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Earldom of Orkney Orkneyjar / Norðreyjar (Old Norse) | |||||||||
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 The Earldom of Orkney/Norðr in the 11th century, shaded brown, with the Kingdom of the Isles/Sodor shaded red. | |||||||||
| Status | Dependency of Norway | ||||||||
| Capital | Kirkjuvagr | ||||||||
| Common languages | Norn, Old Norse | ||||||||
| Religion | Norse Paganism, Christianity | ||||||||
| Jarl (Earl) of Orkney | |||||||||
• c.872–c. 892 | Sigurd Eysteinsson (first) | ||||||||
• 1206–1231 | Jon Haraldsson (last Norse jarl) | ||||||||
• 1434–1470 | William Sinclair (last jarl under Norwegian Crown) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
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The Earldom of Orkney was a Norse territory ruled by the earls (or jarls) of Orkney from the ninth century until 1472. It was founded during the Viking Age by Viking raiders and settlers from Scandinavia (see Scandinavian Scotland). In the ninth and tenth centuries it covered the Northern Isles (Norðreyjar) of Orkney and Shetland, as well as Caithness and Sutherland on the mainland. It was a dependent territory of the Kingdom of Norway until 1472, when it was absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland. Originally, the title of Jarl or Earl of Orkney was heritable.[1]
- ^ Crawford, Barbara E. (8 August 2013). The Northern Earldoms: Orkney and Caithness from AD 870 to 1470. Birlinn. ISBN 9780857906182. Retrieved 7 August 2016.