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::''For the title in the Peerage of Scotland see: Earl of Orkney'' The Earldom of Orkney was a Norwegian feudal dignity in Scotland which had its origins in the Viking period. The title of Earl of Orkney was passed down the same family line through to the Middle Ages.〔Oxford Companion to Scottish History. P. 467- 469. Edited by Michael Lynch. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923482-0.〕 Orkney and Shetland to the north, lie off the northernmost tip of Caithness, Scotland. Picts came to Orkney during the Bronze Age and extant archaeological data shows that certainly, there were people living there prior to the Vikings who came to Orkney, probably by the latter part of the 8th century although this is up for dispute. Norwegian Vikings probably either came to the islands first as farmers who were seeking land or as warriors who were claiming territory and riches as was common with Viking conquests elsewhere. The question of whether the Picts were completely massacred by the settling Vikings, migrated away, or were assimilated, in peaceful coexistence and gentle mergeance, is a matter of contention.〔(Orkneyjar - Pict and Viking: settlement or slaughter? )〕 However, aside from traces of their lives there, their culture did not endure in the early history or character of Orkney. By the 12th century, Orkney was under Norwegian control and by the 13th century, the ''Orkneyingasaga'' was written in Iceland, providing one of the earliest and most repeated versions of the history of Norse life on these isles. The ''Orkneyingasaga'' is largely fictional however and was not, being written in Iceland, any sort of primary source. Instead, it should be culled for historical details with great care and these data should be matched and compared against data from other sources. ==Norwegian Earldom of Orkney== Harald I Hårfagre, Harald I of Norway, claimed Orkney and Shetland for his kingdom around 875 and due to political differences and problems had to take military action to secure these isles as realms friendly to his rule at home. Some of his enemies left Orkney for Iceland and perhaps the Faroes. Harald took control of the warrior leaders of Orkney at this point and appointed the jarls, or earls of Orkney, who would be the highest-ranking nobility of the islands and would form the localized government in his stead. The martyrdom of Earl Magnus in 1117 resulted in the building of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. In 1231, the line of jarls which Harald established became extinct and in the same year, the earldom or mormaerdom of Caithness was given over to Magnus, the son of the Mormaer of Angus, forming the basis for a new governing presence. In 1379 Haakon VI Magnusson granted the earldom to Henry Sinclair In 1468, the Orkney and Shetland were ceded by Christian I of Denmark and Norway against the unpaid dowry of his daughter Princess Margaret who was betrothed to the Scottish prince James III. Christian I never paid the money owed to James' father and thus the two island groups became part of the Scottish kingdom. The jarldom, without a clear Norse line nor the political support or mechanism for that line to continue, were given over to Scottish lords. In 1471, James gave lands in Caithness Scotland to William, the Earl of Orkney in exchange for his lands and thus Orkney and Shetland became part of the Kingdom of Scotland. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Earldom of Orkney」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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