Dark Ages
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Heads Under the Water: Snizort Cathedral, St Columba’s Isle and The Cauldron of Skulls
The Cathedral Peaty water ripples around a peaceful little island cemetery, but this river once bubbled with blood, boiling from the clan feud that scars Skye’s landscape. For most, it is a tranquil place to rest; for Skye’s teenagers, it is a place for summer gatherings, to leap from the high banks into the deep(ish) Continue reading
Battle, bishop of the isles, cathedral, cauldron of heads, cauldron of skulls, christianity, Church, Clan battle, clan nicoloson, Clan Rivalry, coirre-nan-ceann, cristogram, Dark Ages, grave, graveyard, Hebrides, history, iron age, Isle of Skye, lord of the isles, MacDonald, MacLeod, macsween effigy, medieval cathedral, medieval warefare, memento mori, nocholsons aisle, rodel, Scottish Clan, skeabost, skeabost hotel, Skye, snizort, st columba’s isle, tomb, travel, trotternish, Viking -
The Raven and The Dragon: A New Perspective on the Battle of Cynwit
In 878 AD, a desperate band of West Saxons stood atop the walls of a hillfort, watching as a Viking force landed on the Somerset coast. What happened next was one of the most decisive and overlooked battles in England’s long fight for survival. Who were these men, where was Cynwit, and why did this… Continue reading
9th Century, Alfred the Great, Anglo-Saxon History, anglo-saxons, Battle, Battle of Cynwit, British Hillforts, Combwich, Cynwit, Dark Age Warfare, Dark Ages, Devon, Devon History, english, Forgotten Battles, Great Heathen Army, Great Viking Army, Historic Battles, Historical Warfare, historical-fiction, history, King Alfred, Last Kingdom, Local History, Medieval, Medieval Warfare, Military History, Quantocks, Ragnar, Ragnar Lodbrok, Ragnar Lothbrok, Raven Banner, River Parrett, Saxon, Somerset, Somerset History, Ubba Ragnarson, Viking, Viking Age, Viking Invasions, Vikings, Warfare, Wessex, West Saxons
Alasdair MacIlleathain 