Islands and Islandness: a Poetry Workshop with Charlotte Eichler

On Thursday 20th February Charlotte Eichler, the Ragna’s Islands poet in residence, will be running an online poetry workshop with an ‘islands’ theme! The workshop is aimed at beginners and experienced writers alike, as well as the merely curious. It will be a friendly and relaxed session with plenty of writing time and the chance …

8. At last… some Christmas presents and games

We conclude our quick tour through the Christmases of the Saga of the Earls of Orkney with some presents and some party games! In chapter 85 Earl Rǫgnvaldr ‘had a great Christmas feast and invited people and gave gifts’. Having distributed the gifts, Rǫgnvaldr proceeded to play some twelfth-century Christmas games: He reached out a …

Kolr Kalason, the forgotten hero of The Saga of the Earls of Orkney

Working in the Orkney Archive not long ago, I came across an intriguing booklet called The Saga of Kol Kalison, about the Norwegian father of the twelfth-century Earl of Orkney Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson: The author, Charles Grant, kindly sent me the following information about it: The book was written for the Jarl Squad 2008 Lerwick …

The First Bird-Watcher on North Ronaldsay

Chapter 8 of the Saga of the Earls of Orkney contains a very well-known episode in which Turf-Einarr kills Hálfdan High-leg, one of the sons of King Haraldr of Norway who killed Einarr’s father, Earl Rǫgnvaldr of Møre in Norway. After a battle in an unspecified location, the victorious Einarr and his men scour the …