In 875, while the islands of both Orkney and Shetland were being ravaged by Vikings, Norwegian King Harald Fairhair annexed the northern isles. After gifting the earldom of Orkney to Rognvald Eysteinsson, Harald provided a few strong soldiers to help protect the new acquisition. Among these men was Magnus Bloodaxe, grandfather of Magnus Eysteinsson.
Magnus Bloodaxe was to serve two years in Orkney, but fate would keep him there until his dying day. In early 877, he fell in love with Margaret, a local Scottish farm hand, and against the will of Rognvald and Harald, they were soon wed. They took residence on Margaret’s family farm and began working the fields. In 878, Rognvald, after seeing the true love between them, and in honor of two years of faithful service, gifted the couple with a fishing vessel and several acres of land near Guith on the northern border of Eday Island. In honor of this gift, Magnus named his first born child, a boy, Eystein Magnusson, born in 880.
Eystein took over the fishing and farming operations after Magnus was killed defending another part of the island against a Viking raid in 920. Shortly after, Eystein was blessed with a boy of his own, and gave him the name Magnus in honor of his father. As was tradition at the time, Magnus would take the surname Eysteinsson.
The young Magnus never liked life on the farm, and was not fond of fishing. He yearned for more, and at the age of 15 stowed away on a vessel bound for Norway. He found work as an apprentice with a cook in one of the royal houses in Bergen. After serving for 5 years, Magnus turned to travel again, taking his Norwegian cooking skills to England and France.