Máel Brigte of Moray

He was responsible – in a bizarre posthumous incident – for the death of Earl Sigurd the Mighty of Orkney.

Little is known of Máel Brigte's life, but the story of his death is recorded in the Orkneyinga Saga.

However the saga states that Earl Sigurd built a stronghold in the south of Moray, then a much larger province than today[3] and that he was buried in a mound on the banks of the River Oykel.

In the 13th century a farm near Dornoch, now called Cyderhall is recorded as "Syvardhoch", meaning "Sigurd's mound".

However it is thought that Sigurd Eysteinsson (aka "the Mighty"), ruled from about 875–92[5] so Máel Brigte's death may have taken place in the last quarter of the 9th century.

The Orkney and Shetland islands lie to the north and east of the north-east coast of mainland Scotland. Caithness is the northernmost part of the mainland, with Moray further south. Caithness and Moray are divided by a firth, called the Moray Firth. Just north of this, towards Caithness, lies another firth, the Dornoch Firth, into which flows the River Oykel. Sigurd's Howe lies on the north bank of Dornoch Firth.
Map of North-eastern Scotland showing Orkney , Shetland , Caithness , and Moray . At his death, Sigurd Eysteinsson controlled the area north of the River Oykel . The probable site of his burial mound, Sigurd's Howe, is shown.
A view of stubble field, a body of water and dark hills beyond
The landscape of Easter Ross