, as usual, making verses and fun of
it all, and of many other things.

At last in 1150 Ragnvald's and Eindridi's ships are "boun"[24] for
their eastern cruise, Eindridi, however, being wrecked off Shetland.
But he gets another ship, and, in 1151, they set sail for the East,
William, the bishop of Orkney, commanding one vessel. Passing down the
east coast of England and through the Channel to France, they reach
Bilbao[25] in Spain, where Ragnvald lands, and refuses to marry Queen
Ermengarde. Afterwards he rounds Galicia, where Eindridi's treachery
robs them of spoil in taking Godfrey's castle, beats through Niorfa
Sound (the Straits of Gibraltar); is deserted by Eindridi, sails along
Sarkland (Barbary), captures the Saracen ship Dromund, and burns her,
sells the prisoners in Barbary, but releases their prince, coasts
along Crete, lands at Acre, and bathes in Jordan on St. Lawrence's
Day, the 10th of August 1152. After a visit to Jerusalem they come
at last to Constantinople, where the Varangian Guard heartily welcome
them, although Eindridi, who has arrived there before him, tries to
set everyone against them; and Ragnvald finally returns to Bulgaria
and Apulia and Rome, and thence overland to Denmark and Norway.[26]

When Ragnvald reached Norway in 1153, he heard what had been going on
at home during his absence in the east. King Eystein of Norway, King
Harald Gilli's son, had seized Jarl Harold Maddadson, then a young
man of twenty, at Thurso, and made him swear allegiance to himself,
letting him go on his paying three marks of gold as his ransom. Then
Maddad, his father, Earl of Athole, died; and the widowed Margret,
Harold's mother, came north to Orkney, still dangerous, still
beautiful and attractive, especially to Gunni, Sweyn's brother, by
whom she had a child, for which Gunni was outlawed, a punishment which
alienated his brother Sweyn from Harold Maddadson.[27]

Erlend, only son of Harald Slettmali, and really entitled to the whole
earldom, obtained from his relative[28] King Malcolm, then a boy of
under twelve, through his powerful kin, a grant of half of the earldom
of Caithness jointly with Harold Maddadson, who objected to give
him half the Orkney jarldom unless King Eystein confirmed the grant.
Erlend then went to Norway to get it confirmed. Meantime Sweyn seized
a ship of Harold's; but, to help Erlend, tried to reconcile Harold to
him, as King Eystein (said Erlend) had given him half of Orkney. And
the