By Fiona Grahame

Norse Earls and warriors, based in Orkney, used the islands to plunder south and return with great riches. The warrior culture, however, was not the only way to shape events as this article  reveals with the unfolding of two stories, generations apart – the women called Gunnhild.

Erik Blood-Axe was a fearsome warrior and for a short period King of Norway. Erik fled Norway when he was deposed by Hakon. He was permitted to relocate his family to Northumbria where he was able to exert his power across half of England and up into the Northern Isles.

The Northumbrian farms and rentals were not enough to sustain Erik’s way of life and he plundered and raided throughout England. Few powerful Norse warriors lived into old age and  this was to be the case with Erik who was killed in 954AD on one such raid.

Northumbria was no longer a safe base for his widow, Gunnhild, and their family. The best choice was to head to Orkney.  Gunnhild did not flee  empty handed but arrived in the islands with a substantial haul of paid taxes and booty. She then set about taking over control from Earl Thorfinn Skull-Splitter and installing her sons in his place.

In the  summer Gunnhild’s sons raided into Scotland and further south to Ireland, returning to their mother with their plunder. To further cement her power base in Orkney, Gunnhild arranged a marriage between her daughter, Ragnhild and the eldest son of Earl Thorfinn, Arnfinn.

Once the marriage was achieved and Ragnhild was set up in her position as the foremost woman In the islands, Gunnhild set sail with her sons to support her brother, King Harald (Bluetooth) Gormsson of Denmark, in his campaign against King Hakon.

Gunnhild’s sons supported Harald Bluetooth in several battles. Two of them died in battle: Guttrom at Avaldne; and Gamle two years later at Rastarkalv. The three surviving sons sailed to the coast of Hordaland and surprised Hakon at Fitjar where the King was killed with an arrow to the chest.

Victorious, the sons returned to Norway where Harald (Greycloak), the eldest, became King. Gunnhild’s sons then engaged in killing off local rulers and anyone who might get in their way.

Harald and his brothers continued their escapades into other lands, travelling widely, including into Russia. It was a period of great unrest in Norway which ended when King Harald (Greycloak) was tricked into visiting Denmark where he was killed by allies of his uncle, King Harold Bluetooth. Harold Bluetooth then installed Haakon Sigurdsson as a vassal king in Norway as a reward for slaying Gunnhild’s son.

Our next story concerns another Gunnhild, the daughter of Erlend, Earl of Orkney, and takes place several generations after the first.

Kings and powerful rulers could take the place of a deceased father’s rights over his family and this is what happened to Gunnhild after the death of her father.

King Magnus (Barelegs) Olafsson  married Gunnhild off to Kali  Saebjarnarson’s  son Kol. This was in compensation for the death of Kali who had died of his wounds whilst campaigning with King Magnus in the Hebrides and Wales.

Gunnhild’s dowry included property in Orkney, including a farm at Paplay. Kol  became one of King Magnus’s landholders and travelled with the King to Norway. Gunnhild went too and they settled down on an estate at Agder.

“This marriage had long-term consequences for the history of the earldom during the 12^th century when Gunnhild and Kol’s son, Kali, became one of the most powerful and well known earls in Orkney – Rognvald Kali Kolsson. “ – The Northern Earldoms by Barbara Crawford.

Gunnhild’s brother was Earl Magnus of Orkney. After he was murdered, miracles associated with him began to occur. Magnus was made a Saint and a huge cult grew up around him.

The young Kali was well thought of by King Sigurd  who bestowed on him the name Rognvald. This was according to the wishes of his mother and in honour of the Orkney Earl, Rognvald Brusason. He had been a favourite of King Magnus of Norway. Rognvald Brusason had been in continuous conflict with Earl Thorfinn the Mighty, and was eventually hunted down and killed on the island of Papa Stronsay by Thorfinn’s right hand man, Thorkell, ‘because no one else would do it.’ Gunnhild had greatly admired the stories of Earl Rognvald and considered him to have been ‘the most able of all the Earls of Orkney’.

Her son, Kali, being given the name Rognvald by the King was seen as a sign of good luck. The King also granted to Kali (now Rognvald Kali Kolsson) the lands which had once belonged to his uncle, St Magnus. This amounted to half of Orkney, with the other half going to Earl Paul Hakonsson. The King also made  Rognvald Kali Kolsson, an Earl of Orkney.

The signs of good luck and having the favour of the King did Earl Rognvald well who capitalised on the cult of St Magnus. He became  one of Orkney’s most famous Earls thanks not only to his own abilities but to those of his mother who set the train of good fortune in place through her influence with the men in positions of power.

This article was first published in iScot Magazine.