Earl Haraldr Maddaðarson, 1139-1206, was the son of Margrét
Hákons-dóttir and Maddadh, Gaelic earl of Athole (Gaelic, _maddadh_,
a dog), and was 51/256 Norse, 205/256 Gael. When about twenty years
of age, he was _mikill maðr vexti ok sterkr, ljótr maðr ok vel vitr_,
a big man in growth and strong, an ugly man and well-witted. He was a
_mikill höfðingi_, great chief; _manna mestr ok sterkastr_, the tallest
and strongest of men; _ódæll ok skap-harðr_, overbearing and harsh.
He was twice married, viz., (1) Afreka, daughter of Duncan, Gaelic earl
of Fife, whom he repudiated, and (2) Hvarflöð (Gaelic, _Gormflaith_),
daughter of Malcolm, earl of Morhæfi (Moray). The names of the children
of the first were, Heinrekr (Henry), Hákon, Helena, Margrét, and by
the second, Þorfinnr, Davið, Jón, Gunnhildr, Herborg, and Langlíf. He
allowed a rebellion, against king Sverrir, to be hatched in Orkney, for
which he had Shetland taken from him in 1194, when it was placed under
the government of Norway,[4] and was not restored to the earls till
1379.
[4] Fb.
Here the _Orkneyinga Saga_ ends, and information about the succeeding
earls is derived from documents few and far between.
Earl Haraldr Maddaðarson was succeeded by his sons, earls Davið
Haraldsson, d.s.p. 1214, and Jón Haraldsson, slain, 1231, the latter
having been predeceased by his son, Haraldr Jónsson, who was drowned in
1226.[5] Earl Jón Haraldsson was succeeded by Malcolm, the Gaelic earl
of Angus, from whom the title was transferred to his kinsman (uncle or
cousin), earl Magnús, who was succeeded by his son or brother, earl
Gilbert (Gaelic, _Gilleabart_), who was succeeded by his son, earl
Magnús Gilbertsson, who was succeeded by his sons, earls Magnús and
John and another earl Magnús, after which the earldom passed to Malise,
(Gaelic, _Maoliosa_), Gaelic earl of Strathearn, through his great
grandmother, a daughter of earl Gilbert. After Malise, the earldom,
after an interregnum, passed to his daughter’s son, Henry St. Clair,
in whom the earldom was vested in 1379. His grandson, earl William,
after the wadset of Orkney and Shetland to Scotland in 1468-9, resigned
his right to the earldom to the crown of Scotland in 1472, when it was
annexed to the crown as a royal title.[6]
[5] Isl. Annals.
[6] _Scots Peerage._