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...
Who were the Picts?
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.
Around 893AD, the bastard son of Rognvald of Møre became earl of Orkney.
Einar Rognvaldsson's accession to the earldom pleased his father greatly.
Tthe Orkneyinga saga decribes Einar - or Torf-Einar as he came to be known - as ugly and one-eyed. But despite his father's harsh words, the "low born" son of a slave went on to be an able ruler and warrior.
Just as the possession of an elf-arrow or elf-dart was thought to provide protection against the unwanted attention of the fairy-folk, in Orkney a certain means of gaining protection from the malicious influences of trows was to acquire a "dian-stane".
For the origin of Orkney's dian-stane traditions, we should turn to the root of the name "dian-stane" itself. In this case it is probably a corruption of the Norse term "Dynestein" meaning "thunderstone".
Thunderstones are found in Scandinavian lore and were the quartz-like stones, pebbles, crystals or even flints, found in fields when ploughing.
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Update Schedule
Orkneyjar is generally updated at least once a month - more over the summer excavation season - incorporating new
content with relevant news and information relating to Orkney's rich archaeology, heritage and history.
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Orkney Pages.
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". 
Around 893AD, the bastard son of Rognvald of Møre became earl of Orkney.
Just as the possession of an elf-arrow or elf-dart was thought to provide protection against the unwanted attention of the 
To
contact the author, about any element of this site, 
