Orkneyinga Saga

The Orkneyinga saga (also called the History of the Earls of Orkney) is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200. The saga has "no parallel in the social and literary record of Scotland".

The Norse saga was written around 1230 (three centuries after some of the events they record) by an unknown Icelandic author and, as was generally the case with Icelandic language writing of this period, the saga is as much a fictional story as a historic document. It is thought to have been compiled from a number of sources, combining oral legends with historical facts to tell the lives of the earls of Orkney and how they came about their earldom.

After three chapters dealing with the mythical ancestry of the later earls, the saga's adventurous account begins with the semi-mythical tales of the conquest of Orkney by Harald Fairhair, the King of Norway before moving on to more factual matters.

The first three chapters cover text that provide the supposed origins for the Swedish and Norwegian (January/February) torsmånad after Thorri and (February/March) göjemånad after Gói. In modern Icelandic Gói is referred to as Góa and is also used as a female name. The first two chapters also give a unique explanation for how Norway came to be named as such, involving Thorri's sons Nór and Gór and their division of the land.

Throughout the story, a number of characters who are both historical and legendary are introduced: Sigurd the Powerful, Hákon Paulsson, Sigurd the Stout, Ragnvald, Earl of Møre, Earl Magnus Erlendsson later styled the saint, Ragnvald Kali Kolsson and Harald Maddadsson. One or two of these characters are still part of Orcadian folklore today. There are examples of obviously fictional elements – such as Earl Sigurd's raven banner, the poisoned shirt of Earl Harald, and elements of the Hrolf Ganger saga. The saga shows how one would typically become an earl in medieval Orkney, and the problems that would ensue if more than one person shared the earldom. (for example, chapters 12–19: Sigurd Hlodvisson's sons)

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