Introduction
Vikings increasingly dominated the northern coasts of the British Isles after King Harald Fairhair united Norway’s petty kingdoms in 872, at the Battle of Hafrsfjord. After Godred Crovan, lord of The Isles and Man, died in 1095 his successor Ingimundr was assassinated, and King Magnus III ‘Barelegs’, who had chosen him, was not pleased. In 1098, Magnus set out from Trondheim with a large fleet.
KING Magnus* undertook an expedition out of the country, with many fine men and a good assortment of shipping. With this armament he sailed out into the Western Sea,* and first came to the Orkney Islands.* There he took the two earls, Paul and Erlend,* prisoners, and sent them east to Norway, and placed his son Sigurd as chief over the islands,* leaving some counsellors to assist him. From thence King Magnus, with his followers, proceeded to the Southern Hebrides,* and when he came there began to burn and lay waste the inhabited places, killing the people, and plundering wherever he came with his men; and the country people fled in all directions, some into Scotland-fjord,* others south to Kintyre,* or out to Ireland: some obtained life and safety by entering into his service.
* Magnus III Olafsson ‘Barefoot’ or ‘Barelegs’ (r. 1093-1103), illegitimate son of Olaf III Haraldsson ‘Kyrre’ (the Peaceful), and a grandson of Harald III ‘Hardrada’. Initially, Magnus was forced to share the lordship of Norway with his cousin Hakon Magnusson, but Hakon died in 1095 and Magnus became king of all Norway.
* The West Sea to the Norwegians is the North Sea to the English.
* The Orkneys were established as a Viking possession by Sigurd the Mighty (?850-870), and Sigurd the Stout (?985-1014) helped to keep the Scottish kings at bay. More recently, Thorfinn Sigurdsson (?1009-?1065) ‘the Mighty’, a grandson of Malcolm II of Scotland, had been their Earl.
* Paul Thorfinnsson (?-1098) and Erlend Thorfinnsson (?-1098) were sons of Thorfinn Sigurdsson and Thorfinn’s wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir (a niece of Kings Olaf II and Harald Hardrada of Norway). Ingibiorg later married Malcolm III of Scotland, though she may have died before he became king.
* Later Sigurd I Magnusson (1089-1130) ‘the Crusader’, King of Norway from 1103 to 1130.
* Sturluson used the term Northern Hebrides to mean the Faroes, Orkney and Shetland, and used Southern Hebrides to mean the Outer and Inner Hebrides, which lie off Scotland’s west coast, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. However, in modern parlance the Northern and Southern Hebrides refer to an internal division among the islands of the Inner Hebrides (those closest to Scotland’s west coast) only, with the Sound of Mull, between the islands of Mull and Morvern, marking the dividing line.
* Scotland-fjord is the Old Norse term for The Minch, a body of water separating the west coast of Scotland from the Outer Hebrides, and lying just north of the Inner Hebrides.
* Kintyre is the name of a long peninsula on Scotland’s west coast, extending from the mainland at Inveraray. The Isle of Arran lies to the southeast in the Firth of Clyde, and Islay to the northwest.
Précis
In 1098, Magnus III of Norway sailed over the North Sea to Shetland and Orkney, where he reaffirmed his governance of the islands before moving on to the Hebrides. There his men tore through the islands, looting the villages, driving the inhabitants before him, and forcing them to choose between submission, exile or death. (54 / 60 words)
In 1098, Magnus III of Norway sailed over the North Sea to Shetland and Orkney, where he reaffirmed his governance of the islands before moving on to the Hebrides. There his men tore through the islands, looting the villages, driving the inhabitants before him, and forcing them to choose between submission, exile or death.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: if, just, may, must, otherwise, ought, unless, until.
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