Council secures funding to delve into Magnus connections

Orkney Islands Council has secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a project to delve into the landscapes, seascapes and places where the Magnus story unfolded.

Part of the Orkney-wide Magnus900 programme to celebrate the life of St Magnus, the Mapping Magnus project will support a range of research, workshop and training activities to uncover new knowledge about St Magnus, medieval Orkney and the continued significance of this period in the county.

The project will centred on the village of Palace, Birsay, which was the secular and episcopal centre of the earldom at this time.

From there, research and investigation will emanate outwards, looking backwards to Egilsay and forwards to Kirkwall, establishing the historical and contemporary connections between these key locations.

Legend has it that the bones of St Magnus were washed in water from the Manse Well, Birsay, and that the coffin containing the body and the shrine containing the bones of St Magnus were placed on a series of flat stones on route to and from Birsay, known locally as the Mansie Stanes.

The project will investigate the fragments of these stories in the landscape and the remnants of the St Magnus story through finds, artefacts and folklore.