Harald Eiríksson ( fl. 1190s), also known as Harald the Young, 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 founded by Norse invaders, the status of the rulers of the Nort ...

with

Harald Maddadsson Harald Maddadsson (Old Norse: ''Haraldr Maddaðarson'', Gaelic: ''Aralt mac Mataid'') (c. 1134 – 1206) was Earl of Orkney and Mormaer of Caithness from 1139 until 1206. He was the son of Matad, Mormaer of Atholl, and Margaret, daughter ...

. He was the son of Orkney chief Eirik Stagbrell and Ingerid Ragnvaldsdotter, the daughter of

Rögnvald Kali Kolsson Rögnvald Kali Kolsson (Old Norse ''Rǫgnvaldr'' or ''Rögnvaldr''; nn, Ragnvald Kale Kolsson), also known as Saint Ronald of Orkney (c. 1100 – 1158), was a Norwegian earl of Orkney who came to be regarded as a Christian saint. Two of the Orkn ...

, the former Earl of Orkney. For a long time, sovereignty over Caithness was disputed between the King of Scotland and the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

Earldom of Orkney The Earldom of Orkney is the official status of the Orkney Islands. It was originally a Norse feudal dignity in Scotland which had its origins from the Viking period. In the ninth and tenth centuries it covered more than the Northern Isles (' ...

. As part of his struggle with Harald Maddadsson, King

William I of Scotland William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

(''Uilleam I of Alba'') granted lands in Caithness to Harald the Young. Harald was also confirmed as joint earl of Orkney with Harald Maddadsson by King William I. In about 1196,

agreed to pay a monetary tribute for Caithness to King William I. Harald the Young was subsequently killed by Harald Maddadsson.

Sources

*''Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney'' (tr. Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards. Penguin, London, 1978) * ''Viking Orkney: A Survey'' (Morris, Christopher. The Prehistory of Orkney. Ed. Colin Renfrew. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 1985) Earls of Orkney 12th-century Norwegian nobility 12th-century mormaers Mormaers of Caithness {{Orkney-bio-stub