Rögnvald's parents were lendmann Kolr Kalisson and Gunnhildr Erlendsdottir, the sister of Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney.

[2] Rognvald 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.

The saga tells that the impulse for the pilgrimage came from a distant relative of Rögnvald, Eindridi Ungi, who mentions prestige as a motivation for taking this large-scale expedition.

[4] While he was abroad, King David I of Scotland granted half of Caithness to the cousin of Harald Maddadsson, Erlend Haraldsson.

[6] Another of his poems, translated by Ian Crockatt, reads:[7] Vér hǫfum vaðnar leirur vikur fimm megingrimmar; saurs vasa vant, es vârum, viðr, í Grímsbœ miðjum.

Nús, þats mâs of mýrar meginkátliga lâtum branda elg á bylgjur Bjǫrgynjar til dynja.

Nimbly now, our proud-prowed, Bergen -bound Sea-Elk pounds over wave-paved auk-moors, locks horns with foam-crests, bows booming.