Year |
Event |
3800BC (circa) |
The Knap
of Howar built and occupied on the island of Papa Westray. |
3400-3100BC (circa) |
Earliest structures at the Barnhouse Settlement. |
3300-3200BC (circa) |
Earliest structures built on the Ness of Brodgar site. |
3200BC (circa) |
Early buildings at Skara
Brae. |
3000-2900BC (circa) |
Standing
Stones o' Stenness constructed. |
2900-2750BC (circa) |
Barnhouse Neolithic settlement abandoned. Work begins on Barnhouse Structure Eight. |
2800-2700BC (circa) |
The chambered tomb Maeshowe constructed |
2700BC (circa) |
[Pyramids
in Egypt] |
2600-2500BC (circa) |
Construction of Ring of Brodgar. |
2200BC (circa) |
The village of Skara
Brae abandoned |
|
|
50AD |
Broch
of Gurness in early stages of development. |
84 (circa) |
Agricola's
supposed visit to Orkney. |
563 |
[Saint Columba
in Scotland] |
580 |
Cormac's missionary journey
to Orkney. |
787 |
[First recorded
appearance of Vikings in England.] |
800 (circa) |
[First period
of Norse colonisation begins.] |
841 |
[Rouen taken
by the Norsemen.] |
850
(circa) |
Harald
Fairhair's legendary voyage to Orkney earldom
established. |
853 |
[Norse kingdom
established in Dublin.] |
871 |
[Alfred the Great King of England.] |
874
(circa) |
Sigurd
I is earl. |
885 |
[Siege of
Paris by the Norsemen.] |
890 (circa) |
Battle
with Maelbrigte of Ross (the villainous "Tusker"
of Orcadian folklore) Earl Sigurd's death resulted (see The Ba' Page for
more details).
Guttorm, Sigurd's son, is earl |
900 |
Battle of Harfursfirth
Second period of Norse colonisation begins.
[Iceland
colonised by Norsemen] |
907 (circa) |
Hallad, son of Rognvald, Earl
of Moeri, earl |
893 (circa) |
Einar
I ("Torf Einar") Rognvaldsson is earl. (Referred
to as Torf Einar as he is credited with introducing the tradition
of burning peats as fuel to the islands) |
912 |
[Rolf or
Rollo, Rognvald's son, Duke of Normandy.] |
946-976 (circa) |
Arnkell, Erlend I, and Thorfinn
I, Einar's sons, rule as joint earls. |
950 |
[King Eric
Bloodaxe expelled from Norway.] |
954 |
King Eric Bloodaxe and Earls
Arnkell and Erlend fall at battle of Stainsmoor. |
976-991 (circa) |
Arnfinn, Havard, Ljot, and
Hlodvir, Thorfinn's sons, are joint earls. |
980 |
[Discovery
of Greenland by the Norsemen.] |
986 |
[Possible
Discovery of America (Vinland) by the Norsemen.] |
991 (circa) |
Sigurd
II Hlodvirsson, is earl. |
995 |
Sigurd
forced to convert to Christianity by Olaf Trygvesson. |
998 |
[Olaf Trygvesson
is King of Norway.] |
1014 |
Battle
of Clontarf - Earl Sigurd is killed, carrying the cursed Raven
Banner.
Sumarlid, Einar II, Brusi, and (later) Thorfinn II, Sigurd's
sons, joint-earls. |
1030 |
Death of Earl Brusi - Thorfinn
II sole earl
Rognvald, Brusi's son, claims a share of the earldom. |
1045 |
Battle in the Pentland Firth
(south of Orkney) between Rognvald and Thorfinn. |
1045 |
Earl Rognvald murdered on the
island of Papa Stronsay. |
1056 |
[Malcolm
Canmore is King of Scotland.] |
1057 |
Christ's Kirk in the West Mainland
parish of Birsay founded. The exact location of the kirk is
still hotly debated today, with some believing it stood within
the offshore island settlement known the Brough
o' Birsay and others that it stood where Birsay village
is now found. |
1065 |
Death of Thorfinn; his sons
Paul I. and Erlend II are joint-earls |
1066 |
Harald Hardradi visits Orkney.
[Harold Godwinsson is King of England]
[Battle of Stamford Bridge]
[The Norman Conquest - Invasion of Duke William of Normandy
- Battle of Hastings] |
1087 |
[Moorish
Empire established in Spain] |
1096 |
[First Crusade] |
1098 |
Magnus (Barefoot), King of
Norway, sends the Orkney earls to Norway, and makes his son
Sigurd "King" of Orkney |
1103 |
[Death of King Magnus of Norway
- Sigurd is made King of Norway] |
1105 |
Hakon Paulsson and Magnus Erlendsson
are joint-earls. |
1117 |
Murder of Earl
Magnus (St Magnus) in Egilsay |
1123 |
Death of Earl Hakon; his sons
Harald I and Paul II joint-earls |
1127 |
Death of Harald - Paul sole
earl |
1129 |
Rognvald II (Kali) appointed
joint-earl by King Sigurd of Norway |
1135 |
Rognvald's first expedition
to claim the earldom
St. Magnus Church, Egilsay, founded |
1136 |
Rognvald's second expedition
to acquire Earldom- Earl Paul kidnapped by Sweyn
Asleifson |
1137 |
St
Magnus Cathedral founded in Kirkwall |
1138 |
Harald II Maddadson joint-earl |
1151 |
Norse Crusaders (Jerusalem-farers)
returning from the Holy Land winter in Orkney and break into Maeshowe seeking shelter
(see also Maeshowe's
Treasure and Maeshowe's
Runes) |
1151 |
Earl Rognvald's Crusade to
Jerusalem |
1151 |
Erlend III is made joint-earl |
1152-1154 |
The War of the Three Earls -
Rognvald, Harald and Erlend fight for possession of the Earldom. |
1154 |
Death of Erlend III - killed
off the island of Damsay by Rognvald and Harald. |
1158 |
Earl Rognvald killed. Harald
sole Earl. |
1171 |
Sweyn Asleifson's last
cruise and death at Dublin.
[English invasion of Ireland] |
1194 |
[Battle of
Floravoe in Norway. The defeat of the "island-beardies"] |
1196 |
Shetland separated from the
Orkney Earldom |
1197 |
Harald III becomes joint Earl
(grandson of Rognvald) |
1198 |
Death of Harald III - killed
by Earl Harald Maddadsson. |
1206 |
Death of Harald II Maddadson.
His sons David and John become joint earls. |
1214 |
Death of Earl David
[Alexander II becomes King of Scotland] |
1215 |
[Magna Carta
granted in England] |
1222 |
Bishop Adam burned in Caithness. |
1231 |
Death of John; last
Earl of the Norse line. |
1236 (circa) |
Magnus
II, the first of the Angus line, becomes Earl.
Ship carrying the chief men of the Orkney islands is lost on
the voyage between Norway and Orkney. |
1239 |
Gilbride (Gilbert) I becomes
earl |
1249 |
[Alexander
III is king of Scotland] |
1256 |
Magnus III is made earl. |
1263 |
King Hakon of Norway's expedition
to his western empire.
The Battle of Largs
Haakon dies
in Kirkwall. |
1273 |
Magnus IV is earl. |
1284 |
Jon II Magnusson is earl. |
1286 |
[Death of
Alexander III of Scotland. Margaret of Norway becomes heiress
to the Scottish Crown] |
1292 |
[Death of
Margaret - "the Maid of Norway"] |
1306 |
[Robert the
Bruce is King of Scotland. Local tradition has it that Bruce
passed the winter of 1306-07 in Orkney, not in the island of
Rathlin] |
1310 |
Magnus V is earl. |
1312 |
[Treaty of
Perth confirmed at Inverness] |
1314 |
[Battle of
Bannockburn] |
1321 |
The death of Magnus V marks
the end of the Angus line.
Malise of Stratherne becomes Earl. |
1353 |
Erngisl is made earl |
1357 |
Death of Erngisl; the end of
the Stratherne line. |
1379 |
Henry
I (St. Clair) is made earl.Shetland restored to the Earldom
[The union of Norway, Sweden and Denmark -
the Union of Calmar] |