{{infobox scotland council area| |council

Orkney''Arcaibh'' |common_name Orkney |Image |image_logo 2007 Flag of Orkney.svg |logo Flag of Orkney |logo_type Flag |image_coat Orkney Islands Arms.jpg |SizeRank 16th |Size |Water ? |AdminHQ Kirkwall |ISO GB-ORK |ONS 00RA |PopulationRank 32nd |PopulationDate 2004 |Population 19,590 (2004-2005) |population_blank1_titleDemonym |population_blank1Orcadian |PopulationDensity 52/sq mi (20/km²) |CouncilDetails Orkney Islands Councilhttp://www.orkney.gov.uk/ |Control |MPs Alistair Carmichael |MSPs Liam McArthur }}

Orkney () also known as the Orkney Islands (and sometimes "The Orkneys", a name which locals disparage), is an archipelago in northern Scotland, north of the coast of Caithness. Orkney comprises approximately 70 islands of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, known as the "Mainland" has an area of making it the sixth largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall.

The name "Orkney" dates back to the 1st century BC or earlier, and the islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years. Originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts, Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. It was subsequently annexed to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III's bride, Margaret of Denmark. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and a former county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three Councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents.

In addition to the Mainland, most of the islands are in two groups, the North and South Isles, all of which have an underlying geological base of Old Red Sandstone. The climate is mild and the soils are extremely fertile, most of the land being farmed. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy and the significant wind and marine energy resources are of growing importance. The local people are known as Orcadians and have a distinctive dialect and a rich inheritance of folklore. There is an abundance of marine and avian wildlife.

Origin of the name

Pytheas of Massilia visited Britain probably sometime between 322 and 285 BC and described it as being triangular in shape, with a northern tip called ''Orcas''. This may have referred to Dunnet Head, from which Orkney is visible. Writing in the 1st century AD, the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela called the islands ''Orcades'', as did Tacitus in AD 98, claiming that his father-in-law Agricola had "discovered and subjugated the Orcades hitherto unknown" although both Mela and Pliny had previously referred to the islands. The element ''Orc-'' is usually interpreted as a Pictish tribal name meaning "young pig" or "young boar". The Old Irish name for the islands was ''Insi Orc'' ("island of the pigs"). The archipelago is known as ''Arcaibh'' in modern Scottish Gaelic, the ''-aibh'' representing a fossilized prepositional case ending.

With the arrival of Norwegian settlers from the late 9th century, ''orc'' was re-interpreted as Old Norse as ''orkn'' "seal", with the added suffix ''ey'' "island". Thus the name became ''Orkneyjar'' (meaning "seal islands"), which was later shortened to Orkney in English.

History

Prehistory

A charred hazelnut shell, recovered in 2007 during excavations in Tankerness on the Mainland has been dated to 6820-6660 BC indicating the presence of Mesolithic nomadic tribes. The earliest known permanent settlement is at Knap of Howar, a Neolithic farmstead on the island of Papa Westray, which dates from 3500 BC. The village of Skara Brae, Europe's best-preserved Neolithic settlement, is believed to have been inhabited from around 3100 BC. Other remains from that era include the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Maeshowe passage grave, the Ring of Brodgar and other standing stones. Many of the Neolithic settlements were abandoned around 2500 BC, possibly due to changes in the climate.

During the Bronze Age fewer large stone structures were built although the great ceremonial circles continued in use as metalworking was slowly introduced to Scotland from Europe over a lengthy period. There are relatively few Orcadian sites dating from this era although there is the impressive Plumcake Mound near the Ring of Brodgar and various islands sites such as Tofts Ness on Sanday and the remains of two houses on Holm of Faray.

Iron Age

Excavations at Quanterness on the Mainland have revealed an Atlantic roundhouse built about 700 BC and similar finds have been made at Bu on the Mainland and Pierowall Quarry on Westray. The most impressive Iron Age structures of Orkney are the ruins of later round towers called "brochs" and their associated settlements such as the Broch of Burroughston and Broch of Gurness. The nature and origin of these buildings is a subject of ongoing debate. Other structures from this period include underground storehouses, and aisled roundhouses, the latter usually in association with earlier broch sites.

During the Roman invasion of Britain the "King of Orkney" was one of 11 British leaders who is said to have submitted to the Emperor Claudius in AD 43 at Colchester. After the Agricolan fleet had come and gone, possibly anchoring at Shapinsay, direct Roman influence seems to have been limited to trade rather than conquest.

By the late Iron Age, Orkney was part of the Brythonic-speaking Pictish kingdom, and although the archaeological remains from this period are less impressive there is every reason to suppose the fertile soils and rich seas of Orkney provided the Picts with a comfortable living. The Dalriadic Gaels began to influence the islands towards the close of the Pictish era, perhaps principally through the role of Celtic missionaries, as evidenced by several islands bearing the epithet "Papa" in commemoration of these preachers. However, before the Gaelic presence could establish itself the Picts were gradually dispossessed by the Norsemen from the late 8th century onwards. The nature of this transition is controversial, and theories range from peaceful integration to enslavement and genocide.

Norwegian rule

Both Orkney and Shetland saw a significant influx of Norwegian settlers during the late 8th and early 9th centuries. Vikings made the islands the headquarters of their pirate expeditions carried out against Norway and the coasts of mainland Scotland. In response, Norwegian king Harald Hårfagre ("Harald Fair Hair") annexed the Northern Isles (comprising Orkney and Shetland) in 875. Rognvald Eysteinsson received Orkney and Shetland from Harald as an earldom as reparation for the death of his son in battle in Scotland, and then passed the earldom on to his brother Sigurd the Mighty.

However, Sigurd's line barely survived him and it was Torf-Einarr, Rognvald's son by a slave, who founded a dynasty that controlled the islands for centuries after his death. He was succeeded by his son Thorfinn Skull-splitter and during this time the deposed Norwegian King Eric Bloodaxe often used Orkney as a raiding base before being killed in 954. Thorfinn's death and presumed burial at the broch of Hoxa, on South Ronaldsay, led to a long period of dynastic strife.

Initially a pagan culture, detailed information about the return of the Christian religion to the islands of Scotland during the Norse-era is elusive. The ''Orkneyinga Saga'' suggests the islands were Christianised by Olav Tryggvasson in 995 when he stopped at South Walls on his way from Ireland to Norway. The King summoned the ''jarl'' Sigurd the Stout and said "I order you and all your subjects to be baptised. If you refuse, I'll have you killed on the spot and I swear I will ravage every island with fire and steel." Unsurprisingly, Sigurd agreed and the islands became Christian at a stroke, receiving their own bishop in the early 11th century.

Thorfinn the Mighty was a son of Sigurd and a grandson of King Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (Malcolm II of Scotland). Along with Sigurd's other sons he ruled Orkney during the first half of the 11th century and extended his authority over a small maritime empire stretching from Dublin to Shetland. Thorfinn died around 1065 and his sons Paul and Erlend succeeded him, fighting at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. Paul and Erlend quarreled as adults and this dispute carried on to the next generation. The martyrdom of Magnus Erlendsson, who was killed in April 1116 by his cousin Haakon Paulsson, resulted in the building of St. Magnus Cathedral, still today a dominating feature of Kirkwall.

Unusually, from c. 1100 onwards the Norse ''jarls'' owed allegiance both to Norway for Orkney and to the Scottish crown through their holdings as Earls of Caithness. In 1231 the line of Norse earls, unbroken since Rognvald, ended with Jon Haraldsson's murder in Thurso. The Earldom of Caithness was granted to Magnus, second son of the Earl of Angus, whom Haakon IV of Norway confirmed as Earl of Orkney in 1236. In 1290, the death of the child princess Margaret, Maid of Norway in Orkney, en route to mainland Scotland, created a disputed succession that led to the Wars of Scottish Independence. In 1379 the earldom passed to the Sinclair family, who were also barons of Roslin near Edinburgh.

Evidence of the Viking presence is widespread, and includes the settlement at the Brough of Birsay, the vast majority of place names, and the runic inscriptions at Maeshowe.

Scottish rule

In 1468 Orkney was pledged by Christian I, in his capacity as king of Norway, as security against the payment of the dowry of his daughter Margaret, betrothed to James III of Scotland. As the money was never paid, the connection with the crown of Scotland has become perpetual.

The history of Orkney prior to this time is largely the history of the ruling aristocracy. From now on the ordinary people emerge with greater clarity. An influx of Scottish entrepreneurs helped to create a diverse and independent community that included farmers, fishermen and merchants that called themselves ''comunitatis Orcadie'' and who proved themselves increasingly able to defend their rights against their feudal overlords.

From at least the 16th century, boats from mainland Scotland and the Netherlands dominated the local herring fishery. There is little evidence of an Orcadian fleet until the 19th century but it grew rapidly and 700 boats were involved by the 1840s with Stronsay and then later Stromness becoming leading centres of development. White fish never became as dominant as in other Scottish ports.

In the 17th century, Orcadians formed the overwhelming majority of employees of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. The harsh climate of Orkney and the Orcadian reputation for sobriety and their boat handling skills made them ideal candidates for the rigours of the Canadian north. During this period, burning kelp briefly became a mainstay of the islands' economy. For example on Shapinsay over of burned seaweed were produced per annum to make soda ash, bringing in £20,000 to the local economy.

Agricultural improvements beginning in the 17th century resulted in the enclosure of the commons and ultimately in the Victoria era the emergence of large and well-managed farms using a five-shift rotation system and producing high quality beef cattle.

20th century

Orkney was the site of a Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, which played a major role in World War I and II. After the Armistice in 1918, the German High Seas Fleet was transferred in its entirety to Scapa Flow to await a decision on its future. The German sailors opened the sea-cocks and scuttled all the ships. Most ships were salvaged, but the remaining wrecks are now a favoured haunt of recreational divers. One month into World War II, a German U-boat sank the Royal Navy battleship HMS ''Royal Oak'' in Scapa Flow. As a result, barriers were built to close most of the access channels; these had the additional advantage of creating causeways enabling travellers to go from island to island by road instead of being obliged to rely on ferries. The causeways were constructed by Italian prisoners of war, who also constructed the ornate Italian Chapel.

The navy base became run down after the war, eventually closing in 1957. The problem of a declining population was significant in the post-war years, though in the last decades of the 20th century there was a recovery and life in Orkney focused on growing prosperity and the emergence of a relatively classless society.

Overview of population trends

In the modern era, population peaked in the mid 19th century at just over 26,000 and declined for a century thereafter to a low of less than 17,000 in the 1970s. Declines were particularly significant in the outlying islands, some of which remain vulnerable to ongoing losses. Although Orkney is in many ways very distinct from the other islands and archipelagos of Scotland this trend is very similar to those experienced elsewhere.

Geography

The Pentland Firth is a seaway between Orkney and the mainland of Scotland. It is wide between Brough Ness on the island of South Ronaldsay and Duncansby Head in Caithness. Orkney lies between 58°41′and 59°24′North, and 2°22′and 3°26′West, measuring from northeast to southwest and from east to west, and covers .

The islands are mainly low-lying except for some sharply rising sandstone hills on Hoy, Mainland and Rousay and rugged cliffs on some western coasts. Nearly all of the islands have lochs, but the watercourses are merely streams draining the high land. The coastlines are indented, and the islands themselves are divided from each other by straits generally called "sounds" or "firths".

The tidal currents, or "roosts" as some of them are called locally, off many of the isles are swift, with frequent whirlpools. The islands are notable for the absence of trees, which is partly accounted for by the amount of wind.

Islands

The Mainland

The Mainland is the largest island of Orkney. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, are on this island, which is also the heart of Orkney's transportation system, with ferry and air connections to the other islands and to the outside world. The island is more densely populated (75% of Orkney's population) than the other islands and has much fertile farmland.

The island is mostly low-lying (especially East Mainland) but with coastal cliffs to the north and west and two sizeable lochs: the Loch of Harray and the Loch of Stenness. The Mainland contains the remnants of numerous Neolithic, Pictish and Viking constructions. Four of the main Neolithic sites are included in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1999.

The other islands in the group are classified as north or south of the Mainland. Exceptions are the remote islets of Sule Skerry and Sule Stack, which lie west of the archipelago, but form part of Orkney for local government purposes. In island names, the suffix "a" or "ay" represents the Norse ''ey'', meaning "island". Those described as "holms" are very small.

The North Isles

The northern group of islands is the most extensive and consists of a large number of moderately sized islands, linked to the Mainland by ferries and by air services. Farming, fishing and tourism are the main sources of income for most of the islands.

The most northerly is North Ronaldsay, which lies beyond its nearest neighbour, Sanday. To the west is Westray has a population of 550. It is connected by ferry and air to Papa Westray, also known as "Papay". Eday is at the centre of the North Isles. The centre of the island is moorland and the island's main industries have been peat extraction and limestone quarrying.

Rousay, Egilsay and Gairsay lie north of the west Mainland across the Eynhallow Sound. Rousay is well-known for its ancient monuments, including the Quoyness chambered cairn and Egilsay has the ruins of the only round-towered church in Orkney. Wyre to the south east contains the site of Cubbie Roo's castle. Stronsay and Papa Stronsay lie much further to the east across the Stronsay Firth. Auskerry is south of Stronsay and has a population of only five. Shapinsay and its Balfour Castle are a short distance north of Kirkwall.

Other small uninhabited islands in the North Isles group include: Calf of Eday, Damsay, Eynhallow, Faray, Helliar Holm, Holm of Faray, Holm of Huip, Holm of Papa, Holm of Scockness, Kili Holm, Linga Holm, Muckle Green Holm, Rusk Holm and Sweyn Holm.

The South Isles

The southern group of islands surrounds Scapa Flow. Hoy is the second largest of the Orkney Isles and Ward Hill at its northern end is the highest elevation in the archipelago. The Old Man of Hoy is a well-known seastack. Burray lies to the east of Scapa Flow and is linked by causeway to South Ronaldsay, which hosts the cultural events, the Festival of the Horse and the Boys' Ploughing Match on the third Saturday in August. It is also the location of the Neolithic Tomb of the Eagles. Graemsay and Flotta are both linked by ferry to the Mainland and Hoy, and the latter is known for its large oil terminal. South Walls has a 19th century Martello tower and is connected to Hoy by the Ayre. South Ronaldsay, Burray, Glims Holm, and Lamb Holm are connected by road to the Mainland by the Churchill Barriers.

Uninhabited South Islands include: Calf of Flotta, Cava, Copinsay, Corn Holm, Fara, Glims Holm, Hunda, Lamb Holm, Rysa Little, Switha and Swona. The Pentland Skerries lie further south, closer to the Scottish mainland.

Geology

The superficial rock of Orkney is almost entirely Old Red Sandstone, mostly of Middle Devonian age. As in the neighbouring mainland county of Caithness, this sandstone rests upon the metamorphic rocks of the Moine series, as may be seen on the Mainland, where a narrow strip is exposed between Stromness and Inganess, and again in the small island of Graemsay; they are represented by grey gneiss and granite.

The Middle Devonian is divided into three main groups. The lower part of the sequence, mostly Eifelian in age, is dominated by lacustrine beds of the lower and upper Stromness Flagstones that were deposited in Lake Orcadie. The later Rousay flagstone formation is found throughout much of the North and South Isles and East Mainland. The Old Man of Hoy is formed from sandstone of the uppermost Eday group that is up to thick in places. It lies unconformably upon steeply inclined flagstones, the interpretation of which is a matter of continuing debate.

The Devonian and older rocks of Orkney are cut by a series of WSW-ENE to N-S trending faults, many of which were active during deposition of the Devonian sequences. A strong synclinal fold traverses Eday and Shapinsay, the axis trending north-south.

Middle Devonian basaltic volcanic rocks are found on western Hoy, on Deerness in eastern Mainland and on Shapinsay. Correlation between the Hoy volcanics and the other two exposures has been proposed, but differences in chemistry means this remains uncertain. Lamprophyre dykes of Late Permian age are found throughout Orkney.

Glacial striation and the presence of chalk and flint erratics that originated from the bed of the North Sea demonstrate the influence of ice action on the geomorphology of the islands. Boulder clay is also abundant and moraines cover substantial areas.

Climate

Orkney has a cool temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude, due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The average temperature for the year is 8°C (46°F); for winter 4°C (39°F) and for summer 12°C (54°F).

The average annual rainfall varies from to . Winds are a key feature of the climate and even in summer there are almost constant breezes. In winter, there are frequent strong winds, with an average of 52 hours of gales being recorded annually.

To tourists, one of the fascinations of the islands is their "nightless" summers. On the longest day, the sun rises at 03:00 and sets at 21:29 GMT and complete darkness is unknown. This long twilight is known in the Northern Isles as the "simmer dim". Winter nights are long. On the shortest day the sun rises at 09:05 and sets at 15:16. At this time of year the aurora borealis can occasionally be seen on the northern horizon during moderate auroral activity.

Politics

Orkney is represented in the House of Commons as part of the Orkney and Shetland constituency, which elects one Member of Parliament (MP), the current incumbent being Alistair Carmichael. This seat has been held by the Liberal Democrats or their predecessors the Liberal Party since 1950, longer than any other they represent in the UK.

In the Scottish Parliament the Orkney constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system. The current MSP is Liam McArthur of the Liberal Democrats. Before McArthur the MSP was Jim Wallace, who was previously Deputy First Minister. Orkney is within the Highlands and Islands electoral region.

Orkney Islands Council consists of 21 members, all of whom are independent, that is they do not stand as representatives of a political party.

The Orkney Movement, a political party that supported devolution for Orkney from the rest of Scotland, contested the 1987 general election as the Orkney and Shetland Movement (a coalition of the Orkney movement and its equivalent for Shetland). The Scottish National Party chose not to contest the seat to give the movement a "free run". Their candidate, John Goodlad, came 4th with 3,095 votes, 14.5% of those cast, but the experiment has not been repeated.

Economy

The soil of Orkney is generally very fertile and most of the land is taken up by farms, agriculture being by far the most important sector of the economy and providing employment for a quarter of the workforce. More than 90% of agricultural land is used for grazing for sheep and cattle, with cereal production utilising about 4% () and woodland occupying only .

Fishing has declined in importance, but still employed 345 individuals in 2001, about 3.5% of the islands' economically active population, the modern industry concentrating on herring, white fish, lobsters, crabs and other shellfish, and salmon fish farming.

Today, the traditional sectors of the economy export beef, cheese, whisky, beer, fish and other seafood. In recent years there has been growth in other areas including tourism, food and beverage manufacture, jewellery, knitwear, and other crafts production, construction and oil transportation through the Flotta oil terminal. Retailing accounts for 17.5% of total employment, and public services also play a significant role, employing a third of the islands' workforce.

In 2007, of the 1,420 VAT registered enterprises 55% were in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 12% in manufacturing and construction, 12% in wholesale, retail and repairs, and 5% in hotels and restaurants. A further 5% were public service related. 55% of these businesses employ between 5 and 49 people.

Orkney has significant wind and marine energy resources, and renewable energy has recently come into prominence. The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) is a Scottish Government-backed research facility that has installed a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney Mainland and a tidal power testing station on the island of Eday. At the official opening of the Eday project the site was described as "the first of its kind in the world set up to provide developers of wave and tidal energy devices with a purpose-built performance testing facility."|group="Notes"}} Funding for the UK's first wave farm was announced by the Scottish Government in 2007. It will be the world's largest, with a capacity of 3 MW generated by four Pelamis machines at a cost of over £4 million. During 2007 Scottish and Southern Energy plc in conjunction with the University of Strathclyde began the implementation of a Regional Power Zone in the Orkney archipelago. This scheme (that may be the first of its kind in the world) involves "active network management" that will make better use of the existing infrastructure and allow a further 15MW of new "non-firm generation" output from renewables onto the network.

Transport

Air

Highland and Islands Airports operates the main airport in Orkney, Kirkwall Airport. Loganair, a franchise of Flybe, provides services to the Scottish mainland (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow-International and Inverness), as well as to Sumburgh Airport in Shetland.

Within Orkney, the council operates airfields on most of the larger islands including Stronsay, Eday, North Ronaldsay, Westray, Papa Westray, and Sanday. Reputedly the shortest scheduled air service in the world, between the islands of Westray and Papa Westray, is scheduled at two minutes duration but can take less than one minute if the wind is in the right direction.

Ferry

Ferries serve both to link Orkney to the rest of Scotland, and also to link together the various islands of the Orkney archipelago. Ferry services operate between Orkney and the Scottish mainland and Shetland on the following routes:

Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope (operated by Pentland Ferries)

John o' Groats to Burwick on South Ronaldsay (seasonal passenger only service, operated by John o' Groats Ferries)

Lerwick to Kirkwall (operated by Northlink Ferries)

Aberdeen to Kirkwall (operated by Northlink Ferries)

Scrabster Harbour, Thurso to Stromness (operated by Northlink Ferries)

Inter-island ferry services connect all the inhabited islands to Orkney Mainland, and are operated by Orkney Ferries, a company owned by Orkney Islands Council.

Media

Orkney is served by a weekly local newspaper, The Orcadian.

A local BBC radio station, BBC Radio Orkney, the local opt-out of BBC Radio Scotland, broadcasts twice daily, with local news and entertainment. Orkney also has a commercial radio station, The Superstation Orkney, which broadcasts to Kirkwall and parts of the mainland and also broadcasts to most of Caithness. Moray Firth Radio broadcasts throughout Orkney on AM and from an FM transmitter just outside Thurso. The community radio station Caithness FM also broadcasts to Orkney.

Language, literature and folklore

At the beginning of recorded history the islands were inhabited by the Picts, whose language was Brythonic. The Ogham script on the Buckquoy spindle-whorl is cited as evidence for the pre-Norse existence of Old Irish in Orkney.

After the Norse occupation the toponymy of Orkney became almost wholly West Norse. The Norse language evolved into the local Norn, which lingered until the end of the 18th century, when it finally died out. Norn was replaced by the Orcadian dialect of Insular Scots. This dialect is at a low ebb due to the pervasive influences of television, education and the large number of incomers. However attempts are being made by some writers and radio presenters to revitalise its use and the distinctive sing-song accent and many dialect words of Norse origin remain in use. The Orcadian word most frequently encountered by visitors is "peedie", meaning "small", which may be derived from the French ''petit''.

Orkney has a rich folklore and many of the former tales concern trows, an Orcadian form of troll that draws on the islands' Scandinavian connections. Local customs in the past included marriage ceremonies at the Odin Stone that formed part of the Stones of Stenness.

The best known literary figures from modern Orkney are the poet Edwin Muir, the poet and novelist George Mackay Brown and the novelist Eric Linklater.

Orcadians

An Orcadian is a native of Orkney, a term that reflects a strongly held identity with a tradition of understatement. Although the annexation of the earldom by Scotland took place over five centuries ago in 1472, most Orcadians regard themselves as Orcadians first and Scots second.

When an Orcadian speaks of "Scotland", they are talking about the land to the immediate south of the Pentland Firth. When an Orcadian speaks of "the mainland", they mean Mainland, Orkney. Tartan, clans, bagpipes and the like are traditions of the Scottish Highlands and are not a part of the islands' indigenous culture. However, at least two tartans with Orkney connections have been registered and a tartan has been designed for Sanday by one of the island's residents, and there are pipe bands in Orkney.

Native Orcadians refer to the non-native residents of the islands as "ferry loupers", a term that has been in use for nearly two centuries at least. This designation is celebrated in the Orkney Trout Fishing Association's "Ferryloupers Trophy", suggesting that although it can be used in a derogatory manner, it is more often a light-hearted expression.

Natural history

Orkney has an abundance of wildlife especially of Grey and Common Seals and seabirds such as Puffins, Kittiwakes, Tysties, Ravens, and Bonxies. Whales, dolphins, Otters are also seen around the coasts. Inland the Orkney Vole, a distinct subspecies of the Common Vole is an endemic. There are five distinct varieties, found on the islands of Sanday, Westray, Rousay, South Ronaldsay, and the Mainland, all the more remarkable as the species is absent on mainland Britain.

The coastline is well-known for its colourful flowers including Sea Aster, Sea Squill, Sea Thrift, Common Sea-lavender, Bell and Common Heather. The Scottish Primrose is found only on the coasts of Orkney and nearby Caithness and Sutherland. Although stands of trees are generally rare, a small forest named Happy Valley with 700 trees and lush gardens was created from a boggy hillside near Stenness during the second half of the 20th century.

The North Ronaldsay Sheep is an unusual breed of domesticated animal, subsisting largely on a diet of seaweed, since they are confined to the foreshore for most of the year to conserve the limited grazing inland.

See also

References

;Footnotes

;Citations

;General references

Armit, Ian (2006) ''Scotland's Hidden History''. Stroud. Tempus. ISBN 075243764X

Benvie, Neil (2004) ''Scotland's Wildlife''. London. Aurum Press. ISBN 1854109782

Ballin Smith, B. and Banks, I. (eds) (2002) ''In the Shadow of the Brochs, the Iron Age in Scotland''. Stroud. Tempus. ISBN 075242517X

Ballin Smith, Beverley; Taylor, Simon; and Williams, Gareth (eds) (2007) ''West Over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300''. Brill. ISBN 90-04-15893-6

Clarkson, Tim (2008) ''The Picts: A History''. Stroud. The History Press. ISBN 9780752443928

Moffat, Alistair (2005) ''Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History''. London. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0500051337

Omand, Donald (ed.) (2003) ''The Orkney Book''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1841582549

Thomson, William P. L. (2008) ''The New History of Orkney''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 9781841586960

''Whitaker's Almanack 1991'' (1990). London. J. Whitaker & Sons. ISBN 0850212057

Wickham-Jones, Caroline (2007) ''Orkney: A Historical Guide''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1841585963

Further reading

Margot Livesey, ''The Flight of Gemma Hardy'' (a novel). HarperCollins, 2012. ISBN 9780062064226

Fresson, Captain E. E. ''Air Road to the Isles.'' (2008) Kea Publishing. ISBN 9780951895894

Lo Bao, Phil and Hutchison, Iain (2002) ''BEAline to the Islands.'' Kea Publishing. ISBN 9780951895849

Warner, Guy (2005) ''Orkney by Air.'' Kea Publishing. ISBN 9780951895870

Batey, C.E. ''et al'' (eds.) (1995) ''The Viking Age in Caithness, Orkney and the North Atlantic''. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748606320

External links

Orkney.com The gateway to everything Orkney

Orkney Islands Council, the local authority website

Orkneyjar, an Orcadian History and Heritage Site

Spirit-of-Orkney, History and Heritage Site

Vision of Britain - Groome Gazetteer entry for Orkney

Category:Northern Isles Category:Lieutenancy areas of Scotland Category:Counties of Scotland Category:Highlands and Islands of Scotland Category:Regions of Scotland Category:Former Norwegian colonies Category:Council areas of Scotland

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{{infobox scotland council area| |council

Orkney''Arcaibh'' |common_name Orkney |Image |image_logo 2007 Flag of Orkney.svg |logo Flag of Orkney |logo_type Flag |image_coat Orkney Islands Arms.jpg |SizeRank 16th |Size |Water ? |AdminHQ Kirkwall |ISO GB-ORK |ONS 00RA |PopulationRank 32nd |PopulationDate 2004 |Population 19,590 (2004-2005) |population_blank1_titleDemonym |population_blank1Orcadian |PopulationDensity 52/sq mi (20/km²) |CouncilDetails Orkney Islands Councilhttp://www.orkney.gov.uk/ |Control |MPs Alistair Carmichael |MSPs Liam McArthur }}

Orkney () also known as the Orkney Islands (and sometimes "The Orkneys", a name which locals disparage), is an archipelago in northern Scotland, north of the coast of Caithness. Orkney comprises approximately 70 islands of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, known as the "Mainland" has an area of making it the sixth largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall.

The name "Orkney" dates back to the 1st century BC or earlier, and the islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years. Originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts, Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. It was subsequently annexed to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III's bride, Margaret of Denmark. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and a former county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three Councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents.

In addition to the Mainland, most of the islands are in two groups, the North and South Isles, all of which have an underlying geological base of Old Red Sandstone. The climate is mild and the soils are extremely fertile, most of the land being farmed. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy and the significant wind and marine energy resources are of growing importance. The local people are known as Orcadians and have a distinctive dialect and a rich inheritance of folklore. There is an abundance of marine and avian wildlife.

Origin of the name

Pytheas of Massilia visited Britain probably sometime between 322 and 285 BC and described it as being triangular in shape, with a northern tip called ''Orcas''. This may have referred to Dunnet Head, from which Orkney is visible. Writing in the 1st century AD, the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela called the islands ''Orcades'', as did Tacitus in AD 98, claiming that his father-in-law Agricola had "discovered and subjugated the Orcades hitherto unknown" although both Mela and Pliny had previously referred to the islands. The element ''Orc-'' is usually interpreted as a Pictish tribal name meaning "young pig" or "young boar". The Old Irish name for the islands was ''Insi Orc'' ("island of the pigs"). The archipelago is known as ''Arcaibh'' in modern Scottish Gaelic, the ''-aibh'' representing a fossilized prepositional case ending.

With the arrival of Norwegian settlers from the late 9th century, ''orc'' was re-interpreted as Old Norse as ''orkn'' "seal", with the added suffix ''ey'' "island". Thus the name became ''Orkneyjar'' (meaning "seal islands"), which was later shortened to Orkney in English.

History

Prehistory

A charred hazelnut shell, recovered in 2007 during excavations in Tankerness on the Mainland has been dated to 6820-6660 BC indicating the presence of Mesolithic nomadic tribes. The earliest known permanent settlement is at Knap of Howar, a Neolithic farmstead on the island of Papa Westray, which dates from 3500 BC. The village of Skara Brae, Europe's best-preserved Neolithic settlement, is believed to have been inhabited from around 3100 BC. Other remains from that era include the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Maeshowe passage grave, the Ring of Brodgar and other standing stones. Many of the Neolithic settlements were abandoned around 2500 BC, possibly due to changes in the climate.

During the Bronze Age fewer large stone structures were built although the great ceremonial circles continued in use as metalworking was slowly introduced to Scotland from Europe over a lengthy period. There are relatively few Orcadian sites dating from this era although there is the impressive Plumcake Mound near the Ring of Brodgar and various islands sites such as Tofts Ness on Sanday and the remains of two houses on Holm of Faray.

Iron Age

Excavations at Quanterness on the Mainland have revealed an Atlantic roundhouse built about 700 BC and similar finds have been made at Bu on the Mainland and Pierowall Quarry on Westray. The most impressive Iron Age structures of Orkney are the ruins of later round towers called "brochs" and their associated settlements such as the Broch of Burroughston and Broch of Gurness. The nature and origin of these buildings is a subject of ongoing debate. Other structures from this period include underground storehouses, and aisled roundhouses, the latter usually in association with earlier broch sites.

During the Roman invasion of Britain the "King of Orkney" was one of 11 British leaders who is said to have submitted to the Emperor Claudius in AD 43 at Colchester. After the Agricolan fleet had come and gone, possibly anchoring at Shapinsay, direct Roman influence seems to have been limited to trade rather than conquest.

By the late Iron Age, Orkney was part of the Brythonic-speaking Pictish kingdom, and although the archaeological remains from this period are less impressive there is every reason to suppose the fertile soils and rich seas of Orkney provided the Picts with a comfortable living. The Dalriadic Gaels began to influence the islands towards the close of the Pictish era, perhaps principally through the role of Celtic missionaries, as evidenced by several islands bearing the epithet "Papa" in commemoration of these preachers. However, before the Gaelic presence could establish itself the Picts were gradually dispossessed by the Norsemen from the late 8th century onwards. The nature of this transition is controversial, and theories range from peaceful integration to enslavement and genocide.

Norwegian rule

Both Orkney and Shetland saw a significant influx of Norwegian settlers during the late 8th and early 9th centuries. Vikings made the islands the headquarters of their pirate expeditions carried out against Norway and the coasts of mainland Scotland. In response, Norwegian king Harald Hårfagre ("Harald Fair Hair") annexed the Northern Isles (comprising Orkney and Shetland) in 875. Rognvald Eysteinsson received Orkney and Shetland from Harald as an earldom as reparation for the death of his son in battle in Scotland, and then passed the earldom on to his brother Sigurd the Mighty.

However, Sigurd's line barely survived him and it was Torf-Einarr, Rognvald's son by a slave, who founded a dynasty that controlled the islands for centuries after his death. He was succeeded by his son Thorfinn Skull-splitter and during this time the deposed Norwegian King Eric Bloodaxe often used Orkney as a raiding base before being killed in 954. Thorfinn's death and presumed burial at the broch of Hoxa, on South Ronaldsay, led to a long period of dynastic strife.

Initially a pagan culture, detailed information about the return of the Christian religion to the islands of Scotland during the Norse-era is elusive. The ''Orkneyinga Saga'' suggests the islands were Christianised by Olav Tryggvasson in 995 when he stopped at South Walls on his way from Ireland to Norway. The King summoned the ''jarl'' Sigurd the Stout and said "I order you and all your subjects to be baptised. If you refuse, I'll have you killed on the spot and I swear I will ravage every island with fire and steel." Unsurprisingly, Sigurd agreed and the islands became Christian at a stroke, receiving their own bishop in the early 11th century.

Thorfinn the Mighty was a son of Sigurd and a grandson of King Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (Malcolm II of Scotland). Along with Sigurd's other sons he ruled Orkney during the first half of the 11th century and extended his authority over a small maritime empire stretching from Dublin to Shetland. Thorfinn died around 1065 and his sons Paul and Erlend succeeded him, fighting at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. Paul and Erlend quarreled as adults and this dispute carried on to the next generation. The martyrdom of Magnus Erlendsson, who was killed in April 1116 by his cousin Haakon Paulsson, resulted in the building of St. Magnus Cathedral, still today a dominating feature of Kirkwall.

Unusually, from c. 1100 onwards the Norse ''jarls'' owed allegiance both to Norway for Orkney and to the Scottish crown through their holdings as Earls of Caithness. In 1231 the line of Norse earls, unbroken since Rognvald, ended with Jon Haraldsson's murder in Thurso. The Earldom of Caithness was granted to Magnus, second son of the Earl of Angus, whom Haakon IV of Norway confirmed as Earl of Orkney in 1236. In 1290, the death of the child princess Margaret, Maid of Norway in Orkney, en route to mainland Scotland, created a disputed succession that led to the Wars of Scottish Independence. In 1379 the earldom passed to the Sinclair family, who were also barons of Roslin near Edinburgh.

Evidence of the Viking presence is widespread, and includes the settlement at the Brough of Birsay, the vast majority of place names, and the runic inscriptions at Maeshowe.

Scottish rule

In 1468 Orkney was pledged by Christian I, in his capacity as king of Norway, as security against the payment of the dowry of his daughter Margaret, betrothed to James III of Scotland. As the money was never paid, the connection with the crown of Scotland has become perpetual.

The history of Orkney prior to this time is largely the history of the ruling aristocracy. From now on the ordinary people emerge with greater clarity. An influx of Scottish entrepreneurs helped to create a diverse and independent community that included farmers, fishermen and merchants that called themselves ''comunitatis Orcadie'' and who proved themselves increasingly able to defend their rights against their feudal overlords.

From at least the 16th century, boats from mainland Scotland and the Netherlands dominated the local herring fishery. There is little evidence of an Orcadian fleet until the 19th century but it grew rapidly and 700 boats were involved by the 1840s with Stronsay and then later Stromness becoming leading centres of development. White fish never became as dominant as in other Scottish ports.

In the 17th century, Orcadians formed the overwhelming majority of employees of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. The harsh climate of Orkney and the Orcadian reputation for sobriety and their boat handling skills made them ideal candidates for the rigours of the Canadian north. During this period, burning kelp briefly became a mainstay of the islands' economy. For example on Shapinsay over of burned seaweed were produced per annum to make soda ash, bringing in £20,000 to the local economy.

Agricultural improvements beginning in the 17th century resulted in the enclosure of the commons and ultimately in the Victoria era the emergence of large and well-managed farms using a five-shift rotation system and producing high quality beef cattle.

20th century

Orkney was the site of a Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, which played a major role in World War I and II. After the Armistice in 1918, the German High Seas Fleet was transferred in its entirety to Scapa Flow to await a decision on its future. The German sailors opened the sea-cocks and scuttled all the ships. Most ships were salvaged, but the remaining wrecks are now a favoured haunt of recreational divers. One month into World War II, a German U-boat sank the Royal Navy battleship HMS ''Royal Oak'' in Scapa Flow. As a result, barriers were built to close most of the access channels; these had the additional advantage of creating causeways enabling travellers to go from island to island by road instead of being obliged to rely on ferries. The causeways were constructed by Italian prisoners of war, who also constructed the ornate Italian Chapel.

The navy base became run down after the war, eventually closing in 1957. The problem of a declining population was significant in the post-war years, though in the last decades of the 20th century there was a recovery and life in Orkney focused on growing prosperity and the emergence of a relatively classless society.

Overview of population trends

In the modern era, population peaked in the mid 19th century at just over 26,000 and declined for a century thereafter to a low of less than 17,000 in the 1970s. Declines were particularly significant in the outlying islands, some of which remain vulnerable to ongoing losses. Although Orkney is in many ways very distinct from the other islands and archipelagos of Scotland this trend is very similar to those experienced elsewhere.

Geography

The Pentland Firth is a seaway between Orkney and the mainland of Scotland. It is wide between Brough Ness on the island of South Ronaldsay and Duncansby Head in Caithness. Orkney lies between 58°41′and 59°24′North, and 2°22′and 3°26′West, measuring from northeast to southwest and from east to west, and covers .

The islands are mainly low-lying except for some sharply rising sandstone hills on Hoy, Mainland and Rousay and rugged cliffs on some western coasts. Nearly all of the islands have lochs, but the watercourses are merely streams draining the high land. The coastlines are indented, and the islands themselves are divided from each other by straits generally called "sounds" or "firths".

The tidal currents, or "roosts" as some of them are called locally, off many of the isles are swift, with frequent whirlpools. The islands are notable for the absence of trees, which is partly accounted for by the amount of wind.

Islands

The Mainland

The Mainland is the largest island of Orkney. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, are on this island, which is also the heart of Orkney's transportation system, with ferry and air connections to the other islands and to the outside world. The island is more densely populated (75% of Orkney's population) than the other islands and has much fertile farmland.

The island is mostly low-lying (especially East Mainland) but with coastal cliffs to the north and west and two sizeable lochs: the Loch of Harray and the Loch of Stenness. The Mainland contains the remnants of numerous Neolithic, Pictish and Viking constructions. Four of the main Neolithic sites are included in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1999.

The other islands in the group are classified as north or south of the Mainland. Exceptions are the remote islets of Sule Skerry and Sule Stack, which lie west of the archipelago, but form part of Orkney for local government purposes. In island names, the suffix "a" or "ay" represents the Norse ''ey'', meaning "island". Those described as "holms" are very small.

The North Isles

The northern group of islands is the most extensive and consists of a large number of moderately sized islands, linked to the Mainland by ferries and by air services. Farming, fishing and tourism are the main sources of income for most of the islands.

The most northerly is North Ronaldsay, which lies beyond its nearest neighbour, Sanday. To the west is Westray has a population of 550. It is connected by ferry and air to Papa Westray, also known as "Papay". Eday is at the centre of the North Isles. The centre of the island is moorland and the island's main industries have been peat extraction and limestone quarrying.

Rousay, Egilsay and Gairsay lie north of the west Mainland across the Eynhallow Sound. Rousay is well-known for its ancient monuments, including the Quoyness chambered cairn and Egilsay has the ruins of the only round-towered church in Orkney. Wyre to the south east contains the site of Cubbie Roo's castle. Stronsay and Papa Stronsay lie much further to the east across the Stronsay Firth. Auskerry is south of Stronsay and has a population of only five. Shapinsay and its Balfour Castle are a short distance north of Kirkwall.

Other small uninhabited islands in the North Isles group include: Calf of Eday, Damsay, Eynhallow, Faray, Helliar Holm, Holm of Faray, Holm of Huip, Holm of Papa, Holm of Scockness, Kili Holm, Linga Holm, Muckle Green Holm, Rusk Holm and Sweyn Holm.

The South Isles

The southern group of islands surrounds Scapa Flow. Hoy is the second largest of the Orkney Isles and Ward Hill at its northern end is the highest elevation in the archipelago. The Old Man of Hoy is a well-known seastack. Burray lies to the east of Scapa Flow and is linked by causeway to South Ronaldsay, which hosts the cultural events, the Festival of the Horse and the Boys' Ploughing Match on the third Saturday in August. It is also the location of the Neolithic Tomb of the Eagles. Graemsay and Flotta are both linked by ferry to the Mainland and Hoy, and the latter is known for its large oil terminal. South Walls has a 19th century Martello tower and is connected to Hoy by the Ayre. South Ronaldsay, Burray, Glims Holm, and Lamb Holm are connected by road to the Mainland by the Churchill Barriers.

Uninhabited South Islands include: Calf of Flotta, Cava, Copinsay, Corn Holm, Fara, Glims Holm, Hunda, Lamb Holm, Rysa Little, Switha and Swona. The Pentland Skerries lie further south, closer to the Scottish mainland.

Geology

The superficial rock of Orkney is almost entirely Old Red Sandstone, mostly of Middle Devonian age. As in the neighbouring mainland county of Caithness, this sandstone rests upon the metamorphic rocks of the Moine series, as may be seen on the Mainland, where a narrow strip is exposed between Stromness and Inganess, and again in the small island of Graemsay; they are represented by grey gneiss and granite.

The Middle Devonian is divided into three main groups. The lower part of the sequence, mostly Eifelian in age, is dominated by lacustrine beds of the lower and upper Stromness Flagstones that were deposited in Lake Orcadie. The later Rousay flagstone formation is found throughout much of the North and South Isles and East Mainland. The Old Man of Hoy is formed from sandstone of the uppermost Eday group that is up to thick in places. It lies unconformably upon steeply inclined flagstones, the interpretation of which is a matter of continuing debate.

The Devonian and older rocks of Orkney are cut by a series of WSW-ENE to N-S trending faults, many of which were active during deposition of the Devonian sequences. A strong synclinal fold traverses Eday and Shapinsay, the axis trending north-south.

Middle Devonian basaltic volcanic rocks are found on western Hoy, on Deerness in eastern Mainland and on Shapinsay. Correlation between the Hoy volcanics and the other two exposures has been proposed, but differences in chemistry means this remains uncertain. Lamprophyre dykes of Late Permian age are found throughout Orkney.

Glacial striation and the presence of chalk and flint erratics that originated from the bed of the North Sea demonstrate the influence of ice action on the geomorphology of the islands. Boulder clay is also abundant and moraines cover substantial areas.

Climate

Orkney has a cool temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude, due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The average temperature for the year is 8°C (46°F); for winter 4°C (39°F) and for summer 12°C (54°F).

The average annual rainfall varies from to . Winds are a key feature of the climate and even in summer there are almost constant breezes. In winter, there are frequent strong winds, with an average of 52 hours of gales being recorded annually.

To tourists, one of the fascinations of the islands is their "nightless" summers. On the longest day, the sun rises at 03:00 and sets at 21:29 GMT and complete darkness is unknown. This long twilight is known in the Northern Isles as the "simmer dim". Winter nights are long. On the shortest day the sun rises at 09:05 and sets at 15:16. At this time of year the aurora borealis can occasionally be seen on the northern horizon during moderate auroral activity.

Politics

Orkney is represented in the House of Commons as part of the Orkney and Shetland constituency, which elects one Member of Parliament (MP), the current incumbent being Alistair Carmichael. This seat has been held by the Liberal Democrats or their predecessors the Liberal Party since 1950, longer than any other they represent in the UK.

In the Scottish Parliament the Orkney constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system. The current MSP is Liam McArthur of the Liberal Democrats. Before McArthur the MSP was Jim Wallace, who was previously Deputy First Minister. Orkney is within the Highlands and Islands electoral region.

Orkney Islands Council consists of 21 members, all of whom are independent, that is they do not stand as representatives of a political party.

The Orkney Movement, a political party that supported devolution for Orkney from the rest of Scotland, contested the 1987 general election as the Orkney and Shetland Movement (a coalition of the Orkney movement and its equivalent for Shetland). The Scottish National Party chose not to contest the seat to give the movement a "free run". Their candidate, John Goodlad, came 4th with 3,095 votes, 14.5% of those cast, but the experiment has not been repeated.

Economy

The soil of Orkney is generally very fertile and most of the land is taken up by farms, agriculture being by far the most important sector of the economy and providing employment for a quarter of the workforce. More than 90% of agricultural land is used for grazing for sheep and cattle, with cereal production utilising about 4% () and woodland occupying only .

Fishing has declined in importance, but still employed 345 individuals in 2001, about 3.5% of the islands' economically active population, the modern industry concentrating on herring, white fish, lobsters, crabs and other shellfish, and salmon fish farming.

Today, the traditional sectors of the economy export beef, cheese, whisky, beer, fish and other seafood. In recent years there has been growth in other areas including tourism, food and beverage manufacture, jewellery, knitwear, and other crafts production, construction and oil transportation through the Flotta oil terminal. Retailing accounts for 17.5% of total employment, and public services also play a significant role, employing a third of the islands' workforce.

In 2007, of the 1,420 VAT registered enterprises 55% were in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 12% in manufacturing and construction, 12% in wholesale, retail and repairs, and 5% in hotels and restaurants. A further 5% were public service related. 55% of these businesses employ between 5 and 49 people.

Orkney has significant wind and marine energy resources, and renewable energy has recently come into prominence. The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) is a Scottish Government-backed research facility that has installed a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney Mainland and a tidal power testing station on the island of Eday. At the official opening of the Eday project the site was described as "the first of its kind in the world set up to provide developers of wave and tidal energy devices with a purpose-built performance testing facility."|group="Notes"}} Funding for the UK's first wave farm was announced by the Scottish Government in 2007. It will be the world's largest, with a capacity of 3 MW generated by four Pelamis machines at a cost of over £4 million. During 2007 Scottish and Southern Energy plc in conjunction with the University of Strathclyde began the implementation of a Regional Power Zone in the Orkney archipelago. This scheme (that may be the first of its kind in the world) involves "active network management" that will make better use of the existing infrastructure and allow a further 15MW of new "non-firm generation" output from renewables onto the network.

Transport

Air

Highland and Islands Airports operates the main airport in Orkney, Kirkwall Airport. Loganair, a franchise of Flybe, provides services to the Scottish mainland (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow-International and Inverness), as well as to Sumburgh Airport in Shetland.

Within Orkney, the council operates airfields on most of the larger islands including Stronsay, Eday, North Ronaldsay, Westray, Papa Westray, and Sanday. Reputedly the shortest scheduled air service in the world, between the islands of Westray and Papa Westray, is scheduled at two minutes duration but can take less than one minute if the wind is in the right direction.

Ferry

Ferries serve both to link Orkney to the rest of Scotland, and also to link together the various islands of the Orkney archipelago. Ferry services operate between Orkney and the Scottish mainland and Shetland on the following routes:

Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope (operated by Pentland Ferries)

John o' Groats to Burwick on South Ronaldsay (seasonal passenger only service, operated by John o' Groats Ferries)

Lerwick to Kirkwall (operated by Northlink Ferries)

Aberdeen to Kirkwall (operated by Northlink Ferries)

Scrabster Harbour, Thurso to Stromness (operated by Northlink Ferries)

Inter-island ferry services connect all the inhabited islands to Orkney Mainland, and are operated by Orkney Ferries, a company owned by Orkney Islands Council.

Media

Orkney is served by a weekly local newspaper, The Orcadian.

A local BBC radio station, BBC Radio Orkney, the local opt-out of BBC Radio Scotland, broadcasts twice daily, with local news and entertainment. Orkney also has a commercial radio station, The Superstation Orkney, which broadcasts to Kirkwall and parts of the mainland and also broadcasts to most of Caithness. Moray Firth Radio broadcasts throughout Orkney on AM and from an FM transmitter just outside Thurso. The community radio station Caithness FM also broadcasts to Orkney.

Language, literature and folklore

At the beginning of recorded history the islands were inhabited by the Picts, whose language was Brythonic. The Ogham script on the Buckquoy spindle-whorl is cited as evidence for the pre-Norse existence of Old Irish in Orkney.

After the Norse occupation the toponymy of Orkney became almost wholly West Norse. The Norse language evolved into the local Norn, which lingered until the end of the 18th century, when it finally died out. Norn was replaced by the Orcadian dialect of Insular Scots. This dialect is at a low ebb due to the pervasive influences of television, education and the large number of incomers. However attempts are being made by some writers and radio presenters to revitalise its use and the distinctive sing-song accent and many dialect words of Norse origin remain in use. The Orcadian word most frequently encountered by visitors is "peedie", meaning "small", which may be derived from the French ''petit''.

Orkney has a rich folklore and many of the former tales concern trows, an Orcadian form of troll that draws on the islands' Scandinavian connections. Local customs in the past included marriage ceremonies at the Odin Stone that formed part of the Stones of Stenness.

The best known literary figures from modern Orkney are the poet Edwin Muir, the poet and novelist George Mackay Brown and the novelist Eric Linklater.

Orcadians

An Orcadian is a native of Orkney, a term that reflects a strongly held identity with a tradition of understatement. Although the annexation of the earldom by Scotland took place over five centuries ago in 1472, most Orcadians regard themselves as Orcadians first and Scots second.

When an Orcadian speaks of "Scotland", they are talking about the land to the immediate south of the Pentland Firth. When an Orcadian speaks of "the mainland", they mean Mainland, Orkney. Tartan, clans, bagpipes and the like are traditions of the Scottish Highlands and are not a part of the islands' indigenous culture. However, at least two tartans with Orkney connections have been registered and a tartan has been designed for Sanday by one of the island's residents, and there are pipe bands in Orkney.

Native Orcadians refer to the non-native residents of the islands as "ferry loupers", a term that has been in use for nearly two centuries at least. This designation is celebrated in the Orkney Trout Fishing Association's "Ferryloupers Trophy", suggesting that although it can be used in a derogatory manner, it is more often a light-hearted expression.

Natural history

Orkney has an abundance of wildlife especially of Grey and Common Seals and seabirds such as Puffins, Kittiwakes, Tysties, Ravens, and Bonxies. Whales, dolphins, Otters are also seen around the coasts. Inland the Orkney Vole, a distinct subspecies of the Common Vole is an endemic. There are five distinct varieties, found on the islands of Sanday, Westray, Rousay, South Ronaldsay, and the Mainland, all the more remarkable as the species is absent on mainland Britain.

The coastline is well-known for its colourful flowers including Sea Aster, Sea Squill, Sea Thrift, Common Sea-lavender, Bell and Common Heather. The Scottish Primrose is found only on the coasts of Orkney and nearby Caithness and Sutherland. Although stands of trees are generally rare, a small forest named Happy Valley with 700 trees and lush gardens was created from a boggy hillside near Stenness during the second half of the 20th century.

The North Ronaldsay Sheep is an unusual breed of domesticated animal, subsisting largely on a diet of seaweed, since they are confined to the foreshore for most of the year to conserve the limited grazing inland.

See also

References

;Footnotes

;Citations

;General references

Armit, Ian (2006) ''Scotland's Hidden History''. Stroud. Tempus. ISBN 075243764X

Benvie, Neil (2004) ''Scotland's Wildlife''. London. Aurum Press. ISBN 1854109782

Ballin Smith, B. and Banks, I. (eds) (2002) ''In the Shadow of the Brochs, the Iron Age in Scotland''. Stroud. Tempus. ISBN 075242517X

Ballin Smith, Beverley; Taylor, Simon; and Williams, Gareth (eds) (2007) ''West Over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300''. Brill. ISBN 90-04-15893-6

Clarkson, Tim (2008) ''The Picts: A History''. Stroud. The History Press. ISBN 9780752443928

Moffat, Alistair (2005) ''Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History''. London. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0500051337

Omand, Donald (ed.) (2003) ''The Orkney Book''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1841582549

Thomson, William P. L. (2008) ''The New History of Orkney''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 9781841586960

''Whitaker's Almanack 1991'' (1990). London. J. Whitaker & Sons. ISBN 0850212057

Wickham-Jones, Caroline (2007) ''Orkney: A Historical Guide''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1841585963

Further reading

Margot Livesey, ''The Flight of Gemma Hardy'' (a novel). HarperCollins, 2012. ISBN 9780062064226

Fresson, Captain E. E. ''Air Road to the Isles.'' (2008) Kea Publishing. ISBN 9780951895894

Lo Bao, Phil and Hutchison, Iain (2002) ''BEAline to the Islands.'' Kea Publishing. ISBN 9780951895849

Warner, Guy (2005) ''Orkney by Air.'' Kea Publishing. ISBN 9780951895870

Batey, C.E. ''et al'' (eds.) (1995) ''The Viking Age in Caithness, Orkney and the North Atlantic''. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748606320

External links

Orkney.com The gateway to everything Orkney

Orkney Islands Council, the local authority website

Orkneyjar, an Orcadian History and Heritage Site

Spirit-of-Orkney, History and Heritage Site

Vision of Britain - Groome Gazetteer entry for Orkney

Category:Northern Isles Category:Lieutenancy areas of Scotland Category:Counties of Scotland Category:Highlands and Islands of Scotland Category:Regions of Scotland Category:Former Norwegian colonies Category:Council areas of Scotland

af:Orkney, Skotland ang:Orcanege ar:جزر أوركني be:Аркнейскія астравы bg:Оркни br:Inizi Orc'h ca:Illes Òrcades cs:Orkneje cy:Ynysoedd Erch da:Orkneyøerne de:Orkney dsb:Orkney et:Orkney saared el:Ορκάδες es:Orcadas eo:Orkadoj eu:Orkadak fa:اورکنی fo:Orknoyggjar fr:Orcades ga:Inse Orc gv:Yn Orkaid gd:Arcaibh gl:Órcadas ko:오크니 제도 id:Orkney os:Оркнейы сакъадæхтæ is:Orkneyjar it:Isole Orcadi he:אורקני la:Orcades insulae lt:Orknio salos hu:Orkney-szigetek mk:Оркниски Острови nl:Orkney-eilanden ja:オークニー諸島 no:Orknøyene nn:Orknøyane oc:Orcadas pnb:اورکنے pl:Orkady pt:Órcades ro:Orkney ru:Оркнейские острова sco:Orkney simple:Orkney Islands sr:Оркнијска острва sh:Orkneyski otoci fi:Orkneysaaret sv:Orkneyöarna tl:Orkney th:ออร์คนีย์ tr:Orkney Adaları uk:Оркнейські острови vi:Orkney zh:奥克尼群岛

Ivan Drever is a folk singer, songwriter and guitarist popular not only with the Scottish folk scene but also in other European countries such as Norway, Denmark and Spain. He often tours with popular fiddler Duncan Chisholm who founded the folk rock band Wolfstone which Drever joined in 1990 but left in later years. For three decades, Drever has produced a unique music sound, mixing traditional folk with some rock and roll sounds.

Life

Drever spent his childhood as one of ten children on Sanday one of the islands of Orkney in Scotland. Interest in music was clear from a young age with Drever winning youth talent shows at 12. He enjoyed country music and Jim Reeves. In 1974 he founded the band 'Knowe O'Deil' and stayed until the late 80's. In the 90's Ivan moved to Easter Ross and joined Wolfstone. Drever spent many years in the Scottish town of Inverness which inspired many songs. His album 'Waterfront' is named after a favourite bar and restaurant there. Ivan has 4 children, including musician Kris Drever.

Career

In 1989 he released his debut album, Homeland. In 1990 Drever joined Wolfstone where he played guitar, cittern, whistle, mandola and pipes as well as providing lead vocals and songwriting but pursued a flourishing career of solo and duo work. In 1998 Drever and Duncan Chisholm released their own album, Lewis Blue. In the early 90's Drever released a duo album with fellow Wolfstone member, Struan Eaglesham. 'Long December Night' is a recent duo album (also released as DVD) with Duncan Chisholm. Apart from his continuing collaboration with Duncan Chisholm, Drever has often joined up with other musicians, either as a duo with Bruce MacGregor, as Band with "The Vast Majority" or with former Wolfstone members Mop Youngston and Andy Murray as "The Black Sheep" in 2007. Due to Mop Yongston's illness, they could not continue touring. This project, however, has been revived as the Ivan Drever Band. The current line-up now includes Finlay Wells (bass), Iain Coates (drums) and Andy Murray (guitar). In 1998, he took a side-project from Wolfstone with the album ''This Strange Place'', although this album was marketed as a Wolfstone album. That same year, he and Duncan Chisholm issued their collaboration album, ''The Lewis Blue''.

The Ivan Drever Band

The Ivan Drever Band is a folk-meets-rock band featuring Ivan Drever, Andy Murray, Finlay Wells and Iain Coates. They have released an EP with 5 songs: Every Beat of the Drum, Harbour Lights, Ballad of Jimmy Fry, Walk Beside Your Shoes and Stranger's Tongue. A full album, 'Sea Air', is to be released soon after their current tour of the UK and Denmark.

Career highlights

2001- One of Ivan's most popular projects which gained huge media interest was a Californian dance spectacular named 'Celtic Fusion' in which he provided the music and toured not only in the UK but in the US with the high-profile team. He was the chief songwriter.

The popular Irish band The Dubliners have recorded some of his tunes.

The 1997 film ''Good Will Hunting'' included one of Ivan and Duncans songs.

In 1988 he recorded a duo album, 'October Bridge', with Dick Clarke

In 1996 he hosted a BBC Radio 2 documentary about the Islands of Scotland

Solo albums

Homeland (1989)

Isles Ne'er Forgotten (1992, re-released in 1999)

Four Walls (1996)

Black, White And Blue (2000)

The Orkney Years Vol. 1 (1998, Collection of previous songs 1986-1992)

The Orkney Years Vol. 2 (2006)

Tradition (2004)

Waterfront (2006)

Notes from an Island (2010)

Bless The Wind (2011)

Duo albums

The Knowe O'Deil (with Ian Cooper)

Orkney Anthem (1986)

The Viking's Bride (1987)

with Dick Clarke

October Bridge (1988)

with Wayne Mackenzie

Drever Mackenzie (1991, re-released as a Wolfstone album "This Strange Place“ in 1992)

with Struan Eagelsham

Back to Back (1994)

with Duncan Chisholm

The Lewis Blue (1998)

A Long December Night (2004, also as DVD)

Other albums

This Strange Place (1998) (marketed incorrectly as a Wolfstone album)

Celtic Fusion (2003)

Number One (2007, EP "The Black Sheep")

Every Beat of The Drum (2009, EP "Ivan Drever Band")

Wolfstone albums with Ivan Drever

''Unleashed'' (1991)

''The Chase'' (1992)

''Burning Horizons'' (1993)

''Year of the Dog'' (1994)

''The Half Tail'' (1996)

''Pick of the Litter'' (1997)

''This Strange Place'' (1998)

References

External links

Career Summary MP3.com

Official Website

Category:Scottish singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:People from Orkney

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE (born 8 September 1934) is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.

Biography

Davies was born in Salford, Lancashire, the son of Thomas and Hilda Davies. He took piano lessons and composed from an early age. As a 14-year-old he submitted a composition called "Blue Ice" to BBC Children's Hour in Manchester. Producer Trevor Hill showed it to resident pianist Violet Carson who said "He's either quite brilliant or mad". Conductor Charles Groves nodded his approval and said, "I'd get him in". They did and his rise to fame began under the careful mentorship of Hill who made him their resident composer and introduced him to various professional musicians both in the UK and Germany. (The full story can be found in Over the Airwaves, the autobiography of Trevor Hill published by Book Guild in 2005). After education at Leigh Boys Grammar School, Davies studied at the University of Manchester and at the Royal Manchester College of Music (amalgamated into the Royal Northern College of Music in 1973), where his fellow students included Harrison Birtwistle, Alexander Goehr, Elgar Howarth and John Ogdon. Together they formed New Music Manchester, a group committed to contemporary music. After graduating in 1956, he studied on an Italian government scholarship for a year with Goffredo Petrassi in Rome before working as Director of Music at Cirencester Grammar School from 1959 to 1962.

In 1962, he secured a Harkness Fellowship at Princeton University, with the help of Aaron Copland and Benjamin Britten, where he studied with Roger Sessions, Milton Babbitt and Earl Kim. He then moved to Australia, where he was Composer in Residence at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide from 1965–66.

He then returned to the United Kingdom and moved to the Orkney Islands, initially to Hoy in 1971, and later to Sanday, where he lives with his partner Colin Parkinson. Orkney (particularly its capital, Kirkwall) hosts the St Magnus Festival, an arts festival founded by Davies in 1977. He frequently uses it to premiere new works (often played by the local school orchestra).

Davies was Artistic Director of the Dartington International Summer School from 1979 to 1984 and has held a number of posts. From 1992 to 2002 he was associate conductor/composer with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and he has conducted a number of other prominent orchestras, including the Philharmonia, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. In 2000 Davies was Artist in Residence at the Barossa Music Festival when he presented some of his music theatre works and worked with students from the Barossa Spring Academy. Davies is also Composer Laureate of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, for whom he wrote a series of ten ''Strathclyde Concertos''.

He has been awarded a number of honorary doctorates, at various institutions. He has been President of Making Music (The National Federation of Music Societies) since 1989. Davies was made a CBE in 1981 and knighted in 1987. He was appointed Master of the Queen's Music for a ten-year period from March 2004. Made a freeman of the City Of Salford August 2004. Oxford awarded him an honorary Doctor of Music degree in July 2005. On 25 November 2006, Sir Peter was appointed an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University at a service in Canterbury Cathedral. He is also a visiting professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music, and in 2009 became an Honorary Fellow of Homerton College, Cambridge.

Davies was one of the first classical composers to open a music download website, ''MaxOpus'', (in 1996). The site became temporarily unavailable after the arrest in June 2007 of Michael Arnold (one of MaxOpus's directors) on fraud charges arising from money missing from Davies's business accounts. In October 2008 Arnold and his wife Judith (Davies' former agent) were charged with the theft of almost £450,000. In November 2009, Michael Arnold was sentenced to 18 months in jail. Maxopus.com was relaunched earlier in 2009.

Davies was known as an 'enfant terrible' of the 1960s, whose music frequently shocked audiences and critics. One of his overtly theatrical and shocking pieces was ''Eight Songs for a Mad King'' (1969), in which he utilised 'musical parody' by taking a canonical piece of music, Handel's ''Messiah'', and subverting it to suit his own needs.

Davies is openly gay. In 2007, a controversy arose regarding his intended civil partnership when he was told that the ceremony could not take place on the Sanday Light Railway. He later abandoned his plans.

Davies is known informally as "Max", after his middle name "Maxwell". A reporter for ''The Independent'' humorously recalled the confusion this brought about when Davies was staying in Las Vegas. No one seemed able to locate him at any hotel, despite trying "Maxwell Davies", "Davies", "Max", "Sir Peter" and every other imaginable permutation. It was finally discovered that the hotel had registered him as "Mavis", which inspired the composer to produce the orchestral piece ''Mavis in Las Vegas''.

Political views

Davies has a keen interest in environmentalism. He wrote ''The Yellow Cake Revue'', a collection of cabaret-style pieces that he performed with actress Eleanor Bron, in protest at plans to mine uranium ore in Orkney. It is from this suite of pieces that his famous instrumental ''chanson triste'' interlude ''Farewell to Stromness'' is taken. The slow, walking bass line that pervades the ''Farewell'' portrays the residents of the village of Stromness having to leave their homes as a result of uranium contamination. The ''Revue'' was first performed at the St. Magnus Festival, in Orkney, by Bron, with the composer at the piano, in June 1980. Stromness, the second largest town in Orkney, would have been two miles from the uranium mine's core, and the center most threatened by pollution, had the proposed development been approved.

In the run-up to the Iraq War in 2003 he marched in protest, and has been an outspoken critic of the Ministries of both Gordon Brown and Tony Blair.

Davies' appointment to the post of Master of the Queen's Music was initially controversial, as he was a republican. However he confirmed in 2010 that close contact with the Queen had converted him to monarchism. He told the ''Daily Telegraph'' "I have come to realise that there is a lot to be said for the monarchy. It represents continuity, tradition and stability."

He is a member of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA),

Music

Davies is a prolific composer who has written music in a variety of styles and idioms over his career, often combining disparate styles in one piece.

Early works include the ''Trumpet Sonata'' (1955), written while he was at college, and his first orchestral work, ''Prolation'' (1958), written while under the tutelage of Petrassi. Early works often use serial techniques (for example ''Sinfonia'' for chamber orchestra, 1962), sometimes combined with Mediaeval and Renaissance compositional methods. Fragments of plainsong are often used as basic source material to be adapted and developed in various ways.

Pieces from the late 1960s take up these techniques and tend towards experimental and a violent character – these include ''Revelation and Fall'' (based on a poem by Georg Trakl), the music theatre pieces ''Eight Songs for a Mad King'' and ''Vesalii Icones'', and the opera ''Taverner''. ''Taverner'' again shows an interest in Renaissance music, taking as its subject the composer John Taverner, and consisting of parts resembling Renaissance forms. The orchestral piece ''St Thomas Wake'' (1969) also shows this interest, and is a particularly obvious example of Davies's polystylism, combining, as it does, a suite of foxtrots (played by a twenties-style dance band), a pavane by John Bull and Davies's "own" music (the work is described by Davies as a "Foxtrot for orchestra on a pavan by John Bull"). Many works from this period were performed by the Pierrot Players which Davies founded with Harrison Birtwistle in 1967 (they were reformed as the Fires of London in 1970, disbanded in 1987).

Davies is known for his use of magic squares as a source of musical materials and as a structural determinant. In his work ''Ave Maris Stella'' (1975) he used a 9x9 square numerologically associated with the moon, reduced modulo 9 to produce a Latin square, to permute the notes of a plainsong melody with the same name as the piece and to govern the durations of the notes.

''Worldes Blis'' (1969) indicated a move towards a more integrated and somewhat more restrained style, anticipating the calm which Davies would soon find at his new home in Orkney. Some have drawn a comparison between this later style and the music of Jean Sibelius. His present style is regarded as much more accessible, to the point where Harrison Birtwistle no longer regarded him as a modernist.

Since his move to Orkney, Davies has often drawn on Orcadian or more generally Scottish themes in his music, and has sometimes set the words of Orcadian writer George Mackay Brown. He has written a number of other operas, including ''The Martyrdom of St Magnus'' (1976), ''The Lighthouse'' (1980, his most popular opera), and ''The Doctor of Myddfai'' (1996). The ambitious, nihilistic parable ''Resurrection'' (1987), which includes parts for a rock band, was nearly twenty years in gestation.

Davies also became interested in classical forms, completing his first symphony in 1976. He has written nine numbered symphonies since—a symphonic cycle of the Symphonies Nos.1–7 (1976–2000), a Symphony No. 8 titled the 'Antarctic' (2000), a Ninth Symphony (scheduled to be premiered on 9 June 2012 by the Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra), a Sinfonia Concertante (1982), as well as the series of ten ''Strathclyde Concertos'' for various instruments (pieces born out of his association with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, 1987–1996). In 2002, he began work on a series of string quartets for the Maggini String Quartet to record on Naxos Records (the so-called ''Naxos Quartets''). The whole series was completed in 2007, and is viewed by the composer as a novel in ten chapters".

Davies's lighter orchestral works have included ''Mavis in Las Vegas'' and ''Orkney Wedding, With Sunrise'' (which features the bagpipes), as well as a number of theatre pieces for children and a good deal of music with educational purposes. Additionally he wrote the scores for Ken Russell's films ''The Devils'' and ''The Boy Friend''.

Maxwell Davies's short piano piece ''Farewell to Stromness'' entered the Classic FM Hall of Fame in 2003, his first ever entry, and was at that time the fastest-rising new entry in the chart's history.

He also writes with particular affinity for young and non-professional performers; for example, his ''Fanfare: A salute to Dennis Brain'' is targeted at players of grade 6 standard or above, and he has composed several children's operas including ''A Selkie Tale'', ''The Great Bank Robbery'' and ''The Spider's Revenge''. Other children's works include ''Chat Moss'' and ''A Hoy Calendar'' both written for first performance by the children of St Edward's College Liverpool.

''A Hymn to the Spirit of Fire'' was commissioned by the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Concerts Society as the culmination of the city's Capital of Culture year 2008 and was given its world premiere at the Cathedral on Saturday 13 December.

His Violin Concerto No. 2 received its UK premiere on 8 September 2009 (the composer's 75th birthday) in the Royal Albert Hall, London, as part of the 2009 season of the BBC Proms.

On 13 October 2009, his string sextet 'The Last Island' was performed for the first time by the Nash Ensemble at Wigmore Hall in a 75th birthday concert for the composer.

Career highlights

1953–58 – studied in Manchester and Rome.

1967 – together with Harrison Birtwistle, founded the contemporary music touring ensemble the Pierrot Players (later renamed The Fires of London).

1971 – moved to Hoy in the Orkney Islands.

1977 – founds the St Magnus Festival.

1987–96 – wrote the ten Strathclyde Concertos for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

2002 – embarked on a cycle of ten string quartets, commissioned by Naxos.

2004 – appointed Master of the Queen's Music.

2008 – became patron of the Manchester University Music Society (MUMS)

2009 – became an Honorary Fellow of Homerton College, Cambridge

Selected compositions

''Fantasias on an In nomine of John Taverner'' (1962; For a large orchestra dividing into several chambers ensembles to be performed)

''Eight Songs for a Mad King'' (1968; for singer/narrator/actor and chamber ensemble)

''Missa super l'homme armé'' (1968, rev. 1971; for male or female speaker or singer and ensemble)

''Ave Maris Stella'' (1975; chamber ensemble)

''The Door of the Sun'' for Viola Solo, J.132 (1975)

Symphony No. 1 (1973–76; orchestra)

''The Martyrdom of St Magnus'' (1977; chamber opera)

''The Lighthouse'' (1979; chamber opera)

''Black Pentecost'' (1979; quasi-symphony: mezzo-soprano, baritone, & orchestra)

''Cinderella'' (1980; children's opera)

Symphony No. 2 (1980)

''Image, Reflection, Shadow'' (1982; ensemble)

Symphony No. 3 (1984)

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1985; dedicated to Isaac Stern who gave the first performance on 21 June 1986 at the St. Magnus Festival in the Orkney Islands)

Symphony No. 4 (1989)

''Caroline Mathilde'' (1991; ballet)

''Strathclyde'' Concerto No. 5 for violin, viola, and string orchestra, J.245 (1991)

''A Spell for Green Corn: The MacDonald Dances'' (1993; violin, orchestra)

Symphony No. 5 (1994)

''The Doctor of Myddfai'' (1996; opera)

Symphony No. 6 (1996)

''Job'' (1997; singers, orchestra)

''Mr Emmet Takes a Walk'' (2000; chamber opera)

Symphony No. 7 (2000)

Symphony No. 8 (''Antarctic'' Symphony) (2001)

''Naxos Quartets'' (2001–2007; string quartet)

''Midhouse Air'' for Violin and Viola

''Homerton'' (2010; for the choir of Homerton College, Cambridge)

''Kommilitonen!'' (2011; opera)

Recordings

''Naxos Quartets'' – Maggini Quartet – Naxos 5-CD set 8.505225 ''Missa parvula; two organ pieces; two motets'' – Hyperion CDA67454

''Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis'' and ''O Sacrum Convivium'' – Delphian DCD34037

''Symphonies 1–6'' – BBC Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic / composer – Collins Classics

''Ave Maris Stella; Image, Reflection, Shadow; Runes from a Holy Island'' – Fires of London / composer – Unicorn-Kanchana

Notable students

Edward Barnes

Elisabetta Brusa

Ronald Caltabiano

Ross Edwards

Philip Grange

Hafliði Hallgrímsson

John Hopkins

Hilda Paredes

Gillian Whitehead

References

External links

YouTube – Peter Maxwell Davies: Miss Donnithorne's Maggot

A portrait in words of the composer by Stephen Moss in The Guardian

The Profile Page of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies at Schott Music ltd

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' homepage at Chester Music

Maxwell Davies and the String Quartet CompositionToday article by Paul Driver

Freemen of the City of Salford Freemen of the City of Salford

Peter Maxwell Davies interview with Bruce Duffie

Peter Maxwell Davies at Boosey & Hawkes

Category:1934 births Category:Living people Category:Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Category:Ballet composers Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Composers awarded knighthoods Category:Composers for pipe organ Category:English composers Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom Category:Harkness Fellows Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Category:LGBT composers Category:LGBT people from England Category:Masters of the Queen's Music Category:People associated with Orkney Category:People from Salford, Greater Manchester Category:Music in Salford Category:Musicians from Manchester Category:Princeton University alumni Category:20th-century classical composers Category:21st-century classical composers Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Category:Fellows of Homerton College, Cambridge

ca:Peter Maxwell Davies cs:Peter Maxwell Davies cy:Peter Maxwell Davies da:Peter Maxwell Davies de:Peter Maxwell Davies es:Peter Maxwell Davies eu:Peter Maxwell Davies fr:Peter Maxwell Davies nl:Peter Maxwell Davies pt:Peter Maxwell Davies ru:Дэвис, Питер Максвелл simple:Peter Maxwell Davies sh:Peter Maxwell Davies fi:Peter Maxwell Davies sv:Peter Maxwell Davies tr:Peter Maxwell Davies zh:彼得·马克斯韦尔·戴维斯