History Scotland: On-demand webinars

The Saga of the Earls of Orkney

Date & Time: on-demand recording
Speaker: Professor Judith Jesch

Professor Judith Jesch shares the fascinating history of the Earldom of Orkney, which was established in the Viking Age

This is a recording of the live session held on 4 March 2026. Book now to receive instant access to the full replay (access available until 30 April 2026).

The medieval earls of Orkney owed allegiance to the kings of Norway but their influence ranged across Britain and Ireland, and they travelled as far as Jerusalem. Advised by bishops and formidable women, they and their henchmen jockeyed for power with each other and with neighbouring rulers in Scotland, often with murderous outcomes. In between the high politics and violence, the world of the earls was one of piety, poetry and feasting.

The Saga, recently translated by Professor Jesch, also provides rare glimpses of culture and everyday life in northern Scotland when it was central to the Viking diaspora. Set in a recognisable landscape, it mentions features, sites and even buildings that can still be seen today.

Tickets: Buy on-demand recording - £10

Vikings in the Hebrides

Date & Time: on-demand recording
Speaker: Professor Niall Sharples

This recorded talk explores the archaeological evidence for the Viking incursions in the western seaboard of Scotland.

This is a recording of the live session held on 19 February 2026. Book now to receive instant access to the full replay (access available until 31 March 2026).

A considerable amount of new evidence has been recovered by recent archaeological investigations and this has transformed our understanding of the Scandinavian settlement of this region.

A comprehensive and nuanced narrative of the colonisation is now possible using the evidence from settlements, burials, precious metal hoards and the occasional stone monument.

It is clear that the sparsely occupied landscape was occupied by colonialists from Norway who introduced a range of new material culture, that included a completely alien form of housing.

They occupied ancient settlements that had been abandoned by the indigenous inhabitants and introduced an agricultural regime that focussed on intensive crop production and the harvesting of marine resources.

This agricultural regime was capable of supporting a large population that played an important role in the Kingdom of Man and the Isles and contacts peaceful and aggressive, with the Irish and English towns of the Irish Sea seem to have been routine for several centuries.

Tickets: Buy on-demand recording - £10