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Birth:          ABT  830 of Maer. Nord Trondelag, Norway
Death:           890 Orkney, Orkney Islands

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rognvald_Eysteinsson
Rognvald Eysteinsson (fl. 865) sometimes referred to with the bynames of "the Wise" 
or "the Powerful" was the jarl of Mřre in Norway and a key figure in the founding of 
the Norse Earldom of Orkney.

There are three conflicting sources regarding Rognvald and the creation of the 
Earldom. The best known are the Norse Sagas, which scholars believe must be 
treated with caution:[2] the texts were compiled three centuries after the events 
described and their accuracy in regard to Rognvald's life and historical significance is 
now questioned. Hence some scholars emphasise contemporary accounts, such as 
Irish sources, at the expense of the sagas.

In particular, most historians now doubt that Rognvald undertook a reputed "great 
voyage", from Norway to the islands of Shetland and Orkney. It is now widely believed 
that any such voyage occurred after Rognvald's lifetime. This expedition is supposed 
to have been undertaken at the behest of king Harald Fairhair. The sagas claim that 
Norwegians led by Rognvald travelled to Shetland and Orkney to, initially, expel 
vikings who had been raiding Norway, before raiding the Scottish mainland, Ireland 
and the Isle of Man.William P. L. Thomson, an authority on Orcadian history, considers 
that the story of the "great voyage is so thoroughly ingrained in popular and scholarly 
history, both ancient and modern, that it comes as a bit of a shock to realise that it 
might not be true."[3]

Scholars also question the sagas' description of the relationship between Rognvald 
and Harald, the names and biographies of Rognvald's immediate family, and the 
founding of the earldoms of Mřre and Orkney.
Traditional accounts[edit]
Sources[edit]
The oldest account that may refer to Rognvald and the Earldom of Orkney appears to 
be the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland. These annals are believed to date from the 
lifetime of Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic, who died in 1039,[4] although they survive 
only as incomplete copies made by Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (17th century).
These events are placed after an account of the devastation of Fortriu, dated to 
around 866,[5] and the mention of an eclipse confirms a date of 865.[6]

Dating the Orkneyinga saga has proven to be controversial but a recent analysis has 
the "majority of scholars in favour of dates between 1170 and 1220"[7] whilst 
admitting that "it remains to be established when, why, where, for whom and by whom 
it was written".[8] Much of the information it contains is "hard to corroborate".[2]

Rognvald is also referred to in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla (written c. 1230), 
written in Iceland.

While the Historia Norvegiae (written c. 1505) includes an account of the foundation 
of the Orkney earldom, as well as some questionable details about pre-Viking Orkney, 
it has relatively little to say about Rognvald.

Family[edit]
It is not certain that the Ragnall of the Irish annals is synonymous with Rognvald 
Eysteinsson. The relevant entry goes on to describe Ragnall's older sons raiding in 
Spain and North Africa, but there is no specific mention of the Earldom of Orkney. 
There is also a separate piece of circumstantial evidence, suggesting a link between 
Ragnall and the 9th century figure Ragnar Lodbrok: runic inscriptions found inside 
Maeshowe, dating from the 12th century, state that the mound was "built before 
Lođbrók".[6]

There is no agreement in the available sources on Rognvald's parentage. According 
to the Irish annals, Ragnall was the son of "Halfdan, King of Lochlann". This is 
generally understood to mean Halfdan the Black, which would make Ragnall the 
brother of King Harald Fairhair. This is contradicted by later Norse sagas, which 
suggest that Halfdan was Rognvald's grandfather.[9] The Orkneyinga saga says that 
Rognvald was the son of Eystein Ivarsson and grandson of Ívarr Upplendingajarl.[10]

He was married, according to the Orkneyinga saga to Ragnhild, the daughter of a man 
named Hrólfr Nose,[11] although in the Heimskringla his wife is named Hild.[12]

Both sagas refer to six sons. The oldest, "by concubines", were Hallad, Einarr and 
Hrollaug, who were "grown men when their brothers born in marriage were still 
children".[11][12] The latter were Ivar, Hrólfr, and Thorir the Silent. Hrólfr, who "was 
so big that no horse could carry him", hence his byname of "Ganger-Hrólf",[11] is 
identified by the saga writers with Rollo, founder of Duchy of Normandy (in 911).[12]

In the Orkneyinga saga Rognvald was made the Earl of Mřre by Harald Fairhair. The 
Saga of Harald Fairhair in Heimskringla recounts that Rognvald caused Harald Fairhair 
to be given his byname by cutting and dressing his hair, which had been uncut for ten 
years on account of his vow never to cut it until he was ruler of all Norway.[13] 
Rognvald accompanied the king on a great military expedition. First the islands of 
Shetland and Orkney were cleared of vikings who had been raiding Norway and then 
continued on to Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. During this campaign 
Rognvald's son Ivarr was killed and in compensation Harald granted Rognvald Orkney 
and Shetland.

Rognvald thereafter returned to Norway, giving the northern isles to his brother Sigurd 
Eysteinsson.[14][11] Sigurd had been the forecastleman on Harald's ship and after 
sailing back east the king "gave Sigurd the title of earl".[11] However, the 
Heimskringla states specifically that Sigurd was the first Earl of Orkney.[15] According 
to the Orkneyinga Saga, after Sigurd became earl he died in a curious fashion, 
following a battle with Máel Brigte of Moray. Sigurd's son Gurthorm ruled for a single 
winter after this and died childless.[16][17] Rognvald's son Hallad then inherited the 
title. However, unable to constrain Danish raids on Orkney, he gave up the earldom 
and returned to Norway, which "everyone thought was a huge joke."[18]

The Danish raids caused Rognvald to fly into a rage and summon his sons Thorir and 
Hrolluag. He predicted that Thorir's path would keep him in Norway and that Hrolluag 
was destined seek his fortune in Iceland. Turf-Einar, the youngest, then came forward 
and offered to go to the islands. Rognvald said: "Considering the kind of mother you 
have, slave-born on each side of her family, you are not likely to make much of a 
ruler. But I agree, the sooner you leave and the later you return the happier I'll 
be."[19] His father's misgivings notwithstanding, Torf-Einarr succeeded in defeating 
the Danes and founded a dynasty which retained control of the islands for centuries 
after his death.[20]

Historia Norvegiae includes some questionable details about pre-Viking Orkney – such 
as an account of the Picts as a small people who hid in the daytime – as well as the 
foundation of the Orkney earldom,.

In the days of Harald Fairhair, king of Norway, certain pirates, of the family of the most 
vigorous prince Ronald [Rognvald], set out with a great fleet, and crossed the 
Solundic sea..., and subdued the islands to themselves. And being there provided with 
safe winter seats, they went in summer-time working tyranny upon the English, and the 
Scots, and sometimes also upon the Irish, so that they took under their rule, from 
England, Northumbria; from Scotland, Caithness; from Ireland, Dublin, and the other 
sea-side towns.[21]

This account does not specifically associate Rognvald with the earldom, attributing 
the "dominion" of the islands to the anonymous kinfolk of his son Hrólfr.[22]

Death and legacy[edit]
Rognvald was killed by King Harald's son Halfdan Hĺlegg and Gudrod Gleam, who 
engineered a sudden attack, surrounding the house in which Rognvald was staying, 
and burned it to the ground with the earl and 60 of his men inside it. Harald "flew into 
a rage" when he heard about this and sent out a "great force" against Gudrod who 
was then banished. Halfdan escaped into the western seas and Rognvald's death was 
later avenged by Torf-Einarr, who killed him on North Ronaldsay and then made peace 
with Harald. Rognvald's son Thorir was then made Earl of Mřre by Harald, who also 
gave Thorir his daughter Alof in marriage.[23][24][25]

The sagas thus identify Rognvald as the apical figure of the Norse Earls of Orkney 
who controlled the islands until the early 13th century, and a forerunner of important 
Icelandic families. Furthermore, through his son Hrolfr Rognvald he is an ancestor of 
the Dukes of Normandy who, following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, 
became the kings of England.[11]

Modern interpretations[edit]
Harald Fairhair and the voyage to the west[edit]
Rognvald's life occurs within the first eight short chapters within the Orkneyinga saga 
and it is clear that in this early period it contains generally less detail and historical 
accuracy than in the later events it describes.[27] Recorded in the 13th century, the 
sagas are informed by Norwegian politics of the day.

Harald Fairhair's supposed expeditions to the west, recounted by Snorri Sturluson in 
Heimskringla are no longer accepted as historical realities by many modern historians, 
including Thomson.[3] Later (mid-13th century) rivalry between the Norwegians and 
the Kings of the Scots over the Hebrides and the Isle of Man are seen to have driven 
Sturluson's account.[28] At least in part, the sagas aim to legitimise Norwegian claims 
to both the Northern Isles and the Kingdom of the Isles in the west.[26] The situation 
faced by Earl Harald Maddadsson of Orkney in 1195, when he was forced to submit 
himself to royal authority after an ill-judged intervention in Norwegian affairs, would 
have made legendary material of this nature of considerable interest in Orkney, at the 
time that the sagas were written.[29]

It is also clear that elements in the narrative are drawn from the much later expeditions 
undertaken by Magnus Barefoot.[26]

Nonetheless, the view that the Orkney earldom was created by "members of the Mřre 
family" continues to receive academic support.[30]

Harald Fairhair's victory in the Battle of Hafrsfjord, which gave him dominion over 
parts of Norway, is traditionally dated to 872, but was probably later, perhaps as late 
as 900.[31] What little is known of Scottish events in the period from the Chronicle of 
the Kings of Alba would correspond equally well with Harald's attacks on Scotland in 
the reign of Domnall mac Causantín (ruled 889–900).[32] However, this would not 
correspond with the sequence in the earliest account of the origins of the Orkney 
earldom, which places this a generation earlier. The entry in the Fragmentary Annals 
at an early date also makes it difficult to reconcile the saga claims that Harald Fairhair 
was involved in Rognvald's conquest of the northern isles.
Other saga material provides an alternative description. In the Eyrbyggja saga the 
same story of a great expedition to punish unruly Vikings who were raiding Norway is 
undertaken, but here it is Ketil flatnefr (Ketil Flatnose) who leads it. Although this is 
apparently done at Harald's behest, Ketil then claims the islands as his own. Once 
again, the chronology is flawed by Harald's inclusion in the tale as other information 
provided about Ketil gives him a floruit of the mid, rather than late, 9th century.[3]

Furthermore, contemporary Irish sources have a great deal to say about Viking raids 
on the coasts of Ireland and southern Scotland and those who led them, but none 
mention King Harald. The earliest of the large expeditions again belong to a period—the 
840s—that pre-dates the time of Harald's kingship.[33]

Smyth (1984) credits the launching of the great voyage to the west to Olaf the White, 
whom he provides with a royal Vestfold origin along with various military activities in 
Scotland and for whom, assuming an identification of Olaf with Amlaib "Conung" the 
King of Dublin, there is a contemporary Irish reference dating to 853.[34] Icelandic 
sources also have Olaf marrying Aud the Deep-Minded, Ketil flatnefr's daughter, and 
the ‘’Annals of Ulster’’ record what may be dynastic in-fighting between Olaf and his 
father-in-law in 857.[35][Note 1]

Founding of the earldom of Orkney[edit]
By implication the Orkneyinga saga identifies Rognvald as the founder of the earldom, 
although Heimskringla has his brother Sigurd as the first to formally hold the title. 
Other sources are less specific (see above) and the sagas have been interpreted in 
various other ways. Smyth (1984), having banished King Harald’s role in the voyage to 
the west to the realms of myth concludes that the role of the brothers Eysteinsson can 
be similarly so dispatched and that Torf-Einarr “may be regarded as the first historical 
earl of Orkney”.[37]

Drawing on Adam of Bremen's assertion that Orkney was not conquered until the time 
of Harald Hardrada, who ruled Norway from 1043–66, Woolf (2007) speculates that 
Sigurd “the Stout” Hlodvirsson, Torf-Einarr's great-grandson, may have been the first 
Earl of Orkney [38]

Rognvald's brother and sons[edit]
The notion that Rognvald could hand over his Northern Isles estates to his brother 
has been interpreted in various ways. For example, it may be that he was aware of 
ongoing Viking raiding in the area and considered the gift from the king as a mixed 
blessing.[39] This is also one of a number of instances in which the writer of the 
Orkneyinga saga attempts to reconcile the conflicting themes of independence from 
Norway (Rognvald gifts the islands to Sigurd) and dependence on royal authority 
(Harald formalises the process by confirming Sigurd as earl).[40] Beuermann (2011) 
speculates that Rognvald's transfer of power to his brother may have been an attempt 
by the saga writers to imply that the Orkney earldom had more independence from 
Norway than that of Mřre[41] and that Rognvald's holdings in Caithness may have 
allowed for an even greater degree of freedom of action. Such implications are more 
likely to be rooted in the writer's interest in emphasising Orcadian independence at the 
time of writing rather than the 9th/10th century events they purport to describe.[42]

After Hallad's failure in Orkney there is a dialogue between father and sons that has 
been interpreted as being about Rognvald's desire to cement his own position as Earl 
of Mřre and an allusion to the early history of Iceland, where the sagas were written. 
Thorir is a compliant son who Rognvald is happy to keep at home. Hrolluag is 
portrayed as a man of peace who will go to Iceland. Einarr is aggressive and a threat 
to his father's position so can be spared for the dangers of Orkney.[43] In the 
Landnámabók version the equally aggressive Hrolfr is also present, and his destiny is 
anticipated to be in conveniently far-away Normandy.[44][Note 2]

Similarities to Ragnall ua Ímair[edit]
Alex Woolf suggests that saga authors may have synthesised elements of the life of 
Ragnall ua Ímair, a later figure, into the figure of Rognvald Eysteinsson of Mřre. 
Ragnall ua Ímair, who was active between 914 and 921 in the Irish Sea region, was a 
grandson of Ímar, the "king of the Northmen of all Britain and Ireland", whose death is 
recorded in the Annals of Ulster in 873.[45] (It is clear, therefore that if Rognvald was 
the Raghnall recorded by the Irish Fragmentary Annals as active in 865, he could not 
be literally synonymous with Ragnall ua Ímair.[46])

There are at least two major similarities between the two figures include: both are 
grandsons of an Ímar/Ivarr and; like Rognvald, a close relative of Ragnall named Ímar 
was killed in battle in Scotland (Ímar ua Ímair, d. 904).[47]

Broad themes[edit]
There are several recurring themes in the Orkneyinga saga, including strife between 
brothers, relationships between the jarls and the Norwegian crown, and raiding in the 
Hebrides,[48] all of which are touched on during the saga's coverage of Rognvald's 
life and times. In part, the saga's purpose was to "explore such social and 
psychological tensions as these in the history of the people of Orkney, and to help 
them understand themselves through a knowledge of their origins".[49]

Parents
IVARSSON Eystein "Glumra" (ABT  800 - )
ROGNVALDSDOTTIR Aseda (ABT  812 - )

Siblings
EYESTEINSSON Rognvald "the Wise" (ABT  830 -  890)
IVARSSON Malahule Ha (ABT  845 - AFT  890)
EYESTEINSDOTTIR Svanhild (ABT  850 - )
DE BASTENBURG Turstan (ABT  860 - )

Marriage To ----- ----- ()
    m.  

Notes


Children by ----- ----- 
ROGNVALDSSON Einar (ABT  870 -  910)

Marriage To ____ Ermina (ABT  830 - )
    m.  

Notes


Children by ____ Ermina ABT  830 - 
____ Hrollager (ABT  859 - )

Marriage To HROLFSDOTTIR Rognild ( 848 - )
    m.  

Notes

Parents
____ Hrolf "Nefja" (ABT  818 - )
----- ----- ()

Children by HROLFSDOTTIR Rognild  848 - 
RAGNVALDSSON Rolf (Rollo) (Rollon) (Granger Rolf) "the Viking" (ABT  865 -  925)
ROGNVALDSSON Thori ("the Silent") (ABT  872 - )

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