User:Billreid/Karl Hundason

Karl Hundason — Karl, son of Hundi — is recorded in the Orkneyinga Saga as a "King of Scots" but is not mentioned in any other contemporary work, whether Scots, Irish, Anglo-Saxon, or Scandinavian.

Background

Being called Karl and having led an army of Scots and Irish against Thorfinn Sigurdsson, Earl of Orkney at Torfnes are born out by the words of the earl’s poet Arnor which are repeated in the Saga. Hundason’s identity has always been problematic. He has been taken to have been Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (Malcolm II), or his successor Donnchad mac Crínáin (Duncan I of Scotland) who was killed, possibly murdered, by Mac Bethad mac Findláich (MacBeth of Scotland) in 1040., but other possibilities of his identity are possible, or indeed, more credible.

The possibilities

The Orkneyinga Saga, tells of a Melkolmr Skotakonungror — "Malcolm King of Scots" — who died "in the year of the reconciliation between half brothers Thorfinn and Brusi," the joint Earls of Orkney, and was succeeded by Karl Hundason. The Saga also states that the resolution of the differences of the Orkney earls took place when King Knut of Denmark and England ousted King Olaf of Norway, an event which ties this date to 1028. The Orkneyinga Saga is somewhat ambiguous on the death of Hundason but does say that it occurred before Brusi’s death in 1035. If this "Malcolm King of Scots" is Malcolm II then Karl Hundason is his successor Duncan I, the son of Crínáin, lay abbot of Dunkeld. Attempts to prove this hypothesis was put forward by A. MacBain firstly, in an article for the Northern Chronicle, and again re-quoted by Henderson. They reasoned that Karl, meaning "man", is an exact paraphrase of the first part dune in Gaelic Donnchad (Duncan). Several mormaers in the tenth and eleventh centuries were called the Gaelic translation of Hundi , "a dog" as Cuilean. The Scots Earl Hundi who fought against Earl Sigurd the Stout, was likely called Cuilean. It was put forward by MacBain that Crínáin and Cuilean was also a corrupted version of the same name. However, MacBain's theory fails to take account of the fact that the name Donnchad, sometimes given as Duncadh, already had an Old Icelandic translation as Dungadr. There can be little doubt, however, that the names Cuilean and Hundi have an identical meaning.

It would appear, however, that the order in which the events occurred make it unfeasible to see Malcolm and Karl as Malcolm II and Duncan I. If it is presumed that the Saga is wrong in the date of Karl's succession i.e. giving us the year 1028 instead of 1034, then there is not enough time between 1034 and 1035 for the protracted wars with the Earl of Orkney. An error with the date of Brusi’s death seems also improbable as these wars seem to have ended well before the arrival of Rognvald, Brusi's son, in Orkney in 1037 or 1038 to claim his inheritance. It seems probable, therefore, that the “King of Scots” in the Saga is more likely to have been a a sub-king or Mormaer. It is likely, then, that Karl was Mormaer of either Moray, Ross or Argyle. Immediately upon his accession, Karl claimed the Earldom of Caithness from Earl Thorfinn and sent his nephew, Muddan, to enforce this. Muddan raised additional forces within Sutherland. The Orkneyinga Saga states:

Thorfinn then marched against Muddan, and he had the larger force. And when the Scots saw that they had the smaller force, they “were less anxious about fighting, and rode back up into Scotland. Earl Thorfinn pursued them and subdued Sutherland and Ross and harried far and wide over Scotland. Thence he returned to Caithness . . . [and] took up house at Duncansby and kept five warships there, with just enough men to keep them ready for sea.”

Muddan reported back to Karl at Beruvík whereupon they prepared to relaunch yet another assault on Thorfinn. Hundason had eleven ships available to him but he needed a much bigger army to beat Thorfinn. Muddan led this army composed of men from the whole south of Scotland (east and west) and from Ireland.

To continue .....

• is Beruvick - Berwick?
• finish description of campaign
• deal with other Malcolms (five!)
• Argyle Earl Malcolm where possibly Thorfinn was looked after - probably not.
• MacBeth not Karl (Taylor)
• MacBeth is Karl (Cowan)
• Is Hundason an amalgum of Duncan and MacBeth?
• Likely Karl