Rögnvald Kali Kolsson

Rögnvald Kali Kolsson (; ), also known as Saint Ronald of Orkney (c. 1100 – 1158), was a Norwegian earl of Orkney who came to be regarded as a Christian saint. Two of the Orkney Islands are named after Rögnvald, namely North Ronaldsay and South Ronaldsay.

Life Family and education Rögnvald's parents were lendmann Kolr Kalisson and Gunnhildr Erlendsdottir, the sister of Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney. It was through his mother, Gunnhildr, that Rögnvald had a claim on the Orkney earldom. Rögnvald Kali Kolsson may have been born in Jæren, Norway., but this seems unlikely, since his family resided in Agder and Jæren is in Rogaland. Some researchers think he may have been born near the medieval Fjære Church, located in the present-day Grimstad Municipality. The king's estate at Lista is also believed to be the possible location of both his birthplace and his childhood home. Rögnvald's family owned several farms in Agder where the boy could have spent his childhood.

Acquisition of Orkney King Sigurd I of Norway appointed him Earl of Orkney and Shetland in 1129. When he became Earl, Kali was given the name Rögnvald, after Earl Rögnvald Brusason, whom Rögnvald's mother Gunnhild thought of as the ablest of all the Earls of Orkney. It was thought this name would bring Rögnvald luck.

Death While he was abroad, King David I of Scotland granted half of Caithness to the cousin of Harald Maddadsson, Erlend Haraldsson. Earl Harald subsequently displaced Erlend Haraldsson, who was killed in 1156. In August 1158, Rögnvald was cut down with his company of eight men by Thorbjorn Klerk, the former friend and counsellor of Harald, who had been made an outlaw by Earl Rögnvald for a murder committed in Kirkwall, following a series of acts of violence. His body was taken to Kirkwall and buried in St Magnus Cathedral. Alleged miracles shall have happened at his grave as well as on the stone where he died. Rögnvald was canonized 1192 by Pope Celestine III. But some doubts exist as to the validity of his sainthood, because no existing records seem to confirm it.

Poetry Another of his poems, translated by Ian Crockatt, reads:

Vér hǫfum vaðnar leirur vikur fimm megingrimmar; saurs vasa vant, es vârum, viðr, í Grímsbœ miðjum. Nús, þats mâs of mýrar meginkátliga lâtum branda elg á bylgjur Bjǫrgynjar til dynja.

English Translation: Muck, slime, mud. We waded for five mired weeks, reeking, silt-fouled bilge-boards souring in Grimsby bay. Nimbly now, our proud-prowed, Bergen -bound Sea-Elk pounds over wave-paved auk-moors, locks horns with foam-crests, bows booming.

Other verses record events which occurred during the rest of the journey, such as Rögnvald's swim across the River Jordan.