What can archaeology, old songs, parish churches, sagas and folk memories tell us about the people who lived in Orkney hundreds of years ago?

On a night of a full blood moon, Orcadian historians Dr Sarah Jane Gibbon and Tom Muir settle down for a friendly blether about the stories, songs, beliefs and archaeological remains that help us understand how Orkney became the place it is today.

From the Christianisation of Norse Orkney and the mysterious little churches found beside ancient settlements and “watery places”, to the contested question of where St Magnus was originally buried, Sarah Jane brings archaeology and historical research together with the living traditions of the islands.

They talk about Orkneyinga Saga, parish churches, medieval power and status, healing wells, the trauma of the Reformation, the Orkney witch trials, and the ways that folk memory can continue to influence historical research.

And then the conversation turns to song.

Sarah Jane tells us about The Big Orkney Song Project, which has uncovered and preserved more than a thousand traditional Orkney songs. She explores why songs of loss and grief have endured so strongly in seafaring communities—and sings two remarkable examples: the original tune of The Great Selkie of Sule Skerry, and the old New Year song “We Are All Saint Mary’s Men.”

Along the way, there are stories of archaeological adventures, midges, middens, trolls, ghosts, a mysterious stone with a double footprint, and what it might mean to look at medieval Orkney through medieval eyes rather than our own.

This is a conversation about Orkney history, archaeology, folklore, Norse heritage, St Magnus, traditional song and the people who shaped these islands—and about the many different ways the past continues to speak to us.

Join Sarah Jane and Tom for a fascinating and very Orcadian journey between saints, sandstone and selkie songs.

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In this episode of Ower Wi’ the Moon, Tom is joined by his dear friend and fellow storyteller, Fran Flett Hollinrake — Curator of St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney — to talk about her forthcoming book, Folk Tales of Scottish Saints (The History Press).

From the brutal destruction of the Scottish Reformation to the booming modern popularity of pilgrimage, this conversation ranges across some of the strangest, funniest, and most moving saints' legends in Scottish folklore — including a blind girl guarded by a flock of angry magpies, a monk sacrificed into the walls of Iona Abbey and two men eaten by wolves and miraculously restored by St Magnus himself. Fran also shares a personal story about a stubborn eye infection that mysteriously cleared up after a visit to a ruined chapel on Papa Westray, Orkney.

🕯️ In this episode:

• The Reformation's destruction of Scotland's cathedrals — and why St Magnus Cathedral survived
• The legend of St Triduana and Fran's own "cured by a saint" story
• St Columba and the sacrifice of Oran at Iona Abbey
• The Camino de Santiago, the scallop shell, and the ancient business of pilgrimage
• St Magnus's wildest miracles (wolves, dice, and more!)
• Margaret Sinclair — Scotland's next saint?
• Cathedral ghost stories from St Magnus Cathedral
• St Obert of Perth — the forgotten baker's saint revived for the modern age
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📖 Fran's book, Folk Tales of Scottish Saints, will be published by The History Press early in 2027.

Art by Paul Dews, created for Fran’s upcoming book, Folk Tales of Scottish Saints.

🎙️ Ower Wi’ the Moon is a podcast of storytelling, folklore, and conversation from Scotland’s Orkney Islands.

#ScottishFolklore #StMagnusCathedral #Orkney #FolkTales #Saints #Pilgrimage #ScottishHistory #Podcast

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If you love Viking and Scottish history, folk stories and archaeology, this episode is for you! Tonight, Orcadian historian and storyteller Tom Muir and Norwegian scholar Ragnhild Ljosland have a far-reaching conversation covering these things and more:

• Discovering Orkney through studies; marrying an Orcadian, becoming a scholar, archaeologist and author
• Getting to know people who lived thousands of years ago through names, folk tales, runes ...
• Why didn't the educated classes listen to the old farmers?
• Setting saga poems to ancient tunes and new
• Ancient conversations in runes in Maeshowe tomb
• "Pict's hooses" in Orkney and the possible connection with strong home brew
• The "half-corpse" hogboon
• How names tell the legends of the people
• The Spanish Armada wrecks, the Jacobites and the Covenentora, and how they figure into the stories of Orkney
• Orkney "driftwood" settlers; the relationship to Norse mythology and where we all came from
• The naming story of "Archie Angel", survivor of a shipwreck of the ship Archangel
• Being given a new name by your new community
• Local stories about decendents from kings in disguise
• Place names with folk tales attached, like "Cubbie Roo's Burden"
• Thr Brough of Bigging and the "Armada men's graves"; "the Harray men's graves" and the seven standing stones - anchoring true stories to landscape
• The fin king, and the tale of how Snoosgarth got its name - learn how to distract a sea monster!
• Orkney tales and Norse mythology similarities
• The Westness Viking walk in Rousay - when stories and archaeology agree
• Where are the St Olaf stories and the black death stories in Orkney?
• Time traveling in Orkney with Raggie: Orkney Time Travel

Links:

Raggie's paper for Folklore journal, Like Driftwood Taking Root: Folk-Onomastic Origin Legends from the Orkney Islands: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0015587X.2026.2638700

Raggie's upcoming book for Orkneyology Press: https://www.orkneyology.com/Ragnhild-Ljosland-Orkneyology-Press.html

Raggie's website: https://brodgar.co.uk/

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