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Rögnvald Kali Kolsson (; ), also known as Saint Ronald of Orkney (c. 1100 – 1158), was a Norwegian
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 Scandinavian Scotland, founded by Norse invaders, the status ...
who came to be regarded as a
Christian saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
. Two of the
Orkney Islands Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland ...
are named after Rögnvald, namely North Ronaldsay and
South Ronaldsay South Ronaldsay (, also , ) is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. It is linked to the Orkney Mainland by the Churchill Barriers, running via Burray, Glimps Holm and Lamb Holm. Name Along with North Ronaldsay, the islan ...
.


Life


Family and education

Rögnvald's parents were lendmann Kolr Kalisson and Gunnhildr Erlendsdottir, the sister of
Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney 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 an ...
. It was through his mother, Gunnhildr, that Rögnvald had a claim on the Orkney earldom. Rögnvald Kali Kolsson may have been born in
Jæren Jæren is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the large ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
.,''katolsk.no''
/ref> but this seems unlikely, since his family resided in
Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...
and Jæren is in
Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...
. Some researchers think he may have been born in Fjære, a part of Grimstad. The king's estate at Lista is also believed to be the possible location of both his birthplace and his childhood home. Rögnvald's family owned several farms in Agder where the boy could have spent his childhood.


Acquisition of Orkney

King
Sigurd I of Norway Sigurd the Crusader (; ; 1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd Magnusson and Sigurd I, was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-brother Eystein I of Norway, Øystein (until Øystein died in 1123), has been ...
appointed him Earl of Orkney and
Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...
in 1129. When he became Earl, Kali was given the name Rögnvald, after Earl Rögnvald Brusason, whom Rögnvald's mother Gunnhild thought of as the ablest of all the Earls of Orkney. It was thought this name would bring Rögnvald luck. Rognvald should have had one half of Orkney as his uncle Magnus Erlendsson had, but his second cousin
Paul Haakonsson Paul Haakonsson was joint Earl of Orkney from 1122 until 1137. Haakonsson served jointly as Earl of Orkney Earl of Orkney, historically Jarl of Orkney, is a title of nobility encompassing the archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland, which co ...
had just made himself sole ruler of the islands and would not cede any of them. Rögnvald remained in Norway as one of the leading men of King
Harald Gille Harald Gille (, c. 1102 − 14 December 1136), also known as Harald IV, was king of Norway from 1130 until his death. His byname Gille is probably . Background Harald was born ca. 1102 in Ireland or the Hebrides, more likely the former. Accord ...
. Rögnvald was hailed as jarl in 1136. In 1137, Rögnvald initiated the building 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 ...
,
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
. Rögnvald also served as a guardian to
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 ...
, the five-year-old nephew of Paul Haakonsson. In 1138 Rögnvald appointed Harald Maddadsson as Earl along with him. Harald had inherited
Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...
, Scotland, and thus was Rögnvald master over this area.


Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

In 1151, Earl Rögnvald set out on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This celebrated enterprise takes up five complete chapters of
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 ...
. The telling about their staying in the Holy Land is very short. It seems that the journey is the important part. But the description of the voyage is dominated more by stories about fighting and feasting. The saga tells that the impulse for the pilgrimage came from a distant relative of Rögnvald, Eindridi Ungi, who mentions prestige as a motivation for taking this large-scale expedition.Crawford, Barbara E., Harald Maddadson, earl of Caithness and earl of Orkney (1133/4–1206)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 25 May 2013
/ref>


Death

While he was abroad, King
David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic, Modern Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was David I as Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 112 ...
granted half of Caithness to the cousin of Harald Maddadsson,
Erlend Haraldsson Erlend Haraldsson (c.1124 – 21 December 1154) was joint Earl of Orkney from 1151 to 1154. The son of Earl Harald Haakonsson,Thomson (2008) p. 89 he ruled with Harald Maddadsson and Rögnvald Kali Kolsson.Thomson (2008) p. 101 This was a tur ...
. Earl Harald subsequently displaced Erlend Haraldsson, who was killed in 1156. In August 1158, Rögnvald was cut down with his company of eight men by Thorbjorn Klerk, the former friend and counsellor of Harald, who had been made an outlaw by Earl Rögnvald for a murder committed in Kirkwall, following a series of acts of violence. His body was taken to Kirkwall and buried in St Magnus Cathedral. Alleged miracles shall have happened at his grave as well as on the stone where he died. Rögnvald was canonized 1192 by
Pope Celestine III Pope Celestine III (; c. 1105 – 8 January 1198), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 March or 10 April 1191 to his death in 1198. He had a tense relationship with several monarchs, including Emperor ...
. But some doubts exist as to the validity of his sainthood, because no existing records seem to confirm it.


Poetry

Another of his poems, translated by Ian Crockatt, reads:Ian Crockatt (trans.), ''Crimsoning the Eagle's Claw: The Viking Poems of Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson, Earl of Orkney'' (Arc 2014), http://www.arcpublications.co.uk/content/572.
Vér hǫfum vaðnar leirur vikur fimm megingrimmar; saurs vasa vant, es vârum, viðr, í Grímsbœ miðjum. Nús, þats mâs of mýrar meginkátliga lâtum branda elg á bylgjur Bjǫrgynjar til dynja.
English Translation: Muck, slime, mud. We waded for five mired weeks, reeking, silt-fouled bilge-boards souring in Grimsby bay. Nimbly now, our proud-prowed, Bergen -bound Sea-Elk pounds over wave-paved auk-moors, locks horns with foam-crests, bows booming.
Other verses record events which occurred during the rest of the journey, such as Rögnvald's swim across the River Jordan.


References


Further reading

* Anon., ''Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney'', tr. Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards. Penguin, London, 1978. * Crawford, Barbara E., "An unrecognised statue of Earl Rognvald" in Crawford, Barbara E. (ed), ''Northern Isles Connections: Essays from Orkney and Shetland presented to Per Sveaas Andersen.'' Kirkwall: Orkney Press, 1995. * Riant, Paul (1865–1869).
Expéditions et pèlerinages des Scandinaves en Terre sainte au temps des croisades
'' 2 volumes (1865–1869). Retour et fin de Rögnvaldr, pp. 260–261.


External links


''the Orkneyinga Saga''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolsson, Ragnvald Kale 1100s births 1158 deaths Norwegian Roman Catholic saints Earls of Orkney 12th-century Christian saints Medieval Scottish saints Norwegian murder victims Assassinated royalty Burials at St Magnus Cathedral Orkneyinga saga characters Mormaers of Caithness