The archipelago of Orkney sits to the northeast of the Scottish mainland. Combined with Shetland, which is also an archipelago, they collectively form the UK’s Northern Islands. Prior to the 15th century, there were Vikings in Scotland. More precisely, the Northern Islands were occupied by Vikings.
Causeway to the Brough of Birsay, Orkney
Orkney played an important role in the Norsemen’s Atlantic trade routes but also provided fortified bases from which Viking launched raids to claim new territory. Norse royalty relied upon a network of Viking earls to protect these remote outposts. Orkney, at different time, had multiple earls. The fiercest among them was Thorfinn Sigurdsson who was also known as Thorfinn the Mighty, Thorfinn the Black, and the Raven-Feeder. He eventually settled on a small tidal island named the Brough of Birsay.
Read my story “The Raven-Feeder’s Island” free of charge on the excellent travel story site Hidden Compass.