in Judaism and Christianity and the third-holiest city in Islam (behind Mecca and Medina in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Haakonsson
Paul Haakonsson was joint Earl of Orkney from 1122 until 1137. Haakonsson served jointly as Earl of Orkney 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 Scandinavian Scotland, founded by Norse invaders, the status ... together with Harald Haakonsson. Paul Haakonsson had not been well loved by his female kin. In 1137, Paul was reportedly abdicated and killed on the orders of the mother of Harald Haakonsson. His mother and her sister, Frakkok, had previously tried to murder him with a poisoned shirt which instead caused the death of Harald Haakonsson in 1127. It is said that Frakkok and her supporters had originally intended to advance the claims of Harald Haakonsson's son Erlend Haraldsson upon Paul's death. However, Paul Haakonsson was replaced as Earl of Orkney by his second cousin, Rognvald Kali Kolsson, one of the lead men of King ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
