Magnus Gilbertson, Earl of Caithness

Magnus Gilbertson, Earl of Caithness and Jarl of Orkney (also Magnus (III)) († 1273 ) was a Norwegian - Scottish nobleman.

origin

Magnus was likely related to the Scottish Earl of Angus . He was a son of Gilbert, Earl of Caithness and Jarl of Orkney . His father inherited the estate in 1239 after the deaths of Magnus (II), Earl of Caithness and Jarl of Orkney . Otherwise almost nothing is known about his father, except that he probably belonged to the family of the Earl of Angus. After his death in 1256 Magnus inherited the two earldoms.

Earl of Caithness and Jarl of Orkney

As Earl of Caithness, Magnus was a vassal of the Scottish King Alexander III. , as Earl or Jarl of Orkney , Magnus was subject to the Norwegian King Håkon IV , whose empire included Orkney and the West Scottish islands . However, the Scottish king tried to gain control of these islands, whereupon the Norwegian king gathered a fleet in Bergen in 1263 to wage a campaign in Scotland . Magnus gathered his followers and also sailed to Bergen, where the Norwegian king gave him command of a longboat as a token of his favor . When the Norwegian fleet reached Orkney in the summer of 1263, the king sent part of his army to Caithness . There the troops forcibly collected money and supplies and promised the region peace in return. The Scottish king also harassed the residents of Caithness, who had to give him 21 hostages. The Norwegian king, on the other hand, fully trusted Magnus, to whom he left command of Orkney while he sailed on to the Hebrides. Magnus and his men were later to follow the Norwegian king, but nothing is known about his activities over the next few years. The Norwegian king returned to the Orkneys after the undecided battle of Largs , where he died in December 1263. His successor, King Magnus VI. sent Ogmund Krakadanz to Orkney to defend the islands against the Scots, this is considered clear evidence that Earl Magnus was not on the Orkneys. In the Peace of Perth , the Norwegian king sold the Hebrides to Scotland in 1266, while the Orkneys continued to belong to Norway. In 1267 Earl Magnus traveled to Norway, where he signed a treaty with the Norwegian king. But there is no evidence that he switched sides during the war. The Scottish king also distrusted him, because apparently he had the earl supervised by a commission led by the Earl of Buchan and Alan Durward . Earl Magnus' loyalty to the Scottish king was secured by holding hostages, and Magnus himself may have been temporarily in custody. He probably had to pay the Scottish king a heavy fine as a punishment for his fight on the Norwegian side, because payments of 50 marks each are documented by him in 1263 and 1266 .

Descendants and inheritance

Magnus had at least two sons:

• Magnus Magnusson, Earl of Caithness († 1283)
• John Magnusson, Earl of Caithness († before 1312)

His heir was first his son Magnus Magnusson, after his death the younger son John followed him as Earl of Caithness and Jarl of Orkney.

Web links

• Magnus, Earl of Caithness, on thepeerage.com , accessed January 26, 2020.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Barbara E. Crawford: The Earldom of Caithness and the kingdom of Scotland, 1150-1266 . In: KJ Stringer (Ed.): Essays on the Nobility of Medieval Scotland , John Donald Publishers, Edinburgh 1985, ISBN 0-85976-113-4 , p. 37.
2. ↑ Barbara E. Crawford: The Earldom of Caithness and the kingdom of Scotland, 1150-1266. In: KJ Stringer (Ed.): Essays on the Nobility of Medieval Scotland , John Donald Publishers, Edinburgh 1985, ISBN 0-85976-113-4 , p. 38.

predecessor	Office	successor
Gilbert	Jarl of Orkney Earl of Caithness 1256–1273	Magnus Magnusson