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Viking month- the Black Widow of Orkney

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  • Viking month- the Black Widow of Orkney

    Orkney didn't know what had hit it when Erik Bloodaxe rolled into town in 933. He was the former king of Norway, who had recently been deposed by his younger brother Haakon for a number of reasons- the most pressing of which was that he was a murderously ruthless bastard. He set himself up in the wild, windswept Orkneys, and used it as a base for his more ambitious campaigns- most notably becoming the king of York on two occasions.

    When Erik was on campaigns out of town, his wife Gunnhildr ruled Orkney in his absence. After Erik's violent death in 954 she ruled Orkney as Earl in her own name, until she returned to Denmark shortly before her death in 978. Then things really got interesting, thanks to her remarkable daughter, Ragnhild.

    Being the grandaughter of both Erik Bloodaxe and Gorm the Old (king of Denmark), Ragnhild was both unassailable royal and genetically doomed to be the very apex of ruthless ambition. I place her birth at about 932, and her early years don't get much of a mention in history. What we do know is that in 954 she was married to Arnfinn, the son of Thorfinn Skull-Splitter (earl of Orkney)- a useful tactic on Gunnhildr's part to secure her position over a rival claimant to Orkney. So young Raghild was a typical dynastic pawn- a bargaining chip to secure her family's future. She wasn't content to leave it like that, however.

    Within a year of Gunnhildr leaving Orkney, Ragnhild made her move. She had already become the lover of Arnfinn's younger brother Havard, and when Arginn was in Caithness in 979 Ragnhild had him murdered- almost certainly with Havard's assistance. Havard became Earl of Orkney and prompty married his brother's widow. So far, so sordid.

    Havard had some dangerous notions however- namely that he was going to have a mind of his own and not be dominated by his Macchiavellian wife. Ragnhild reacted by seducing his nephew Einar "Klining" (which translates as "buttered bread". Nope- I've no idea what that was all about, although I like to think it was based on Ragnhild buttering him up before gobbling him up), and promising that he woud be Earl if he murdered Havard. Einar did just that in 981, but he then failed to become Earl. Why might that have been?

    The answer was simple. At the same time she was seducing and manipulating Einar Klining, Ragnhild was also seducing and manipulating his nephew Einar Hard-jaw. You can probably guess what happened next- acting on a promise of marriage from Ragnhild, Einar Hard-jaw murdered his uncle. And if you're expecting Einar Hard-jaw to succeed to rule Orkney in the loving embrace of his astonishingly lethal wife, get ready for disappointment.

    At the same time she was rogering and scheming with Havard, Einar Klining and Einar Hard-jaw, Ragnhild was also boffing and developing another younger brother of Arnfinn- Ljot. Ragnhild felt Ljot really showed promise, being a lot more psychopathically driven than his brothers. She incited him to murder Einar Hard-jaw and become Earl, which happened in late 981.

    At Ragnhil's bidding, Ljot pursued a campaign against his younger brother Skuli, who had made a unsuccessful attempt to invade Orkney and depose the carnage-wreaking couple. In a campaign that saw Ljot successfully taking on Kenneth II of Scotland, he finally succeeded in killing Skuli. He then attampted to seize all Northern Scotland, but died of his wounds after defeating the forces of Moray.

    With Ljot gone, Ragnhild hit a snag. She had missed one of Arnfinn's brothers. Hlodvir had somehow avoided her embraces, and steered clear of the slaughter of most of his family. There was clearly a power struggle, but (tragically) it has not been documented. All we do know is that Hlodvir won.

    Ragnhild, the Black Widow of Orkney, disappears from view at this point. Perhaps she was murdered or locked away. She may have escaped to Denmark, but I think that's a longer shot- she would have had powerful family there, and I just can't see her quietly retiring like her mother did. Ultimately her scheming failed- Hlodvir's son was the mighty Sigurd II, and it was this dynasty that established lasting control of Orkney.
    The genesis of the "evil Finn" concept- Evil, evil Finland

  • #2
    Psycho bint from HELL!

    -Arrian
    grog want tank...Grog Want Tank... GROG WANT TANK!

    The trick isn't to break some eggs to make an omelette, it's convincing the eggs to break themselves in order to aspire to omelettehood.

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