been recently annexed by the Scots which in turn drew a response from Knútr. Knútr may have sought the submission of the assembled kings in an attempt to protect his northern borders. Additionally, he may have sought to prevent these kings from allowing military aid to reach potential challengers to his authority. If Echmarcach's father was indeed a son of Ragnall mac Gofraid, it would have meant that he was a nephew of Lagmann mac Gofraid. The latter was closely associated with Óláfr Haraldsson, and together both lent military assistance to Richard II in the early eleventh century. There is also evidence to suggest that the predecessors of Ragnall mac Gofraid and Lagmann possessed connections with the Normans. In consequence, there is reason to suspect that Knútr sought to counter a potential association between Echmarcach and Richard II. Knútr and Óláfr were certainly at odds. In 1028, only a few years before the meeting of kings, Knútr seized control of Norway after defeating Óláfr. Knútr proceeded to appoint his own nephew, Hákon Eiríksson, as regent in Norway. Unfortunately for Knútr, Hákon perished at sea in late 1029 or early 1030. About three years later, Knútr's overlordship in Norway was challenged by a certain Tryggvi Óláfsson. This man seemingly possessed connections with Dublin and the Isles, as saga-tradition appears to reveal that his mother, Gyða, was a daughter of Amlaíb Cuarán. Although Tryggvi apparently enjoyed considerable local support when he landed in Norway in about 1033, he was nonetheless overwhelmed by forces loyal to Knútr and killed. Tryggvi is unlikely to have been Knútr's only challenger, and the episode itself evinces the way in which potential threats to Knútr could emerge from the Scandinavian settlements in Britain and Ireland. Close connections between the rulers of Orkney and the family of Óláfr may well have posed a potential threat to Knútr. The concordat between Knútr and the three kings could, therefore, have been a calculated attempt to disrupt the spread of Orcadian power, and an attempt to block possible Orcadian intervention into Norway. Specifically, Knútr may have wished to curb the principal Orcadian, Þórfinnr Sigurðarson, Earl of Orkney. In fact, Þórfinnr appears to have been in open conflict with Mac Bethad. This violence may be evidenced by (chronologically suspect) saga-tradition, which appears to indicate that Mac Bethad and his father warred with Orcadian earls. Saga-tradition may also reveal that Echmarcach suffered from