Dr Andrew Jennings, Associate Professor in Island Studies at UHI Institute for Northern Studies, presented his research at The Islands Book Trust Conference in the Faroes 14th -15th April 2026. View his seminar online 'Hebrideans in the Sagas' at 5.28.01.
www.youtube.com/live/IhR5Vz2...
I hate Al and I refuse to use it Peter, if you don't use Al a bunch of super rich men will lose a lot of money I already said I hated Al Harry, you don't need to sell it to me
Bealach na Bà, a winding single-track road through the mountains of the Applecross peninsula.
Apr 21: Feast of Máel Rubai (642-722), founder-abbot of Apor Crossan (Applecross, Wester Ross). He is regarded as one of the most famous Irish saints in Scotland, where confusion with Rufus of Capua led to his feast day being celebrated on 27 August. 📸Brian Gillman
Inner Farne, which is the largest of the Farne Islands.
Apr 21: Feast of Æthelwold of Farne (†699), hermit. Monk and priest of Hrypis (Ripon) who succeeded Cuthbert in the Inner Farne hermitage in 687. Also March 23.
Page from the Book of Cerne depicting the winged lion of St Mark.
Apr 21: Feast of the translation of Æthilwald (†740), bishop of Lindisfarne. A compilation by him, Ymnarius Edilwaldi, may be a source of the Book of Cerne, pictured. Edgar the Peaceable, king of the English (959-75), supposedly had his body moved to Westminster.
Stone slab inscribed with ‘A prayer for the soul of Flann’ and a Celtic cross.
Apr 20: Feast of Flann mac Maíle Dúin (†891), abbot of Iona. In early 17thC sources he was speculatively identified with the Flann commemorated #OTD. One 9thC stone from Iona reads: ‘A prayer for the soul of Flann’. Máel Brigte mac Tornáin succeeded him. 📸HES
New in paperback.
Textiles of the Viking North Atlantic: Analysis, Interpretation, Re-creation. Edited by Alexandra Lester-Makin, Gale R Owen-Crocker boydellandbrewer.com/book/textile...
Close-up of the Escrick Ring against a black background.
The early medieval gold Escrick Ring was found by detectorist Michael Greenhorn in a field near York #OTD in 2009. The sapphire seems to have originally been surrounded by a red glass cloisonné. 📸York Museums Trust
The Lilla Cross, which stands in Fylingdales Moor, North Yorkshire.
A West Saxon assassin named Eomer tried to kill Edwin, king of the Northumbrians, in his hall by the Derwent #OTD in 626. A thegn, Lilla, leapt into the blade’s path, dying alongside another man, Forthhere, before the assailant was slain. The Lilla Cross 📸Phil Catterall
I’ll never forget watching The Wicker Man with my outer Hebridean mum. “I just don’t know where there got all that wicker from”
Holy Isle.
Apr 18: Feast of Laisrén (Mo-Laisse) (†639/41), abbot of Lethglenn (Leighlin, Ireland). A son of Maithgemm, daughter of Aedán mac Gabráin, king of Dál Riata. He is the saint of Holy Isle in Lamlash Bay, Arran. 📸gailhampshire
Bamburgh Castle in the background on the right, with some coastal rocks in the foreground on the left and the sea in between.
Æthelred I, king of the Northumbrians, was assassinated by a group of conspirators which included the ealdormen Ealdred and Wada #OTD in 796. Æthelred’s queen was Ælfflæd, a daughter of Offa, king of the Mercians. Bamburgh Castle 📸Clive Hicks
New display room for Aberlemno Pictish stone to open this weekend www.anguscountyworld.co.uk/heritage-and...
I need to read that.
Latin.
I wish it was my hand!
I believe Stonyhurst College in Lancashire was the owner.
The leather-bound St Cuthbert Gospel.
The British Library announced it had acquired the St Cuthbert Gospel for the nation #OTD in 2012, following a successful fundraising appeal. An 8thC manuscript copy of the Gospel of St John, it is the earliest surviving intact European book. 📸British Library
Satellite image of Scotland.
Aedán mac Gabráin, king of Dál Riata, died #OTD in 608. He campaigned in Orkney, the Isle of Man and against the Miathi of the Forth Valley. In 603, he was soundly defeated by Æthelfrith, king of the Bernicians, at the unidentified Degsastán.
Lismore Parish Church, also known as the Cathedral Church of St Moluag.
Apr 17: Feast of Eochaid (†635) of Lios Mór (Lismore), island church near Oban founded by Mo-Luóc in the 6thC. 📸Otter
The Isle of Eigg pictured from the sea.
Apr 17: Feast of Donnán and companions (†617), slain on the Isle of Eigg. The ravaging of Toraighe (Tory Island) and burning of Condairi (Connor, County Antrim) in the same year suggest a sea-borne conflagration afflicting the Hebrides and north coast of Ireland. 📸LJ Cunningham
A book that's been in the making for half a century.
(I've never seen an acknowledgement to a University Chauffeur before!)
Bluesky error message reading “Not Enough Resources”.
When did Bluesky turn into my bank account?
Silver penny of Æthelstan bearing his name, portrait and title rex to Brit, 'King of all Britons'.
Hrothweard became the first archbishop of York to sign a charter of a southern king, namely Æthelstan, #OTD in 928. 📸Athelstan Museum
Facial reconstruction of Magnús with hooded eyes and blond, wavy hair and beard.
Apr 16: Feast of Magnús († c.1116), earl of Orkney. His cousin Hákon Pálsson had him killed in a feud over the division of lands and power in their joint earldom. Orkneyinga saga says Magnús accepted violent death as a sacrifice, praying for his killers. 📸Hew Morrison
Conceiving Heroic Christianity in Early Medieval England by David G. Pedersen www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Sint-Nicolaaskapel, Nijmegen, probably built around 1000 on the site of the Carolingian palace and inspired by the palatial chapel in Aachen. One of the Netherlands’ oldest extant buildings. Very cool!
A medieval depiction of Oswald dressed in robes and a mitre.
Ealdwulf, archbishop of York and Worcester, disentombed the relics of his predecessor Oswald (†992) and enshrined them near the altar at the Church of St Mary, Worcester, #OTD in 1002.
A view across York.
Archbishop-elect Ealdred was denied the pallium in Rome #OTD in 1061 due to concern he had been given York while still retaining the see of Worcester. He eventually secured the vestment on condition he would ultimately surrender Worcester. 📸Paul Lakin
Strong folk horror vibes from this headline