|
|
Home
Pearsall Surname Project
Number of Pearsalls By Location
Maps by Family
Surname
History and Genealogy
of the Pearsall Family in England
and America:
Volume I
Front Cover
Inside Front Cover
The Motive
Thanks
Illustrations
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Appendix I
Volume II
Volume III
|
|
found
them both in the possession of the third brother *8 LIOTR, and he lost
his life in a vain attempt to wrest, at least the latter, from the more
fortunate son of Thorfin. Whilst Liotr was in possession of the earldom, *7 SKULI, one
of his surviving brothers, presented himself at the court of the Scottish
king Kenneth, and obtained from him either a grant of the possession of
his maternal ancestor the Mormaor of Caithness, or a promise to support the pretensions he
was encouraged to raise upon the island dominions of his brother.
Collecting an army in Caithness, Skuli crossed the Pentland
Firth to establish his claim upon the Orkneys, but he failed in his
attempt and was driven out of the islands; when Liotr,
emboldened by success, passed over to the mainland and again defeated his
brother in the Dales of Caithness, where Skuli lost his life, continuing to fight bravely
after the rout and dispersion of his army. Liotr
then subdued the whole of Caithness, a
proceeding which aroused the jealousy of his powerful neighbor Malbride MacRory the
"Earl," or rather perhaps the "Oirrigh
of Moray" and both parties preparing for a contest, Malbride advanced to Skida
Moor to drive the intruder from the country. The struggle was obstinate,
victory in the end declaring for the Orkneymen,
though it was purchased with their leader's life, Liotr
dying soon afterwards of a wound he received in the battle. *9 LODVAR,
the last surviving son of Thorfin, now succeeded
to the earldom, bequeathing it very shortly to his son *10 SIGURD. He was
the only member of his family who died a peaceful death, owing perhaps to
his marriage with Auda, a daughter of an Irish
king Kerval, an alliance through which he was
fortunate enough to escape the dangerous fascinations of Ranghilda. His children were: *12. TUR¬FIN, *13.
ELLEN. *14. SOMERLID, *15. BRUSEE, *16. EYNOR.
*10.
Jarl SIGURD LODVERSON retained forcible possession of Caithness,
intrusting it to the charge of his brother-in-law Havard,
until intelligence reached him ere long that two Scottish nobles, whom
the Saga describes as "Earls," had slain Havard
in Threswick and were ravaging his territories
on the mainland. The Jarl waited only to collect his followers from the
Orkneys, and crossing the Firth was joined by the men of his other
earldom, who informed him that the Scottish leaders, to whom the Saga
gives the names of Hundi and Malsnechtan, were at that moment in the neighborhood
of Duncansby Head. Unlike Sigurd,
who was now advancing with his whole force united, the Scots allowed
them-selves to be drawn into action before the arrival of an expected
reinforcement; and although victory inclined to their side in the early
part of the battle, Malsnechtan was slain at
the close, and Hundi driven from the field;
though any advantage that might have risen from Sigurd's
success was neutralized by the approach of "Earl" Malcolm, who
appears to have landed during the contest with a considerable force at Dungall's Bay. The Jarl's men, already exhausted by a
protracted and hardly contested struggle, were in no condition for a
second engagement, with the fresh army advancing under Malcolm, so
collecting the trophies of his barren victory, Sigurd
retreated to his island fastnesses, and the mainland conquests of the
Orkney Jarls reverted to other possessors.
It
must have been soon after this battle that Olave
Tryggveson, returning from England to Norway, touched at the
Orkneys and seizing upon Sigurd, who was
totally unprepared for an attack, with all the zeal of a recent convert,
offered
|
|
