medieval-atlas/regional-and-local/448

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Orkney and Caithness The earls of Orkney and Caithness strove to retain their traditional independence in an era of growing royal power, when the kings of Scotland were determined to extend their authority over the northernmost parts of the Scottish mainland. The earl who suffered particularly from this process was Harold Maddadson (1139-1206) who had to face two royal expeditions against his Scottish earldom; the first (1196/97) after he had led a raid into Moray and his son had fought a battle near Inverness against 'the King's vassals'; the second (120112) after he had led an attack on the Bishop of Caithness who was at his castle of Scrabster, near Thurso. Earl Harold survived by submitting to King William, although his successors were to lose much land to the foremost of the 'king's vassals' in the north, the de Moravia family. The earl's Norwegian overlords managed to maintain some authority in the Northern and Western Isles by periodic naval expeditions. The fust historically authenticated was that of King Magnus in 1098 when he claimed all the islands off the Scottish coasts by sai ling round them, even being dragged in a skiff across the neck of Kintyre. At the same time, he firmly subjected the earls of Orkney to his authority and even tried to establish some control in Ireland, where he was killed on a second expedition. Harold Maddadson also had to submit to his Norwegian overlords, being forced to pay tribute to King Eystein when taken by surprise in the harbour of Thurso in 1151, and after being involved in the unsuccessful Eyskeggjar rising against King Sverre in 1193. On the latter occasion he was allowed to keep his island earldom although losing control of judicial rights in Orkney and forfeiting Shetland. The final effort to retain authority by the King of Norway, in a changing world, ended with the skirmish at Largs in 1263 and the retreat of the Norwegian fleet to Orkney. Significantly, Earl Magnus of Orkney had disappeared during the king's progress south and was not even present in Orkney when King Hakon returned, to die, in December 1263. kms o 25 5.0 75 1.00 b 10 20 30 40 50 60 miles The expeditions to Orkney and Caithness by the kings of Norway and Scotland 1098 to 1263 BEe 448

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