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Pearsall Surname Project
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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
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*16.
EINAR perished shortly afterwards in a feud, when a fresh difficulty
arose about the division of his portion of the islands. Brusi, fearful lest King Malcolm, who was then alive,
should support the claims of his grandson, deter-mined upon enlisting the
king of Norway in his own behalf, and for this purpose he sailed for the
latter country, whither he was soon followed by Thorfin,
who thought with much justice, to use the words of the Saga, "that
though he stood well with Olaf, and many would support him in his
absence, many more would do so if he were present." Before the
arrival of his younger brother, Brusi had
al-resigned his Odal rights into the hands of
Olaf, agreeing to be bound by the royal decision, and to hold all his
lands as a Lenderman or royal Jarl, at the will
and pleasure of the king. When a similar resignation was demanded from Thorfin, he hesitated at first to acquiesce in any
such arrangement; but after consulting with his friends, he agreed with
such alacrity to every proposition of Olaf, that the suspicions of the
king were aroused, and deciding that Einar's
portion had reverted to the Norwegian crown, he restored it to Brusi, relying more upon the fidelity of the elder
brother than upon the youthful and ambitious Thorfin.
The
pacific Brusi soon found reason to complain of
his brother, after their return to the Orkneys, for neglecting to
contribute his allotted portion towards the defense of the islands; as Thorfin, residing continually on the mainland, was
satisfied with limiting his connection with his insular fiefs to the
punctual exaction of his duties. The younger Jarl offered to rectify his
neglect, by taking the whole trouble out of the hands of his elder brother,
on condition that the latter in return should surrender the disputed
share; and as peace, not power, was the object of the indolent Brusi, he willingly purchased it at the price of
insignificance, and at his death, which occurred about the year 1030, Thorfin, without further scruple, annexed the whole
of the Orkneys to his dominions.
In
the extreme north, dominions more extensive than any Jarl of the Orkneys
had hitherto acquired, were united under the rule of Thorfin
Sigurdson, whose character and appearance have
been thus described-He was stout and strong, but very ugly, severe and
cruel, but a very clever man. The extensive districts then dependent upon
the Moray Mormaors were in the possession of
the celebrated Macbeth and though the power of those northern magnates
must undoubtedly have been weakened by the aggressions of the Norwegian
Jarls, it tells not a little for the energy and vigor of the late king,
that his grandson was able to ascend the throne without encountering any
opposition from the formidable representative of the claims of the rival
family.
The
mainland possessions of Thorfin appear to have
become an object of dispute, Duncan the king demanding the usual tribute,
due from a dependency of Scotland, whilst the Jarl denied the justice of
his claim, maintaining that he held his earldom by Odal
right, as an absolute and unconditional gift from their joint grandfather
Malcolm. At length Duncan, to punish his kinsman's contumacy and assert
the rights of the crown, determined upon appointing another member of his
family, Moddan or Madach,
to replace Thorfin in the earldom, and dispatching
Madach with an army to the north, he empowered
him to take possession of the royal grant. About this same time, the
Scottish king, desirous of
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