Saint Magnus "the Martyr" Erlendsson (1060-16 April 1115) was Count of Caithness and a claimant to the Jarldom of Orkneyar from 1106 to 1115.
Biography[]
Magnus Erlendsson was born on Orkney in 1060, the son of Count Erlend Thorfinnsson of Caithness. He was a hostage at the court of King Magnus Barelegs of Norway during his great Viking expedition to the British Isles from 1098 to 1103, and Barelegs had Magnus Erlendsson join him. Magnus Erlendsson was a pious and gentle Christian, and he refused to take part in Barelegs' raid on Anglesey and sung psalms amid the Battle of Anglesey Sound. On Barelegs' death, Magnus took refuge in Scotland, but he returned to Orkney in 1105 to claim the throne from his cousin Haakon Paulsson. King Eystein I of Norway saw to it that Magnus and Haakon jointly rulde Orkney from 1106 to 1115, when the earls fell out. The Thing negotiated a solution: Magnus and Haakon would each bring two ships to the island of Egilsay to fight. Haakon treacherously brought eight ships to the fight, while Magnus only brought two. Magnus was then captured at the island's church and sentenced to death, and he prayed for his executioners, causing Haakon's standard-bearer Ofeigr to refuse to kill Magnus. Haakon's cook Lifolf struck Magnus on the head with an axe, killing him. Magnus became a saint in 1136, and the church of St. Magnus-the-Martyr in London is named for him.