Gaitnip: a case of ‘synonym substitution’
09/05/2025
Geitaberg now Gaitnip (St. Ola) occurs once in the Saga of the Earls of Orkney where we hear in chapter 76 that ‘Borgarr, the son of Jaddvǫr Erlendsdóttir, who lived at Gaitnip… had seen the cargo-ship as it sailed from the south and back south’, with Sveinn Ásleifarson aboard. Sveinn had come ‘to meet Earl …
Pinpointing Paplay… the priests, the parish, the place-name…
28/04/2025
The place-name Paplay occurs in the Saga of the Earls of Orkney (Orkneyinga saga) on several occasions. In chapter 42 we hear that Gunnhildr, daughter of the late Earl Erlendr who had died in Trondheim, was married off by King Magnús to Kolr Kalason a well-connected Norwegian landowner, and that ‘some properties in the Orkneys …
Scapa…part two… the klif-hanger…
14/04/2025
In Scapa… part one… we concluded by saying that the name describes an important, traversable, isthmus in close proximity to Kirkwall and that the saga attests to it being a recognisable landing-site used for expeditious access to Kirkwall for assemblies and social gatherings, and for trade (as evidenced by the mention of cargo ships). We …
Scapa…part one…
09/03/2025
Skálpeið is mentioned several times in the Saga of the Earls of Orkney and we find the place-name ‘Scapa’ applied to a number of places in Orkney: Scapa Flow and Scapa Bay in the sea, and on land at two farms (Upper and Nether Scapa), Scapa House, not to mention the modern Scapa Distillery near …
In the wake of Sveinn Ásleifarson: the lost place-names of Hellisey and Vǫlunes
15/02/2025
In chapter 95 of the Saga of the Earls of Orkney we hear of one of the many scrapes of the ever-quarrelsome Sveinn Ásleifarson. On leaving Gairsay after a failed attempt to confront Earl Haraldr ( who was not there as he ‘had gone to a small island to hunt hares’), Sveinn ‘made for Hellisey; …
Fishing for solutions: the place-name Stronsay
03/12/2024
Stronsay occurs several times in the various manuscripts containing the Saga of the Earls Orkney (Orkneyinga Saga). The name occurs as Straumsey Streaumsey, Striansey, Striensø, Strionsey, and Strionsø. The last element is ON ey ‘island’, common in Orkney place-names. What then of the first element? In 1915 Magnus Olsen proposed that Norwegian place-names containing the …
Egilsay: Earls, Churches, and Island(s)
26/11/2024
Egilsay is a relatively small, carrot-shaped island which lies around 19 miles north of Kirkwall, Mainland. The island forms one of the Inner North Isles, alongside Wyre and Rousay, and is connected to both islands and Tingwall, Mainland by ferry. Though not mentioned exceptionally frequently in Orkneyinga saga, appearing only six times, Egilsay provides the …
‘Cancelled, no room to write’!
06/11/2024
The Ordnance Survey Name Books are a valuable and productive resource for place-names research… but for places like the small island of Fair Isle it seems there just wasn’t enough room to write all the names that were collected onto the map! A bit of background first: these books contain place-name information and the sources …
The First Bird-Watcher on North Ronaldsay
25/09/2024
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 …
Crossing the Sea of Orcs
16/09/2024
The Pentland Firth is the large body of water which separates the Orkney Isles and mainland Scotland. Ferries that run to the islands cross this body of water, which is roughly 7.5 miles (12km) in length. As such a prominent water feature, and the main crossing point to Orkney from the south, it is not …