Orkneyinga saga
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The Orkneyinga saga is a narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands and their relationship with other local polities, particularly Norway and Scotland, written in Old Norse. The saga
An example of a page from the Orkneyinga saga, as it appears in a printed copy of the 14th-century Flateyjarbók.
An early 19th-century illustration of "Mount Hekla from Odde"
Magnus Barefoot's army in Ireland. It has been argued that Magnus's actions in the west form the basis of the saga narrative about the submission of Orkney and Shetland to Harald Fairhair's fleet.
"Odin Rides to Hel" (1908) by W. G. Collingwood
Kirkwall
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Kirkwall is a port town and historic royal burgh in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. It is approximately 210 miles north of Edinburgh, 221 miles north-northeast of Glasgow, an
Orkneyinga saga
…Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, laid claim to the Earldom of Orkney, and was advised by his father Kol to promise the islanders to "build a stone minster at Kirkwall" in memory of his uncle the Holy Earl, and this became St Magnus Cathedral. When the cathedral, begun in 1137, was ready for consecration the relics…
Kirkwall Harbour in August 2014
Orkney Library and Archive, Kirkwall
Kirkwall Town Hall exterior
Broad Street in Kirkwall