Hákon Pálsson, Earl Of Orkney
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Haakon Paulsson (Old Norse: ''Hákon Pálsson''; died 1123) was a Norwegian ''jarl'' who ruled the
earldom of Orkney The Earldom of Orkney was a Norse territory ruled by the earls (or ''jarls'') of Orkney from the ninth century until 1472. It was founded during the Viking Age by Viking raiders and settlers from Scandinavia (see Scandinavian Scotland). In ...
together with his cousin
Magnus Erlendsson Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, sometimes known as Magnus the Martyr, was Earl of Orkney from 1106 to about 1117. Magnus's grandparents, Thorfinn the Mighty, Jarl of Orkney and his wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, had two sons, Erlend a ...
from 1105 to 1123. Their lives and times are recounted in the ''
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 No ...
'', which was first written down in the early 13th century by an unknown Icelandic author.


Family background

Haakon's father was Paul Thorfinnsson who, along with his brother, Erlend Thorfinnsson, had ruled as a joint earl of Orkney. Paul and Erlend remained on friendly terms until their children grew to adulthood, after which disputes between their sons led to a quarrel and open hostility between the brothers. Paul, who was the elder of the two, was "very much the one in charge" initially.''Orkneyinga saga'' c. 33 He married an unnamed daughter of Norwegian earl Hakon Ivarsson and they had two sons and four daughters. Of these siblings, Haakon played the greatest part in later Orcadian events. Their other children were Thora, Brynjolf, Ingirid, Herbjorg and Ragnhild. Erlend had two sons and three daughters, the former being Erling and
Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
. The trouble between the earls began with rivalry between Haakon Paulsson and Erling Erlendsson. Both are described as talented but also quarrelsome and arrogant. Magnus, by contrast, was "a quiet sort of man".''Orkneyinga saga'' Chapter 33 pp. 76-77 Haakon believed himself to be the most highly born of the cousins and wanted to be seen as the foremost amongst his kin, but Erling was not one to back down. The fathers did their best to reach a settlement but it became clear that they were both favouring their own offspring, which resulted in hostility between them. Eventually the earldom was divided into two distinct territories, as it had been in the time of Thorfinn and
Brusi Sigurdsson Brusi Sigurdsson (died between 1030 and 1035) was one of Sigurd Hlodvirsson's four sons (together with Thorfinn Sigurdsson, Thorfinn, Einar Sigurdsson, Einar and Sumarlidi Sigurdsson, Sumarlidi ). He was joint Earl of Orkney from 1014. His life i ...
.Thomson (2008) p. 88


Norwegian influence

Haakon Paulsson went on a long journey to Scandinavia, latterly staying with his kinsman,
Magnus Barefoot Magnus III Olafsson (Old Norse: ''Magnús Óláfsson'', Norwegian: ''Magnus Olavsson''; 1073 â€“ 24 August 1103), better known as Magnus Barefoot (Old Norse: ''Magnús berfÅ“ttr'', Norwegian: ''Magnus Berrføtt''), was the King of Norway ...
the king of Norway. Whilst there he heard that his father Paul had largely handed over control of Orkney to Earl Erlend and his sons and that after a substantial period of peace the people of Orkney were not keen to see Haakon returning. He therefore asked King Magnus for help in the hope of obtaining the earldom for himself. Haakon knew Magnus was power-hungry and suggested that he take back direct control of Orkney as a base for raiding further afield as his predecessor Harold Fairhair had done. Magnus was persuaded and in 1098 he launched a major campaign, taking his eight-year-old son
Sigurd Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...
with him. However, Magnus had designs that were not envisaged by Haakon. He took possession of the islands, deposing both Erlend and Paul Thorfinsson who were sent away to Norway as prisoners, Haakon and Magnus and Erling Erlendsson were taken by King Magnus as hostages and Sigurd was installed as the nominal earl. Sigurd's rule was aided by a council, with Haakon as a member of this group.Thomson (2008) p. 90 Haakon's father Paul died later that year and was buried in
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
.''Orkneyinga saga'' Chapter 42 p. 88 Erling Erlendsson died while campaigning with King Magnus, either at the Battle of the Menai Straits or in
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
.


Martyrdom of Magnus

On a second expedition to Ireland Magnus Barefoot was killed in 1103 and after ascending to the Norwegian throne aged only fourteen, his son Sigurd made Haakon earl of Orkney c. 1104. According to the ''Orkneyinga saga'', Haakon's cousin
Magnus Erlendsson Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, sometimes known as Magnus the Martyr, was Earl of Orkney from 1106 to about 1117. Magnus's grandparents, Thorfinn the Mighty, Jarl of Orkney and his wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, had two sons, Erlend a ...
was initially rejected by the Norwegian rulers because of his religious convictions. Magnus was obliged to take refuge in Scotland, but returned to Orkney in 1105 and disputed the succession of Haakon. Having failed to reach an agreement, Magnus sought help from King
Eystein I of Norway Eystein Magnusson (, ; – 29 August 1123), also called Eystein I, was King of Norway from 1103 to 1123 together with his half-brothers Sigurd the Crusader and Olaf Magnusson, although since Olaf died before adulthood, only Eystein and Sigurd w ...
who granted him the joint earldom of Orkney. Magnus and Haakon then ruled jointly from 1105 until 1114. Their followers then had fallen out and the two sides met at the ''thing'' assembly on the Orkney mainland, ready to do battle. Peace was negotiated and the Earls arranged to meet each other on the island of
Egilsay Egilsay (, ) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying east of Rousay. The anglicized name of Eagleshay was used in past centuries. The island is largely farmland and is known for St Magnus Church, Egilsay, St Magnus Church, dedicated or r ...
, each bringing only two ships. Magnus arrived with his two ships, but Haakon turned up with eight ships. Magnus took refuge in the island's church overnight, but the following day he was captured and offered to go into exile or prison. An assembly of chieftains insisted that one earl must die. Haakon killed Magnus on Egilsay in April 1116. This led to the "martyrdom" of Magnus and the construction of
St Magnus Cathedral St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. Originally Roman Catholic, it is the oldest cathedral in Scotland and the most northerly cathedral in the ...
in
Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...
.


Later years

After the death of Magnus " took over the whole of Orkney and made all those who had previously served Magnus swear oaths of allegiance... and made those of Earl Magnus' friends who had been most hostile to him pay heavily for it in tribute".''Orkneyinga saga'' c. 52 Having consolidated his position as earl, Haakon then went on a pilgrimage to Rome and then onwards to Jerusalem "where he bathed in the River Jordan". Haakon's mistress
Helga Helga (derived from Old Norse ''heilagr'' - "holy", "blessed") is a female name, used mainly in Scandinavia, German-speaking countries and the Low Countries (''Hege'', ''Helle'', ''Helge'', ''Helga'', ''Helka'' or ''Oili''). The name was in use ...
, the daughter of Moddan—described as a rich and well-born farmer—gave the earl three children. They were Harald "Smooth-tongue", Ingibjorg who married Olaf Morsel
King of the Isles The Kingdom of the Isles, also known as Sodor, was a Norse–Gaelic kingdom comprising the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries. The islands were known in Old Norse as the , or "Southern Is ...
and another daughter, Margaret. Haakon had another son the saga calls Paul "the Silent". Eventually Harald and Paul inherited their father's title "and the farmers had grave doubts about how the brothers... would get on together."


Interpretations

At the time the ''Orkneyinga saga'' was first written down Haakon's grandson,
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 ...
, was Earl of Orkney and the writer clearly had some difficulty in portraying the kin-slaying of Magnus Erlendsson. Thomson (2008) concludes that the "assembly" that sentenced Magnus was either invented or heavily emphasised in order to "divert some of the blame from ".Thomson (2008) p. 96 Furthermore, in reporting on Earl Haakon's death the saga reports that this was "felt to be a great loss, his later years having been very peaceful".''Orkneyinga saga'' c. 53


In fiction

Haakon is depicted as an antagonist in
George Mackay Brown George Mackay Brown (17 October 1921 – 13 April 1996) was a Scottish poet, author and dramatist with a distinctly Orkney, Orcadian character. He is widely regarded as one of the great Scottish poets of the 20th century. Biography Early life a ...
's novel ''
Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
''.


References

Notes Footnotes ;General references *Omand, Donald (ed.) (2003) ''The Orkney Book''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. *''Orkneyinga saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney''. Translated by Pálsson, Hermann and Edwards, Paul Geoffrey (1981) Penguin Classics. * Thomson, William P. L. (2008) ''The New History of Orkney''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. {{DEFAULTSORT:Paulsson, Haakon Earls of Orkney 12th-century Norwegian nobility 12th-century counts in Europe Mormaers of Caithness