Sword-storm off Rauðabjǫrg?
03/08/2024
Rauðabjǫrg is the location of the great sea battle between Earl Þorfinnr and Earl Rǫgnvaldr in the Saga of the Earls of Orkney in which we hear that: ‘Earl Rǫgnvaldr gathered his army in the Orkneys and intended to go over to Ness, and when he arrived at the Pentland Firth then he had thirty …
Cairston: a strategic place?
15/07/2024
There are three Cairstons in Orkney all in close proximity to each other, the modern settlement so-named near Stromness on Orkney’s west Mainland, Cairston Roads offshore near Inner and Outer Holm, and Bu of Cairston on the coast of the Bay of Ireland. Cairston occurs twice in the Saga of the Earls of Orkney and …
A Clerical Conundrum
07/07/2024
Two anecdotes in the Saga of the Earls of Orkney involve close encounters between the 12th-century Earl of Orkney Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson and some strange-looking clergymen. In Chapter 71, we’re told that ‘Earl Rǫgnvaldr had arrived in Westray’, and in Chapter 72 that: On Sunday Earl Rǫgnvaldr attended the service there in the village, and …
Knarston: a man or a ship, a staðr or a stǫð?
26/06/2024
Knarston occurs six times in the Saga of the Earls of Orkney and its earliest attestations are in the AM 325 I 4° manuscript (ca. 1290–1310). We hear in the saga that ‘Jaddvǫr, the daughter of Earl Erlendr, lived at Knarston with her son Borgarr’ (chapter 56), that later ‘Arnkell… lived there, along with his …
Woo… Hoo… Hooking and Hookin
18/06/2024
Whilst walking in North Ronaldsay we were struck by the fact that the geographical setting of Hooking was markedly similar to Hookin in Papay. The North Ronaldsay Hooking lies on the east coast of the island in Linklet Bay, on its landward side is the Loch of Hooking with a, now canalized, watercourse serving a …
Weelie’s Taing… a weelie interesting place-name…
10/06/2024
Weelie’s Taing is a tidal feature found at the top of North Wick on the east side of Papay, south of Hundland. Thought by some to be a natural feature, or possibly a fish trap, it has what might be a sheep refuge on the south-eastern end. The inclusion of the apostrophe in this Ordnance …
Damis eý, a dam(n) difficult meaning to work out
03/06/2024
Damsay lies in the Bay of Firth almost within touching distance of Mainland. It occurs in the Saga of the Earls of Orkney (Orkneyinga saga) several times. We are told, for instance, that Damsay was visible from a hill on the estate of Orphir and that it was possible to see upon it the ‘castle… …
The Saga of the Earls of Orkney
17/05/2024
The world-famous Icelandic sagas encompass many different types of narratives, including stories about saints, bishops and knights. Probably the best-known are Sagas of Icelanders, set in Viking Age Iceland and featuring Icelandic characters, and the Sagas of Kings, about the kings of Norway from prehistory to the high medieval period. In between these two genres is a …
Orkney in the Viking World
07/05/2024
The Viking Age (ca. 750-1100 CE) is the name generally given to a period of population movement out of Scandinavia, leading to raiding, trading, exploration and settlement ranging from the Caspian Sea in the east to Newfoundland in the west. The term ‘viking’ is used for the Scandinavian peoples who made these voyages, as well …
Ragna’s Islands: A New Saga
01/05/2024
Ragna’s Islands is the latest in a series of AHRC-funded projects initiated by The Centre for the Study of the Viking Age exploring the Viking Age history and Norse culture of different parts of Britain and Ireland. In 2013-14, Languages, Myths and Finds sent teams of academics and students to Cleveland, Dublin, the Hebrides, the Isle of …