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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 28

St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

page 65

St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall.

The impressive memorials of antiquity, which impart distinction to the capital of Orkney, can scarcely fail to excite the surprise and awaken the interest of all intelligent travellers. They have probably been attracted to the Islands by perusing the records of the reigns of Norwegian and Scottish Earls, and yet the feeling of astonishment possesses them when they see, in the old cathedral and the ruined palaces, so many indications and remembrancers of former greatness connected with the remote town of Kirkwall. Founded before the middle of the twelfth century, and dedicated to St. Magnus the martyr, the Cathedral is a grand, solemn, and stately pile, venerable with memories of the old Norse renown, and through its gloomy aisles, haunted by sceptred shades, there still seems to sound the mournful tread of Norse warriors who, long ages ago, carried Haco, the fallen flower of Scandinavian chivalry, on his royal bier. This noble old edifice shares the distinction with St Mungo's in Glasgow, of being still entire, with the exception of the tower, which was once partially destroyed by lightning, and has never been restored to its original form. The secluded situation of St. Magnus preserved the building from the iconoclastic ravages of the reformers, and it was also fortunately saved at a later date from the blind and wanton fury of the Earl of Caithness, who after quelling with difficulty an insurrection in Orkney during the reign of King James VI., wished to crown his triumph by demolishing the cathedral church, from the spire of which the insurgents had fired upon his forces.—Summers and Winters in the Orkneys, by Daniel Gorrie.

St. Magnus Cathedral, from the South East.

St. Magnus Cathedral, from the South East.