Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney
Earl of Orkney from 1106 to c. 1117
Feast: 16 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
In Scotland, Saint Magnus, martyr, who, earl of the Orkney Islands, embraced the Christian faith; rejected by the king of Norway for having protested against the arrogance of his people, he was then treacherously slaughtered while going unarmed to negotiate peace with his cousin, his rival for rule of the island.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 16 April as an earl of Orkney and martyr, treacherously killed while going unarmed to make peace with his cousin.
- Roman Martyrology, 16 April (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q522317 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.