To return to Kúgi, he had the _upp-kvöð or útboð_, the calling out of the levy, of ships and men, _leiðangr_, in Westrey. As he was the instigator, _upphafsmaðr_, of a secret þing, _laun-þing_, in Westrey, he probably acted as the representative of the earl in the district assembly, _héraðs þing_. The localities of the other gœðingar support the above conclusion. Þorkell flatr was also in Westrey; Þorsteinn Hávarðarson Gunnason had the calling out of the levy in Rinansey, and his brother Magnús that of the adjoining island, Sandey, where there were the boardlands of Brugh, Halkisnes, Tofts, Lopnes and Tresnes; Valþjófr Ólafsson was in Stronsey, where there were skatt-fré lands; Sigurðr á Vestnesi in Rousey, where part of Westnes was old earldom land; and this leads to the conclusion that the gœðingar also held skatt-land as well as skatt-fré land of the earldom _at veita_; Jón vængr abode in Háey, where there is boardland. The earls also gave gifts, _veita gjafir_, to their friends, the gœðingar. _Gœði_ means, among other things, profits, emoluments, etc. It seems certain that the _gœði_ in Caithness, which the king of Scotland restored to Sveinn Ásleifarson, in 1152, were the _gœði_ of the earldom, which he had formerly held as gœðingr. The gœðingar of Orkney (and Shetland?) were thus the feoffees of the earl of Orkney, from whom they received grants of earldom land, _veizlu-jörð_, _at veita_ or _at veizlu_, in consideration of military service and the entertainment of the earl, when on circuit. As the feoffees of the earl’s _gœði_, or emoluments, they received the name of _gœðingar_, corresponding to the _lendir-menn_, landed men, of Norway, who were so-called because they held land or emoluments from the king for similar duties. A distinction in nomenclature had to be drawn between the king’s and the earl’s feoffees. As was to be expected, some of the gœðingar were related to the earls--remunerative government offices were then, as now, conferred on the relatives and favourites of the rulers. Their military service included the _upp-kvöð or útboð_, calling out of the _leiðangr_, levy, the superintendence of the _vitar_, beacons, etc. Their civil functions probably included attendance at the local assembly, _héraðs Þing_, the nomination of delegates, _lögréttumenn_, to the jury, _lögrétta_, of the law-thing, and generally the representation of the executive in their respective districts. As the callers out of the levy of ships and men, the gœðingar were necessarily located at strategical points, with easy access to the sea and in close touch with the beacons. Mr. J. Storer Clouston has suggested with regard to the Orkney place-name, _Clouston_, older forms, _Cloustath_ and _Clouchstath_, which probably represent an original *_kló-staðr_, claw-stead, that _kló_ is “the original proprietor’s name--possibly Hákon kló of the Saga.”[8] [8] _Sandey Church History_, by Rev. Alex. Goodfellow, Kirkwall, 1912, p. 78.