Historians have speculated that he wanted to establish an empire which included Scotland and Ireland, although most modern Norwegian and Scottish historians believe his chief aim was simply to control the Norse communities around the Irish Sea.
歷史學家推測他想建立一個包括蘇格蘭和愛爾蘭在內的帝國，儘管大多數現代挪威和蘇格蘭歷史學家認為他的主要目的只是控制愛爾蘭海周圍的北歐社區。