Brand New Book. Written around AD 1200 by an
unnamed Icelandic author, the Orkneyinga Saga is
an intriguing fusion of myth, legend and
history. The only medieval chronicle to have
Orkney as the central place of action, it tells
of an era when the islands were still part of
the Viking world, beginning with their conquest
by the kings of Norway in the ninth century. The
saga describes the subsequent history of the
Earldom of Orkney and the adventures of great
Norsemen such as Sigurd the Powerful, St Magnus
the Martyr and Hrolf, the conqueror of Normandy.
Savagely powerful and poetic, this is a
fascinating depiction of an age of brutal
battles, murder, sorcery and bitter family feuds.