-- History --
Egilsay
is chiefly famous for the Martyrdom of St Magnus in 1115. Magnus
and his cousin Hakon succeeded to the Earldom of Orkney in 1103
and ruled peacefully and successfully for ten years. Eventually,
Hakon became jealous of Magnus' popularity and a meeting was arranged
on Egilsay in April 1115 to settle matters between the men. It
was agreed that each would take only two ships and an equal number
of men to the island, but Hakon betrayed the agreement and arrived
after Magnus with eight ships. The following morning Magnus refused
to let his men defend him and was in the church praying when Hakon
and his men came upon him. Magnus made three offers to Hakon,
to leave for Jerusalem or Rome and never return, to go to Scotland
and be taken into custody, or to be maimed and imprisoned. Hakon
wanted to accept the last offer, but the chiefs refused to allow
this and wanted Magnus dead. Hakon's standard bearer refused to
kill Magnus, and so Hakon ordered his cook, Lifolf, to kill him.
Before his death, Magnus forgave his murderers, and instructed
the cook to 'hew him a mighty blow to the head that he was killed
as a lord and not a thief'.
Although
neighboring Rousay lacks rich wetland habitat Egilsay more than
makes up for it with a range of lochs on which are found breeding
waders such as Red Shank and Snipe, a number of duck species and
a large black headed gull colony. Egilsay is one of the few islands
where you can find the rare Corncrake, whose rasping, double call
note still evokes memories of bygone days when they were common
all over Orkney. The R.S.P.B. has acquired farmland on the island
to protect this species.
From
a population of nearly 200 back in the 19th century Egilsay is
now home to just about 30 people. However, like all small islands
the population are proud of their home and it's heritage and will
continue to keep it alive.
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-- Books --
Most
books listed
on lonleyisles.com should be available from any on-line book seller
such as Amazon.
 |
The
Wildlife Of Rousay, Egilsay And Wyre - Craig Whyte
As
the title says this book by Craig Whyte, who is the one
time RSPB warden on Rousay, details all the wildlife which
makes this part of the Orkney Islands their home. |
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The
Little General And The Rousay Crofters - William Thompson
This
is the story of Egilsays near neighbour Rousay during the
dramatic years from 1840 to 1890. The problem of the Clearances
is often associated simply with the Highlands, but the small
island of Rousay saw one of the most dramatic conflicts
between tenant and landowner. |
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-- Links --
Rousay,
Egilsay And Wyre - Main point of reference
for Egilsay and it's neighbouring islands on the web. Not a great
selection of images but plenty of interesting facts for those
planning a visit or just interested in the islands history.
Undiscovered
Scotland - Rousay Ferry - Details on
the local ferry that runs between Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre from
the excellent Undiscovered Scotland site.
Egilsay
Images - Small selection of Egilsay pictures from the Charles
Tait's collection.
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