| Saint Rögnvald | |
|---|---|
| Martyr | |
| Born | 1100 Norway |
| Died | 20 August 1158 Caithness, Scotland |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Canonized | Late 12th-century by Pope Celestine III |
| Major shrine | St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Scotland |
| Feast | 20 August |
Ragnvald Kale Kollsson (also known as St. Ronald or St. Ronald of Orkney) was an Earl of Orkney and a Norwegian saint.[1]
Ragnvald Kale Kolsson was probably born in Jæren, Norway. Other researchers means that he, as son of a lendman in Agder, may have been born in Fjære, a part of Grimstad. His parents were Lendmann kol Kalisson and Gunhild Erlendsdotter, the sister of Magnus Erlendsson. King Sigurd I of Norway appointed him Earl of Orkney and Shetland in 1129. Ragnvald should have had one half of Orkney as his uncle Magnus Erlendsson had, but his second cousin Paul Haakonsson had just made himself sole ruler of the islands and would not cede any of them. Ragnvald remained in Norway as one of the lead men of King Harald Gille. After Harald became sole king of Norway in 1135, he drew Ragnvald on an expedition to Orkney in which Paul Haakonsson was captured and killed. Ragnvald was hailed as jarl in 1136.
In 1137, Ragnvald initiated the building of St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Scotland. Ragnvald also served as guardian to Harald Maddadsson, the five-year-old nephew of Paul Haakonsson. In 1138 Ragnvald appointed Harald Maddadsson as Earl along with him. Harold had inherited Caithness, Scotland and thus was Ragnvald master over this area.
In 1153, Ragnvald traveled to Constantinople as the head of a fleet of 15 ships. Ragnvald returning by way of Norway, returning back to Orkney in late 1155. 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, Ragnvald was cut down with his company of eight men by Harald's foster father, Torbjørn Klerk. His body was taken to Kirkwall and buried in St. Magnus Cathedral. Alleged miracles turned up at his grave as well as on the stone where he died. Ragnvald was canonized 1192 by Pope Celestine III.[2]