The Magnificent Saint Magnus

Back in 1117 in Orkney history, Saint Magnus or Earl Magnus Erlendsson, as he was then, was murdered by his dastardly rival and cousin Earl Hakon Paulsson.  Earl Hakon tricked him into coming to Egilsay Island for peace talks and then got his cook to kill him with an axe.


St Magnus Meeting His Fate - from an illustration by Arran schoolchildren to commemorate the 900th anniversary.
This is in St Magnus Cathedral.

Magnus was well liked and known to be a peaceable sort of person, so his death was a great shock to many.  As a result, Magnus' nephew, Earl Rognvald, decided to honour him by building the truly magnificent St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.  The building started in 1137 and it took over 300 years to complete.  No expense was spared and they even used masons from Durham Cathedral to help with the work.

I really love Durham Cathedral, so I was keen to visit Kirkwall and see this building. It had to be a very special place to find in these remote islands.

We consulted the tide tables and headed northwards round the coast to thread our way down Eynhallow Sound with its fearsome tidal "roost" as they call it here, making sure to avoid the conditions of wind over tide. This brought us to the safety of Kirkwall marina.

So we followed the old streets through Kirkwall and found this magnificent old cathedral.

Saint Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall

What a great building for Kirkwall to have!

Inside the Cathedral

A Side Door with its Pink and Yellow Sandstone

And we had to include this from inside the cathedral:


The Tomb of Dr John Rae - Orkney's Famous Arctic Explorer



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