After the death of earl Magnus Erlendsson c. 1115 at the hands of his cousin Haakon Paulsson, the family of Moddan of Dale played a significant part in the affairs of the Earldom of Orkney. However, their origins are obscure. For a date in the mid-11th century the Orkneyinga saga mentions that "Muddan", who was a nephew of a King of Scots the saga calls Karl Hundason, became jarl of Caithness. He had not held this position long when he was killed by Thorkel "the Fosterer" Sumarlidason, an ally of Earl of Orkney Thorfinn Sigurdsson. Thorkel was able to approach Muddan's base in Thurso because "all the people of Caithness were faithful and loyal to him". It is far from certain that Helga's father Moddan was a descendant of this earlier namesake, and there is no suggestion that Moddan was a jarl, but his son Ótarr apparently was. Furthermore, Ótarr also had his base at Thurso.
