The Viking Earldom : The Norse Earls of Orkney: Powerbrokers of the Viking World
Angus Konstam

In English-oriented history books the end of the Viking age is generally given as 1066, and the death in battle of the Norwegian King Harald ‘Hardrada’, just weeks before the start of the Norman Conquest. In Ireland though, the date of 1171 is quoted, which marks the fall of the Irish-Norse city of Dublin to the Anglo-Normans. In Scotland though, the key date is 1263, when a Norse army led by King Haakon of Norway was defeated by the Scots at the Battle of Largs. This book covers all three of these dates, when the Viking earls of Orkney played their part in all three epoch-changing events. 

Using an engaging, fast-paced narrative, The Viking Earldom tells the story of the Norse Earls of Orkney, whose lands once covered much of Scotland, and whose reach extended as far as Scandinavia, continental Europe and even the Mediterranean. 

This though, isn’t just a catalogue of minor Viking rulers. Although the Norse earls of Orkney owed their allegiance to the Kings of Norway, they ruled their own semiautonomous empire, with lands in mainland Scotland and the Western Isles. At their military height in the 11th century, they held a 400 mile swathe of territory, stretching from Shetland down to the Clyde Estuary. 

From their base in Orkney these Norse earls and their followers led Viking raids around the British Isles and even further afield. For over four centuries their warriors and longships battled alongside Scandinavian kings and Norse rebels, and as Norse kingmakers these warlike earls sometimes paid the ultimate price for dabbling in international affairs. For over four centuries, they were the key players in Viking Britain. 

Their story was first told in the 13th century, when Icelandic scholars wrote the Orkneyinga Saga, also called the ‘Jarls’ Saga’, or the ‘History of the Earls of Orkney’. Not only is it the only medieval chronicle to place Orkney at the centre of the action, it has few rivals in early Scottish historical documents either. Above all, it is a spellbinding tale of love, war, triumph, tragedy, treachery, murder, rebellion and greed. 

The Viking Earldom draws on the saga as a historical source and attempts to capture some of its spellbinding narrative drive. However, as expected from an author with a reputation for writing compelling and well-researched historical narrative, this book draws on a wide range of historical sources such as Celtic-Scottish, Irish, Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon chronicles to tell this magnificent tale.