Welcome to Orkneyjar - a website
dedicated to the preserving, exploring and documenting the ancient history, folklore
and traditions of Orkney - a group of islands lying off the northern tip of Scotland,
Site
Spotlight A brief selection of topics covered
in Orkneyjar...
Torf Einar and the Blood Eagle
Around 893AD, the son of Rognvald of Møre became earl of Orkney.
Einar Rognvaldsson's accession to the earldom pleased his father greatly.
A renowned poet, the Orkneyinga saga decribes Einar - or Torf-Einar as he came to be known - as ugly and one-eyed. Despite his father's words, the "low born" son of a slave went on to be an able ruler and warrior.
From the classical authors who mentioned Britain, we know that by the fourth century AD the predominant force in northern Scotland were referred to as "Picts".
Throughout history these "Picts" have always been shadowy, enigmatic figures.
From the outset they were regarded as savage warriors but, by the time of the Norsemen, the memory of the Picts had degenerated into a semi-mythical race of fairies.
The Knowes of Trotty is massive Bronze Age barrow cemetery at Huntiscarth, in Harray.
At the foot of the western slope of the hill known as the Ward of Redland, the site is one of the earliest groups of barrows in Orkney and marks a transition from the burial practices of the Neolithic, where the dead were interred in mass communal tombs, to individual barrow burials and cremations.
Around 893AD, the son of Rognvald of Møre became earl of Orkney. 
From the classical authors who mentioned Britain, we know that by the fourth century AD the predominant force in northern Scotland were referred to as "Picts".
The Knowes of Trotty is massive Bronze Age barrow cemetery at Huntiscarth, in Harray.
