the saga writer's intentions. The joint rulership of earls was a recurring theme in the period up to 1214 and was "inherently unstable and usually ended in violence". He identifies these family feuds as being the main theme of the "Orkneyinga saga", culminating in the martyrdom of St Magnus c.1115, and that the writer is emphasising the doom of "kin-slaying". The connection with Erik Bloodaxe may also have been made to illustrate the continuing influence of the Norwegian ruling families in Orcadian affairs, which lessened in the late 10th century when Scandinavian expeditions tended to be directed towards England "by-passing Orkney and allowing the earls greater scope for independent action". In this context Ragnhild may have been not so much the cause of the Thorfinsson's troubles as the "prize for the winner".