Orkney (also known as The Orkney Islands or, The Orkneys) is an archipelago An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago literally means "chief sea", from Italian arcipelago (artʃiˈpelaɡo), derived ultimately from Greek arkhon (arkhi-) ("leader") and pelagos ("sea"). In Italian, possibly following a tradition of antiquity, the in northern Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (1708 to 1918). Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is now entirely within the Highland. Orkney comprises over 70 islands; around 20 are inhabited. The largest island, known as "Mainland," has an area of 202 sq mi (523 km²), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island This is a list of islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is that it is "land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles The term derives from the adjective British and the plural of the noun isle. In classical Latin the plural term Britannicae insulae, was rarely used, though the singular Britannia insula was used denoting Great Britain only. In Old English the term Breotone ealond 'Britain's islands' dates to the 10th century. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall Kirkwall is the largest town and capital of Orkney, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. The town is first mentioned in the Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046. It was established as the settlement of Rögnvald II, Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his successor, Thorfinn. In 1486, King James III of Scotland elevated Kirkwall to the status of.

Orkney is one of the 32 council areas For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1997 of being known (but not re-designated) as a "comhairle" when opting for a Gaelic of Scotland, a constituency of the Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood" (cf. "Westminster"), is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), a lieutenancy area The lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants, the monarch's representatives, in Scotland. They are different from the local government council areas, the committee areas, the sheriffdoms, the registration counties, the former regions and districts, the former counties of Scotland, and the various other, and a former county The counties of Scotland were the principal divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, the only Council in Scotland in which all the elected members are independent In politics, an independent is a politician who is not affiliated with any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do not feel that any major party addresses. Other independent candidates are associated with a political party and.[citation needed] The local people can be called Orcadians.

Orkney has been inhabited for at least 5,500 years. Originally inhabited by Neolithic The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age. The Neolithic followed the terminal Holocene Epipalaeolithic periods, beginning with the rise of farming, which produced the " tribes and then by the Picts PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics , and some limited text support, between Mac applications, and was the native graphics format of QuickDraw, Orkney was invaded and finally annexed by Norway Norway (pronounced /ˈnɔɹweɪ/ ; Norwegian: Norge (Bokmål), Noreg (Nynorsk)) or Norga (North Sami), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty. The majority of the country in 875 and settled by the Norse. It was subsequently annexed to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband in marriage. Compare bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both dowry and bride price. The dowry is an ancient custom, for James III James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family's bride, Margaret of Denmark.

Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945. Its stated purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of World Heritage Site A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term. A World Heritage Site is a place of either cultural or physical significance.

Contents

Origin of the name

Blaeu's 1654 map of Orkney and Shetland. The original Latin name "Orcades" was still in use by map makers at this time.

Pytheas Pytheas of Massilia , 4th century BC, was a Greek geographer and explorer from the Greek colony, Massilia (today Marseille, France). He made a voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe at about 325 BC. He travelled around and visited a considerable part of Great Britain. Some of his observations may refer to Stonehenge, the earliest report (if of Massilia Marseille , formerly known as Massalia (from Greek: Μασσαλία), is the second city of France. It forms the third-largest metropolitan area, after those of Paris and Lyon, with a population recorded to be 1,516,340 at the 1999 census and estimated to be 1,605,000 in 2007. Located on the south east coast of France on the Mediterranean, visited Britain sometime between 322 and 285 BC and described it as being triangular in shape, with a northern tip called Orcas.[1] This may have referred to Dunnet Head, from which Orkney is visible.[2] Writing in the 1st century AD, the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer called the islands Orcades, as did Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus (ca. 56 – ca. 117) was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors. These two works span the history of the Roman in 98 AD, claiming that his father-in-law Agricola had "discovered and subjugated the Orcades hitherto unknown".[2] "Orc" is usually interpreted as a Pictish PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics , and some limited text support, between Mac applications, and was the native graphics format of QuickDraw tribal name meaning "young pig" or "young boar The wild boar or wild hog, often simply referred to as a boar, is a species of a pig in the biological family Suidae and the wild ancestor of the domestic pig. It is native across much of Central Europe, the Mediterranean Region (including North Africa's Atlas Mountains) and much of Asia as far south as Indonesia, and has been introduced elsewhere".[3] The old Irish Gaelic Irish is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken natively by a small minority of the Irish population – mostly in Gaeltacht areas – but also plays an important symbolic role in the life of the Irish state, and is used across the country in name for the islands was Insi Orc ("island of the pigs")[4][5] Arcaibh being the modern Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. This branch also includes the Irish and Manx languages. It is distinct from the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, which includes Welsh, Cornish and Breton. Scottish, Manx and Irish Gaelic are all descended from Old Irish. When Norwegian Vikings arrived on the islands they interpreted "orc" as orkn which is Old Norse Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300 for seal Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae (the walrus), Otariidae (eared seals, including sea lions and fur seals), and Phocidae (earless seals). Formerly classified as a separate biological suborder, Pinnipedia is now sometimes considered a and added the suffix ey meaning "island".[6] Thus the name became Orkneyjar (meaning "seal islands") which was later shortened to Orkney in English.[5]

History

Main article: History of the Orkney Islands Ring of Brodgar The Ring of Brodgar is a Neolithic henge and stone circle in Orkney, Scotland. Most henges don't contain stone circles, Brodgar is a striking exception, ranking with Stonehenge and Avebury among the greatest of such sites. The ring of stones stands on a small isthmus between the Lochs of Stenness and Harray. These are the northernmost examples of

Prehistory

Main article: Prehistoric Orkney

A charred hazelnut shell, recovered during the excavations at Longhowe in Tankerness in 2007, has been dated to 6820-6660 BC.[7] Apart from this, the earliest known settlement is at Knap of Howar, a Neolithic farmstead on the island of Papa Westray. It dates from 3500 BC. The village of Skara Brae Skara Brae is a large stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. It consists of ten clustered houses, and was occupied from roughly 3100-2500 BC. It is Europe's most complete Neolithic village and the level of preservation is such that it has gained UNESCO World Heritage Site, Europe's best-preserved Neolithic settlement, is believed to have been inhabited from around 3100 BC. Other remains from that era include the Standing Stones of Stenness The surviving Standing Stones of Stenness form an impressive Neolithic monument on the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. It is sited on a promontory at the south bank of the stream that joins the southern ends of the sea loch Loch of Stenness and the freshwater loch Loch of Harray. The name, pronounced stane-is, comes from Old Norse meaning stone, the Maeshowe passage grave A passage grave or passage tomb is a tomb, usually dating to the Neolithic. Some variants have simple single chambers, while other may have sub-chambers leading off from the main burial chamber. A common layout of monuments is cross shaped in plan; these are cruciform passage graves. Passage tombs, especially later ones, are sometimes covered with, the Ring of Brodgar The Ring of Brodgar is a Neolithic henge and stone circle in Orkney, Scotland. Most henges don't contain stone circles, Brodgar is a striking exception, ranking with Stonehenge and Avebury among the greatest of such sites. The ring of stones stands on a small isthmus between the Lochs of Stenness and Harray. These are the northernmost examples of and other standing stones. Many of the Neolithic settlements were abandoned around 2500 BC due to changes in the climate.

Iron Age

The Iron Age In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent. The adoption of this material often coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles inhabitants were Picts The Picts were a confederation of tribes living in what was later to become eastern and northern Scotland from before the Roman conquest of Britain until the 10th century. They lived to the north of the Forth and Clyde rivers, and spoke the extinct Pictish language, thought to have been related to the Brythonic languages spoken by the Britons to, evidence of whose occupation still exists in "weems A dugout or dug-out, also known as a pithouse, pit-house, earth lodge, mud hut, is a shelter for humans or domestic animals based on a hole or depression dug into the ground. These structures are one of the most ancient types of human housing known to archeologists. Dugouts can be fully recessed into the earth, with a flat roof covered by ground," or underground houses, and "brochs A Broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some" or round towers, such as the Broch of Gurness. During the Roman Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world invasion of Britain the "King of Orkney" was one of 11 British leaders who submitted to the Emperor Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I (Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to AD 4, then Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus from then until his accession) was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 24 January AD 41 to his death in AD 54. Born in Lugdunum in Gaul (modern-day Lyon, France), in AD 43 at Colchester Camulodunum is the Roman name for the ancient settlement which is today's Colchester, a town in Essex, England. Camulodunum is the oldest town in England as recorded by the Romans, existing as a Celtic settlement before the Roman conquest, when it became the first Roman town, and eventually a settlement of discharged Roman soldiers, known as.[8][9] If, as seems likely, the Dalriadic Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western seaboard of Scotland with some territory on the northern coasts of Ireland. In the late 6th and early 7th century it encompassed roughly what is now Argyll and Bute and Lochaber in Scotland and also County Antrim in Northern Ireland Gaels The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are speakers of the Goidelic languages – Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx. The Gaelic languages are a branch of the Insular Celtic languages of Britain and Ireland. The other branch of Insular Celtic is Brythonic established a footing in the islands towards the beginning of the 6th century, their success was short-lived, and the Picts regained power and kept it until dispossessed by the Norsemen Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language in the 9th century. Celtic Celtic Christianity, or Insular Christianity broadly refers to the Early Medieval Christian practice that developed in Britain and Ireland before and during the post-Roman period, when Germanic invasions sharply reduced contact between the broadly Celtic populations of Britons and Irish with Christians on the Continent until their subsequent missionaries A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus , meaning "act of sending" or mitto, mittere, literally meaning "to send" or "to dispatch",[citation needed] the inspired by Saint Columba Saint Columba , also known as Colum Cille (meaning "Dove of the church") was an outstanding figure among the Gaelic missionary monks who, some of his advocates claim, introduced Christianity to the Picts during the Early Medieval Period. He was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland began to arrive about 565. Their efforts to convert the folk to Christianity seem to have impressed the popular imagination, for several islands bear the epithet "Papa" in commemoration of the preachers.

Norwegian rule

Harald Hårfagre Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair , (c. 850 – c. 933) was the first king (872 – 930) of Norway took control of Orkney in 875.

Orkney and Shetland Coordinates: 60°18′14″N 1°16′08″W / 60.3038°N 1.2689°W Shetland is an archipelago in Scotland, off the northeast coast. The islands lie to the northeast of Orkney, 280 km (170 mi) from the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total area is saw a significant influx of Norwegian settlers towards the end of the 8th century and first half of the 9th century. This was due to the overpopulation of Norway in comparison to the resources and arable land available there at the time. History once held that the Norwegians largely replaced the original population on the islands, the Picts The Picts were a confederation of tribes living in what was later to become eastern and northern Scotland from before the Roman conquest of Britain until the 10th century. They lived to the north of the Forth and Clyde rivers, and spoke the extinct Pictish language, thought to have been related to the Brythonic languages spoken by the Britons to, though contemporary DNA studies refute this, suggesting instead a slight majority of aboriginal Pictish genes. The nature of the shift in population is the subject of differing theories as little hard evidence remains. These theories range from complete genocide to intermarriage and cultural domination through a gradual majority dominance. According to Dr. Jim Wilson, an Edinburgh scientist, archaeogenetic evidence suggests that "Vikings, who colonised Orkney, did so by eradicating nearly every male member of its Pictish population".[10] Recent studies from the field of population genetics Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding. However, the modern science of genetics, which seeks to understand the process of reveal a significant percentage of Norse ethnic heritage — up to one third of the Y chromosomes on the islands are derived from western Norwegian sources, whereas in Shetland over half the male lineage is Norse.

Vikings having made the islands the headquarters of their buccaneering expeditions (also carried out against Norway and the other coasts and isles of Scotland), Harald Hårfagre ("Harald Fair Hair") subdued the rovers in 875 and annexed both Orkney and Shetland to Norway. Rognvald, Earl of Møre received Orkney and Shetland as an earldom from the king as reparation for his son being killed in battle in Scotland. Ragnvald gave the earldom on to his brother Sigurd the Mighty. Eric Bloodaxe followed his father on the throne, but when his half-brother Haakon the Good returned to Norway from England, Eric's support disappeared and he fled the country. He was given Nordimbraland (Northumberland) as a fief by King Athelstan of England and settled in Jorvik (York), but was expelled by Athelstan's brother Edmund in 941 because of his raids in Ireland and Brittany. Eirik fled to Orkney and lived there until he was killed in the Battle of Stainmore in England in 954. His sons continued to live on Orkney and challenged Håkon the Good's rule of Norway several times under the leadership of Harald Greyhide. The sons of Eirik eventually gained control of Norway.

Olav Tryggvason Christianized Orkney. Painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo.

The islands were Christianized by Olav Tryggvasson in 995 when he stopped in the islands on his way from Ireland to Norway. The King summoned Sigurd jarl (Earl Sigurd) and ordered him to let himself be baptised in the Christian faith. Sigurd was unwilling, but gave in when the King threatened to kill his son Hvelp. The islands received their own bishop in the early 1000s. From 1153 to 1472 the Kirkjuvåg bishopric was subordinate to the archbishop of Nidaros (today's Trondheim).

The martyrdom of Earl Magnus resulted in the building of St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall. The islands remained under the rule of Norse earls until 1231, when the line of the jarls became extinct. In that year, the Earldom of Caithness was granted to Magnus, second son of the Earl of Angus, whom the king of Norway apparently confirmed in the title.

St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall

The Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles existed in the British Isles from 1079 till 1266. The Kingdom had two parts, Sodor (Old Norse: Suðr-eyjar), or the South Isles (the Hebrides and Mann), and Norðr (Old Norse: Norðr-eyjar), or the North Isles (Orkney and Shetland). The Kings of Mann and the Isles were vassals of the Kings of Norway.

Evidence of the Viking presence is widespread, and includes the settlement at the Brough of Birsay, the vast majority of place names, and runic inscriptions at Maeshowe and other ancient sites.

Scottish rule

James III and Margaret, whose betrothal led to Orkney passing from Norway to Scotland.

In 1468, Orkney and Shetland were pledged by Christian I, in his capacity as king of Norway, as security against the payment of the dowry of his daughter Margaret, betrothed to James III of Scotland.[11]

Apparently without the knowledge of the Norwegian Rigsraadet (Council of the Realm) Christian entered into the contract on 8 September 1468 personally with the King of Scotland in which he pawned Orkney for 50,000 Rhenish guilders.[11] On 28 May the next year he also pawned Shetland for 8,000 Rhenish guilders.[12] He secured a clause in the contract which gave future kings of Norway the right to redeem the islands for a fixed sum of 210 kg of gold or 2,310 kg of silver. Several attempts were made during the 17th and 18th centuries to redeem the islands, without success.[13]

In 1471, James bestowed the castle and lands of Ravenscraig, in Fife, to William, Earl of Orkney, in exchange for all his rights to the Earldom of Orkney, which, by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland, passed on 20 February 1472, was annexed to the Scottish Crown. (It's important to understand that this was not an attempt to unilaterally wrest sovereignty over Orkney from Norway and attach it to Scotland. "Annexation" in this context means that the King of Scots could not alienate his rights in Orkney (for example on easy terms to buy short term political favour from a noble faction but to the long term detriment of Crown finances) without the consent of parliament.)

In 1669 another Act of Annexation was passed by the Scottish Parliament re-annexing Orkney and Shetland to the Crown following a legal dispute with William, Earl of Morton, who then held the estates of both Orkney and Shetland. In 1742 a further Act of Parliament returned the estates to a later Earl of Morton.

In the 17th century, Orcadians formed the overwhelming majority of employees of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. The harsh climate of Orkney and the Orcadian reputation for sobriety made them ideal candidates for the rigours of the Canadian north. Today, many of the Métis people of Western Canada trace their history to Orkney.

Modern Orkney

Orkney was the site of a Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, which played a major role in both World War I and II. After the Armistice in 1918, the German High Seas Fleet was transferred in its entirety to Scapa Flow while a decision was to be made on its future; however, the German sailors opened their sea-cocks and scuttled all the ships. Most ships were salvaged, but the remaining wrecks are now a favoured haunt of recreational divers. One month into World War II, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak was sunk by a German U-boat in Scapa Flow. As a result barriers were built to close most of the access channels; these had the additional advantage of creating causeways whereby travellers can go from island to island by road instead of being obliged to rely on boats. The causeways were constructed by Italian prisoners of war, who also constructed the ornate Italian Chapel.

Panoramic view of barriers 1,2 & 3

Islands

The Mainland

Main article: Mainland, Orkney A map of the islands with the Mainland highlighted. Stromness on Mainland is the second largest settlement on Orkney.

The Mainland is the largest island of Orkney. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, are on this island, which is also the heart of Orkney's transportation system, with ferry and air connections to the other islands and to the outside world. The island is more densely populated (75% of Orkney's population) than the other islands and has much fertile farmland. The name Mainland is a corruption of the Old Norse Meginland.

Kirkwall lies on a narrow strip of land between West Mainland (the major portion) and East Mainland. The island is mostly low-lying (especially East Mainland), but with coastal cliffs to the north and west and two sizeable lochs. The Mainland contains the remnants of numerous Neolithic, Pictish and Viking constructions. Four of the main Neolithic sites are included in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1999. The group constitutes a major prehistoric cultural landscape which gives a graphic depiction of life in archipelago in the north of Scotland some 5,000 years ago.

Skara Brae

The other islands in the group are classified as north or south of the Mainland. Exceptions are the remote islets of Sule Skerry and Sule Stack, which lie 37 miles (60 km) west of the archipelago, but form part of Orkney for local government purposes.

The North Isles

The northern group of islands is the most extensive and consists of a large number of moderately sized islands, linked to the Mainland by ferries. Most of the islands described as "holms" are very small.

Inhabited islands

Others

Other small islands in the North Isles group include: Calf of Eday, Damsay, Eynhallow, Faray, Helliar Holm, Holm of Faray, Holm of Huip, Holm of Papa, Holm of Scockness, Kili Holm, Linga Holm, Muckle Green Holm, Rusk Holm and Sweyn Holm.

The South Isles

The southern group of islands surrounds Scapa Flow. Ward Hill on Hoy is the highest elevation in the Orkney Isles, while South Ronaldsay, Burray and Lamb Holm are linked to the Mainland by the Churchill Barriers. The Pentland Skerries lie further south, close to the Scottish mainland.

Inhabited islands

Hoy Lighthouse on Graemsay

Others

Other South Islands include: Calf of Flotta, Cava, Copinsay, Corn Holm, Fara, Glims Holm, Hunda, Lamb Holm, Rysa Little, Switha and Swona.

Politics

Orkney is represented in the House of Commons as part of the Orkney and Shetland constituency, which elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The current MP is Alistair Carmichael of the Liberal Democrats.

In the Scottish Parliament the Orkney constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system. The current MSP is Liam McArthur of the Liberal Democrats. Before McArthur the MSP was Jim Wallace, who was previously Deputy First Minister. Orkney is within the Highlands and Islands electoral region.

Orkney Islands Council consists of 21 members, all of whom are independent, that is they are not members of a political party.

The Orkney Movement, a political party that supported devolution for Orkney from the rest of Scotland contested the 1987 UK general election as the Orkney and Shetland Movement (a coalition of the Orkney movement and its equivalent for Shetland). The Scottish National Party chose not to contest the seat to give the movement a "free run". Their candidate, John Goodlad, came 4th with 3,095 votes, 14.5% of the those cast but the experiment has not been repeated.[15][16]

Geography

The Pentland Firth is a seaway which separates Orkney from the mainland of Scotland. The firth is 6.8 miles (11 km) wide between Brough Ness on the island of South Ronaldsay and Duncansby Head in Caithness.

Orkney lies between 58°41′ and 59°24′ North, and 2°22′ and 3°26′ West, measuring 50 miles (80 km) from northeast to southwest and 29 miles (47 km) from east to west, and covers 375 square miles (971 km2). Except for some sharply rising sandstone hills and rugged cliffs on the west of the larger ones, the islands are mainly lowlying.

Other than Hoy, the only other islands containing heights of any importance are the Mainland, with (another) Ward Hill (879 ft/268 m) and Wideford Hill; and Rousay. Nearly all of the islands have lochs (lakes): The Loch of Harray and the Loch of Stenness on the Mainland attain noteworthy proportions. The watercourses are merely streams draining the high land. Excepting on the west fronts of the Mainland, Hoy and Rousay, the coastline of the islands is deeply indented, and the islands themselves are divided from each other by straits generally called "sounds" or "firths". However, off the northeast of Hoy the designation "Bring Deeps" is used. South of the Mainland is Scapa Flow and to the southwest of Eday is found the Fall of Warness.

The names of the islands indicate their nature: the terminal "a" or "ay" represents the Norse ey, meaning "island". The islets are usually styled "holms" and the isolated rocks "skerries".

The tidal currents, or races, or "roosts" (as some of them are called locally, from the Norn) off many of the isles run with high velocity, and whirlpools are of frequent occurrence, occasionally strong enough to prove a source of danger to small craft.

The islands are notable for the absence of trees, which is partly accounted for by the amount of wind. Deliberate deforestation is believed to have taken place at some stage prior to the Neolithic, the use of stone in settlements such as Skara Brae being evidence of the lack of availability of timber for building.

Geology

Main article: Geology of Orkney The Old Man of Hoy

The superficial rock is almost entirely Old Red Sandstone. As in the neighbouring mainland county of Caithness, these rocks rest upon the metamorphic rocks of the eastern schists, as may be seen on Mainland, where a narrow strip is exposed between Stromness and Inganess, and again in the small island of Graemsay; they are represented by grey gneiss and granite.

The upper division of the Old Red Sandstone is found only on Hoy, where it forms the Old Man of Hoy and neighbouring cliffs on the northwest coast. The Old Man of Hoy presents a characteristic section, for it exhibits a thick pile of massive, current-bedded red sandstones resting upon a thin bed of amygdaloidal porphyrite near the foot of the pinnacle. This, in its turn, lies unconformably upon steeply inclined flagstones. This bed of volcanic rock may be followed northward in the cliffs, and it may be noticed that it thickens considerably in that direction.

The Lower Old Red Sandstone is represented by well-bedded flagstones over most of the islands; in the south of the Mainland these are faulted against an overlying series of massive red sandstones, but a gradual passage from the flagstones to the sandstones may be followed from Westray southeastwards into Eday. A strong synclinal fold traverses Eday and Shapinsay, the axis being North and South. Near Haco's Ness in Shapinsay there is a small exposure of amygdaloidal diabase, which is older than that on Hoy.

Many indications of ice action are found on these islands; striated surfaces are to be seen on the cliffs in Eday and Westray, in Kirkwall Bay and on Stennie Hill in Eday; boulder clay, with marine shells, and with many boulders of rocks foreign to the islands (chalk, oolitic limestone, flint, etc), which must have been brought up from the region of Moray Firth, rests upon the old strata in many places. Local moraines are found in some of the valleys in Mainland and Hoy.

Climate

Orkney has a cool temperate climate. The climate is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude. The average temperature for the year is 8 °C (46 °F), for winter 4 °C (39 °F) and for summer 12 °C (54 °F).

The average annual rainfall varies from 850 mm (33 in) to 940 mm (37 in). Fogs occur during summer and early autumn, and furious gales may be expected four or five times in the year.

To tourists, one of the fascinations of the islands is their nightless summers. On the longest day, the sun rises at 03:00 and sets at 21:29 GMT and darkness is unknown. It is possible to read at midnight and very few stars can be seen in the night sky. Winter, however, is long. On the shortest day the sun rises at 09:05 and sets at 15:16.[17]

Economy

The soil generally is a sandy loam or a strong but friable clay, and very fertile. Large quantities of seaweed as well as lime and marl are available for manure. Most of the land is taken up by farms, and agriculture is by far the most important sector of the economy, with fishing also being a major occupation.

The woollen trade once promised to reach considerable dimensions, but towards the end of the 18th century was superseded by the linen (for which flax came to be largely grown); and when this in turn collapsed before the products of the mills of Dundee, Dunfermline and Glasgow, straw-plaiting was taken up, though only to be killed in due time by the competition of the south. The kelp industry was formerly of at least minor importance.

For several centuries the Dutch practically monopolised the herring fishery, but when their supremacy was destroyed by the salt duty, the Orcadians failed to seize the opportunity thus presented, and George Barry (died 1805) recorded that in his day the fisheries were almost totally neglected. The industry, however, revived, concentrating on herring, cod and ling, but also catching lobsters and crabs.

Today, the traditional sectors of the economy export beef, cheese, whisky, beer, fish and seafood. In recent years there has been growth in other areas including tourism, food and beverage manufacture, jewellery, knitwear, and other crafts production, construction and oil transportation through the Flotta oil terminal. Public services also play a significant role.

Orkney has significant wind, and marine energy resources and renewable energy has recently come into prominence. The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) is a Scottish Government-backed research facility that has installed a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney mainland and a tidal power testing station on the island of Eday.[18] At the official opening of the Eday project the site was described as "the first of its kind in the world set up to provide developers of wave and tidal energy devices with a purpose-built performance testing facility.".[19] Funding for the UK's first wave farm was announced by the Scottish Government in 2007. It will be the world's largest, with a capacity of 3 MW generated by four Pelamis machines at a cost of over £4 million.[20] During 2007 Scottish and Southern Energy plc in conjunction with the University of Strathclyde began the implementation of a 'Regional Power Zone' in the Orkney archipelago. This ground-breaking scheme (that may be the first of its kind in the world) involves 'active network management' that will make better use of the existing infrastructure and allow a further 15MW of new 'non-firm generation' output from renewables onto the network.[21][22]

Transport

Air

The main airport in Orkney is Kirkwall Airport, operated by Highland and Islands Airports. Loganair, a franchise of Flybe provides services to the Scottish Mainland (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness), as well as to Sumburgh Airport in Shetland.

Within Orkney, the council operates airfields on most of the larger islands including Stronsay, Eday, North Ronaldsay, Westray, Papa Westray, and Sanday. The shortest scheduled air service in the world, between the islands of Westray and Papa Westray, is scheduled at two minutes duration but can take less than one minute if the wind is in the right direction.

Ferry

Ferries serve both to link Orkney to the rest of Scotland, and also to link together the various islands of the Orkney archipelago. Ferry services operate between Orkney and the Scottish Mainland and Shetland on the following routes:

Inter-island ferry services connect all the inhabited islands to Orkney Mainland, and are operated by Orkney Ferries, a company owned by Orkney Islands Council.

Road

There are ideas being discussed to build the Orkney Tunnel, an undersea tunnel between Orkney and the Scottish Mainland, at a length of about 9-10 miles (15-16 km)[23][24]

There are also (more likely) plans to connect Orkney Mainland to Shapinsay[25]

Media

Orkney is served by two weekly local newspapers, The Orcadian and Orkney Today,[26] both published every Thursday.

A local BBC radio station, BBC Radio Orkney, the local opt-out of BBC Radio Scotland, broadcasts twice daily, with local news and entertainment. Orkney also has a commercial radio station, The Superstation Orkney which broadcasts to Kirkwall and parts of the mainland, although reception in Stromness and the North Isles is very poor.

Moray Firth Radio broadcasts throughout Orkney on AM and from an FM transmitter just outside Thurso. The community radio station, Caithness FM also broadcasts to most parts of Orkney. Northsound 1 and Northsound 2 can also be heard on parts of the islands, with poor reception.

Sport

The Orkney Amateur Football Association runs leagues between late April and early September, and teams also compete in the Highland Amateur Cup. There are also several Hockey clubs.

Orkney competes in the biannual Island Games.

Orkney also has a rugby team, which compete in the Scottish Hydro Electric Division 1.

Language

At the beginning of recorded history the islands were inhabited by the Picts, whose language is unknown. Opinions on the nature of Pictish vary from its having been a Celtic language, to its not having been Indo-European at all. Katherine Forsyth claims that the Ogham script on the Buckquoy spindle-whorl is evidence for the pre-Norse existence of Old Irish in Orkney.[27]

After the Norse occupation the toponymy of Orkney became almost wholly West Norse.[28] The Norse language evolved into the local Norn, which lingered until the end of the 18th century, when it finally died out. Norn was replaced by the Orcadian dialect of Insular Scots. This dialect is at a low ebb due to the constant influences of television, education and the large number of incomers. However attempts are being made to revitalise its use by some writers and radio presenters.[29]

However, the distinctive sing-song accent and many dialect words of Norse origin continue to be used. The Orcadian dialect lingers in the remoter parts of the archipelago. Studies made by Gregor Lamb and others demonstrate the Norse influence on the grammar of Orcadian. The Orcadian word most frequently encountered by visitors is "peedie" ("peerie" in Shetland), meaning "small", which may be derived from the French petit.[30]

Orcadians

An Orcadian pipe band at Finstown Gala

An Orcadian is a native of Orkney, a term that reflects a strongly held identity with a tradition of understatement.[31]

Although the annexation of the earldom by Scotland in 1472 took place over five centuries ago, most Orcadians regard themselves as Orcadians first and Scots second.[32] (Readers of Scott's The Pirate will remember the frank contempt which Magnus Troil expressed for the Scots).

When an Orcadian speaks of "Scotland", they are talking about the land to the immediate south of the Pentland Firth. When an Orcadian speaks of "the mainland", they mean Mainland, Orkney.[33] They are emphatic that tartan, clans, bagpipes and the like are traditions from the Scottish Highlands and are not a part of the islands' indigenous culture. [34] However, at least two tartans with Orkney connections have been registered and a tartan has been designed for Sanday by one of the island's residents,[35][36] [37] and there are pipe bands in Orkney.[38][39]

Native Orcadians refer to the non-native residents of the islands as "ferry loupers", a term that has been in use for nearly two centuries at least.[40] This designation is celebrated in the Orkney Trout Fishing Association's "Ferryloupers Trophy", suggesting that although it can be used in a derogatory manner, it is more often a light-hearted expression.

Well-known Orcadians

In family name alphabetical order:

People associated with Orkney

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Breeze, David J. "The ancient geography of Scotland" in Smith and Banks (2002) pp. 11-13.
  2. ^ a b "Early Historical References to Orkney" Orkneyjar.com. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  3. ^ Waugh, Doreen J. "Orkney Place-names" in Omand (2003) p. 116.
  4. ^ Pokorny, Julius Indo-European Etymological Dictionary. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  5. ^ a b "The Origin of Orkney" Orkneyjar.com. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  6. ^ Thomson (2008) p. 42.
  7. ^ Stone Pages Archaeo News: Hazelnut shell pushes back date of Orcadian site
  8. ^ Moffat (2005) pp. 173-5.
  9. ^ Thomson (2008) pp. 4-5 suggests that there may have been an element of Roman "boasting" involved, given that it was known to them that the Orcades lay at the northern extremity of the British Isles.
  10. ^ The Observer (31 December 2006) London.
  11. ^ a b Acquisition of Orkney and Shetland 1468-9
  12. ^ University Library, University in Bergen: Article on Shetland (Norwegian)
  13. ^ Universitas, Norsken som døde (Norwegian article on the history of the islands) (Norwegian)
  14. ^ C. Michael Hogan, Burroughston Broch, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham (2007)
  15. ^ "Orkney and Shetland Movement" BookRags. Retrieved 11 January 2008
  16. ^ "Candidates and Constituency Assessments: Orkney (Highland Region)" alba.org.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2008
  17. ^ "Sunrise and Sunsets" The Orcadian. Shows times for 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  18. ^ "European Marine Energy Centre". http://www.emec.org.uk/. Retrieved on 2007-02-03.
  19. ^ Highlands and Islands Enterprise (2007-09-28). First Minister Opens New Tidal Energy Facility at EMEC. Press release. http://www.allmediascotland.com/media_releases/1687/first_minister_opens_new_tidal_energy_facility_at_emec. Retrieved on 2007-10-01. "The centre offers developers the opportunity to test prototype devices in unrivalled wave and tidal conditions. Wave and tidal energy converters are connected to the National Grid via seabed cables running from open-water test berths. Testing takes place in a wide range of sea and weather conditions, with comprehensive round-the-clock monitoring."
  20. ^ "Orkney to get 'biggest' wave farm" BBC News. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
  21. ^ Registered Power Zone Annual Report for period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 (pdf) Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution and Southern Electric Power Distribution. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
  22. ^ Facilitate generation connections on Orkney by automatic distribution network management DTI. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
  23. ^ David Lister (September 5, 2005). "Islanders see a brighter future with tunnel vision". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1765366,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
  24. ^ John Ross (10 March 2005). "£100m tunnel to Orkney 'feasible'". The Scotsman. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=261472005. Retrieved on 2007-07-13.
  25. ^ "Isle tunnel plans under spotlight". BBC News Website, 2005-03-09. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  26. ^ Orkney Today Retrieved 16 February 2008.
  27. ^ Forsyth, Katherine (1995). "The ogham-inscribed spindle-whorl from Buckquoy: evidence for the Irish language in pre-Viking Orkney?" (PDF). The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (ARCHway) 125: 677–96. http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_125/125_677_696.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.
  28. ^ Gregor Lamb, Testimony of the Orkneyingar: Place Names of Orkney, 1995, Byrgisey, ISBN 0-9513443-4-X
  29. ^ "The Orcadian Dialect" Orkneyjar. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  30. ^ Dr.Stephen Clackson, The Orcadian, 25 November 2004
  31. ^ Orkneyjar - The people of Orkney
  32. ^ The Heart of Neolithic Orkney in its Contemporary Contexts: A case study in heritage management and community values. Historic Scotland Research Paper
  33. ^ Orkneyjar - Where is Orkney?
  34. ^ Orkneyjar FAQ
  35. ^ Orkney tartan
  36. ^ Scotsheraldry.com re Sanday Tartan Retrieved 2 June 2007.
  37. ^ Clackson tartan
  38. ^ Kirkwall City Pipe Band
  39. ^ Stromness RBL Pipe Band
  40. ^ See: David Vedder, Orcadian Sketches, Edinburgh, William Tait, 1832
  41. ^ "Centenary of a radical kirk minister" The Orcadian. Retrieved 4 October 2008.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

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'Orkney' News
Proposals to knock down ex-RAF operations room come under fire - Aberdeen Press and Journal
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Proposals to knock down ex-RAF operations room come under fire

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Self Catering in Orkney Isles. Do you have any recommendations?
Q. We are going to Orkney in Autumn/Winter this year. We prefer remote, self catering accommodation, preferably near beaches and/or lochs, however, that is a wish list, and we're fairly flexible. Has anyone anything they would reccomend? Well, what we thought we'd do is perhaps have a base and go out to some of the other islands for a day, or a couple of days at a time. We do tend to potter a lot, I cook, we go for walks, that type of thing. If we were able to come earlier in the year, we'd have loved to camp, that's our default option usually, and Orkney looks great for it. But... if the Autumn/Winter storms are half as bad as they are reported as, I don't fancy being in a tent! Somewhere with a sun room would be great so we could watch… [cont.]
Asked by Mrs P - Thu Jul 3 05:27:25 2008 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments

A. It depends are you wanting to stay on the main land or go to the other Isles - e.g Rousay or Hoy? Lots of pretty beaches, ever considered camping ? Atlantis Lodges is one where a lot of the tourists go, which is 10 mins drive away from the main town (Kirkwall) It just depends what you want, have a look online and i'm sure you'll find something. (: Oh and if your coming in Autumn/Winter be prepared for bad weather !
Answered by Hannaaahx - Thu Jul 3 05:41:42 2008

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