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 …
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 …
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 …