Harald Eiríksson was joint Earl of Orkney

Earl of Orkney

The Earl of Orkney was originally a Norse jarl ruling Orkney, Shetland and parts of Caithness and Sutherland. The Earls were periodically subject to the kings of Norway for the Northern Isles, and later also to the kings of Alba for those parts of their territory in mainland Scotland . The Earl's...

 with Harald Maddadsson

Harald Maddadsson

Harald Maddadsson was Earl of Orkney and Mormaer of Caithness from 1139 until 1206. He was the son of Matad, Mormaer of Atholl, and Margaret, daughter of Earl Haakon Paulsson of Orkney...

. Harald Eiríksson, also known as Harald the Young, was the son of Orkney chief Eirik Stagbrell and Ingerid Ragnvaldsdotter, the daughter of Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, the former Earl of Orkney.

For a long time, sovereignty over Caithness

Caithness

Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...

 was disputed between the King of Scotland and the Norwegian Earldom of Orkney

Earldom of Orkney

The Earldom of Orkney was a Norwegian 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....

. As part of his struggle with Harald Maddadsson, King William I of Scotland

William I of Scotland

William the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214...

 (Uilleam I of Alba) granted lands in Caithness to Harald the Young. Harald was also confirmed as joint earl of Orkney with Harald Maddadsson by King William I. Circa 1196, Harald Maddadsson

Harald Maddadsson

Harald Maddadsson was Earl of Orkney and Mormaer of Caithness from 1139 until 1206. He was the son of Matad, Mormaer of Atholl, and Margaret, daughter of Earl Haakon Paulsson of Orkney...

agreed to pay a monetary tribute for Caithness to King William I. Harald the Young was subsequently killed by Harald Maddadsson.

Sources

• Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney (tr. Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards. Penguin, London, 1978)
• Viking Orkney: A Survey (Morris, Christopher. The Prehistory of Orkney. Ed. Colin Renfrew. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 1985)