The The Orkneyinga Saga on Harald Harfagri

The Orkneyinga Saga > For > And Caithness.

• attestation: Harald Harfagri, after his victory at Hafursfiord in 872, collected a fleet and subdued Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, clearing them of Viking plunderers who had been raiding Norway.

  "By the victory of Hafursfiord in 872, Harald Harfagri made himself sole monarch of Norway. Large numbers of the wealthy and powerful odallers, whom he had dispossessed of their territorial possessions, fled to the islands of Orkney and Shetland"

The Orkneyinga Saga > Chapter I. > Of The Earls.

• attestation: The Orkney Islands were colonised in the time of Harald the Fairhaired; before that they served as a station for Vikings. The first Earl was Sigurd, son of Eystein Glumra and brother of Rögnvald Earl of Moeri.

  "It is said that the Orkney Islands were colonised in the days of Harald the Fairhaired,[223] but previously they were a station for Vikings.[224]

The first Earl of the Orkneys was called Sigurd. He was the son of Eystein Glumra (the loud-talking), and brother of Rögnvald, Earl of Moeri."

The Orkneyinga Saga > Chapter Cxvii > The Dominions Of King Harald And Earl RöGnvald.

• attestation: King Harald Harfagri went west across the sea to punish Vikings, subduing Shetland, Orkneys, and the Hebrides; he went as far as the Isle of Man and extended Norway's dominion further west than any subsequent king.

  "Harald subdued Hjaltland, the Orkneys, and the Sudreyar (Hebrides). He went west as far as the Isle of Man, and destroyed all the dwellings in Man. He fought many battles there, and extended his dominion so far to the west that none of the Kings of Norway since his time has had wider dominions."