Saint
Magnus (Orkney) and Saint Rognvald / Ronald
It
is interesting to contemplate Saint Magnus and Saint Rognvald. Now most of the information about them is from
various Sagas but Sagas are not historical texts. They are later written, embellished
stories with perhaps some truth.
Relationship to
Clan Gunn
The
first issue is to clarify the Saints relationship to the Gunns, because it’s
tenuous. In fact if I was picky, Gunni, see below, is the first ‘Gunn’ and he
comes after these two Saints. But if we take a more modern view, meaning DNA related,
then Rognvald is a direct ‘Gunn’ and Magnus is a ‘related’ Gunn. (Magnus dies without
known children.) That’s a lot better than for Saint Donan / Donnan. It’s
worth noting that the line of descent for the Gunns from the Orkney ruling Jarl
(or Earl if you want it anglicised) line is through the female. If one was just
talking traditional male genealogy neither of these Saints would be of
importance to the Gunns.
Now,
the time is the late 1000s, early 1110s. There were a lot of rulers of Orkney,
not least due to wars and murders. Often they ruled in pairs. The key
simplified family tree is below.
Jarl / Earl Erland of Orkney
had
children these included
Gunhild
(she married Lendman
kol Kalisson) and St Magnus m. Ingigerd
Who had
Earl
/ St. Rognvald Kale Kolsson 1100 died
1159
Who had
Ingirid
(m. Erik Stagbrellr / Erik Staybrails)
Who had
Ragnhild
m. Gunni (grandson of of Sweyn Asleifsson,
the Viking hero and namesake of the Clan Gunn)
SAINT MAGNUS
From the 2008 UK 'Cathedral' stamp set ...
·
I
note an interesting view of the early years: ‘While the Orkneyinga Saga account is clearly meant to
emphasise the Earl's “holiness”, the Magnus Sagas do not shy away from his
less-than-saintly deeds and escapades as a younger man - although it does make
excuses for him.
For example, The Greater Magnus Saga recounts how Magnus, in true Viking
fashion, spent several years raiding, raping and plundering. This, it declares,
was due to the company the young Magnus kept, but beneath the hagiographical
gloss it does seem to hint at a truer picture of life at the time.’ http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/stmagnus/relics.htm
·
Hamish
Haswell-Smith in The Scottish Islands
records (p.179) that Magnus ‘married a girl called Ingigerd but never
consummated the marriage. Apparently cold water helped (Do I believe this given the previous point?)... After some years he lost interest in married life
(and being Jarl) and travelled south to the court of King Henry 1 of England (who was a reformer, but holds the record
for the most illegitimate children by an English King. Twenty at least)... (Later) Magnus reappeared with five warships
(at Orkney). Haakon (the other Jarl, now sole ruler) rushed to arms but the ...
Parliament counselled peace and a parley on Egilsay... Both parties were to
take no more than two ships and equal numbers of men.’
Magnus was captured andt
immediately executed. The two Jarls
talked, and the men were involved (men probably of both ‘sides’). Magnus (or is merely hagiography) offered to
go into exile (offering Rome or the ‘Holy Land’) but Haakon said no (fair enough, last time Magnus went missing
he came back with five warships). Magnus then suggested he should be
imprisoned, but this was also rejected. (Again
seems fair enough for the time, such a prisoner is no solution as obviously all
Magnus’ lot would then be out to kill you or kidnap you.) Then he offered
to be maimed or blinded to which Haakon agreed BUT the men (Haakon’s? Magnus’s? Both?) objected and
they are in the position of power. (So,
the parley was actually taking place one feels; the common person’s impact is
happening here.) The men say they are sick of two Jarls[1],
they wanted one ruler and offered to kill either! (So,
the supposedly popular Magnus is not that popular with whoever was on Egilsay!
And that’s ten shiploads worth of men. Another crack in the myth...) So,
Haakon is sensible and says he likes being a Jarl more than he wants to be
dead. Magnus said nothing but knelt and prayed and was killed[2].
[1] See
pages 154-162 of George Mackay Brown’s Magnus
for a fictionalised version of the final events. The people who are there with
Magnus and Haakon just want one Jarl; and they don’t care which one. But George
Mackay Brown clearly points out that Haakon was the better ruler. But it is
fiction.
[2] Worth noting
that in at least one view the bones of St Magnus found in the Cathedral are
questionable; ‘it is either not Magnus' skull, or the saga's version of
the earl's death is incorrect.’ http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/stmagnus/relics.htm
Not much about piety and Magnus and, of course,
the miracles for sainthood only occur after his death...
Further points from http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/stmagnus/index.html
and elsewhere--
·
The
King of Norway came for a visit in to Orkney in 1098, he overthrew the two
Earls who were ruling and installed his illegitimate son as ruler. He took the
sons of each overthrown Earl with him raiding down to Anglesey, Magnus did not
fight but was meant to have stayed on board singing psalms. He is nowhere else
mentioned in the raiding party’s activities in the Orkneyings Saga. Was this psalm singing a late addition to
the Sagas? It seems odd that such an important person was not mentioned again.
·
It
is also suggested that if he was there he may not have been involved with
fighting for other reasons, namely he was already involved with Welsh affairs.
·
The
Saga points out Magnus disappeared and only comes visible again in 1102,
basically nothing is known of his time away from the spotlight. In 1102-1105/6 he is at the court of King
Edgar of Scotland. He does spend serious
amounts of time at two different courts. Little is known of King Edgar...
·
Worth
noting that the bones of St Magnus found in the Cathedral are questionable; ‘it is either not Magnus' skull, or the saga's version of
the earl's death is incorrect.’ http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/stmagnus/relics.htm
So, Magnus may have enjoyed a
typical upbringing with a bit of raping and plundering, was perhaps a bit strange
when married, meandered off to royal courts (such courts are rarely known for piety) and returns with warships.
He seemed to have been a fair enough ruler and may have had a bit of religious
spirit but nothing amazingly pious is mentioned. He gets involved in a ‘parley’
with his joint ruler and loses due to the common people being quite prepared for
him to die. But later the Magnus cult
grows in strength, not least due to his nephew’s Cathedral. As well, the Church is always good at
propaganda...
SAINT ROGNVALD
Rognvald was fighting to become
Earl, because he wanted his uncle’s half share. (The uncle being Earl Paul). So
‘Rather than
wage all-out war, he (Kol, his Dad)
suggested that Rognvald should try and secure the earldom by other, less
direct, means. Kol instructed Rognvald to tell the people of Orkney that once
he became earl, he would raise the finest church the north had ever seen. This
church was to be in memory of his saintly uncle, Magnus ...
While
Rognvald was capturing the hearts of the Orcadian people, behind the
scenes he had Earl Paul kidnapped in Rousay and spirited from the islands.
The Orkneyinga saga is unclear as to the fate of the
dispossessed Paul.’
So, Rognvald starts building his
uncle’s Cathedral at Kirkwall. That’s quite useful; a ruler may or may not be
religious but having a saint as an uncle, with a Cathedral dedicated to him,
certainly helps shore up a new ruler’s position. (Rulers were meant to descend from God in the old days, as that way
you couldn’t challenge what your ruler did as otherwise you were questioning God).
Rognvald is guardian to a nephew,
Harald Maddadsson (Earl Paul’s son). He’s a useful nephew. His dad had been the sole ruler of the Orkneys
until he ‘disappeared’. (Various other people die who were not supporters of
Rognvald, such as Frakkok.) Rognvald
appoints his nephew to be Earl with him; which quite neatly brings Caithness
into Rognvald’s joint jurisdiction as the nephew ‘owned’ that land (but it gets
lost over time)...
What else did Rognvald do which
is saintly? He did decide to go on a Crusade, like many others, so he went to
Constantinople 1153-1155. He gets killed in 1158 by Harald’s foster father and
eight men. And miracles are then meant
to have happened. He gets canonised in 1192.
So, in dodgy times Rognvald made
it to be a ruler as he had some claim to be, he was involved with all sorts of
wars and political power plays, he creates a Cathedral for his dead uncle (not
least as it improved his image and helped him to win the war). He gets killed. Then he
gets to become a Saint a bit later after the normal, questionable miracles.
*****
Some
more history
Rognvald had a daughter Ingirid
who married Erik Stagbrellr, battles and politics continued. Erik sort of became
Earl against Earl Harald Maddadson, but lost the war. They had a daughter
Ragnhild who married Gunni , the first Gunn if you like. Basically the ‘Gunn’
lands of Caithness came from Erik Staybrails who was well connected...
*****
Overall, therefore, about 900 years
ago Magnus and Rognvald had fairly typical lives for the ruling class. Magnus
seemed to be rather erratic in behaviour and nothing much pious is known about
him. His nephew later found it useful to encourage the cult of Magnus by
building a Cathedral. The propaganda further grew
around these people and their actual lives have been thrust into long grass, hidden
by bushes of romanticised mythology.
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