Earl of Orkney, historically Jarl of Orkney, is a title of nobility encompassing the archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland, which comprise the Northern Isles of Scotland. Originally founded by Norse in
Ruins on the Brough of Birsay, once the seat of the early Norse jarls of Orkney. The Brough is now a tidal islet but in earlier times it was connected to Mainland Orkney by an isthmus.