The Northern Earldoms: Orkney and Caithness from AD 870 to 1470

This work investigates how the medieval earldoms of Orkney and Caithness were positioned between two worlds, the Norwegian and the Scottish and how they were a maritime lordship divided, or united, by the turbulent waters of the Pentland Firth. Further, the books shows how this unlikely combination of island and mainland territory survived as a single lordship for 600 years, against the odds. Growing out of the Viking maelstrom of the early Middle Ages, it became an established and wealthy principality which dominated northern waters, with a renowned dynasty of earls. How they maintained their independence and how they survived the clash of loyalties are themes fully explored in this book, from the early Viking age to the late medieval era when the powerful feudal Sinclair earls ruled the islands and regained possession of Caithness.