16 Proceedings of the Society, December 8, 1902. Notes On" the Eahl's Bu (Or Bordland) at Orphir, Orkney, Called Orfjara In
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16 PROCEEDING SSOCIETY OTHE F , DECEMBE 19028, R . 1. NOTES E EAHL'ONTH " S BORDLANDR B(O U T ORPHIRA ) , ORKNEY, CALLED ORFJARA IN THE SAGAS, AND ON THE REMAINS OF THE ROUND CHURCH THERE. BY ALFRED W. JOHNSTON, F.S.A. SOOT. e Orkneyingth n I a Saga s mentionei t i 1 d (A.D. 1127-28) that Earl Harald r s bitOrfjaran livei hi t dn a 113I .6 :— " Earl Pall had a great yule feast, and prepared for it at his 16,, which is called Orfura (lorfiara, Flateybook) . Ther . e were large farm-buildings (husa-baer) there d thean , y stoo slopinn do g ground a slopd ther s t an , a ewa e the back of the houses. And when one came on the brow of the slope Orridafjord abovs e wa other t eth (i.e.,i n r o side, beyond t i lie sn i Damisey); . There, in Orfjara, was a large drinking hall, and there was a door near the east gable, on the southern side wall, and a splendid church stood before e hal th descendee l on door e d on an , ds e churcha froth e halt th mo t lBu . entered the hall a large slab was to the left, and inside many large ale-casks, facind an e out-doogth a room. Sags e wa rTh a " relato t goe dispute n th eo s e o Sveinnsbetweetw e th n, resultin e slaughteth n i gf Svein o r n breastrope, after which Sveinn Asleifarson was taken by his accomplices " into the room s therfacin wa e out-door ee th gh pnlle d an d, out throug a skja-window.h 2 There Magnus Eyvindarso horsa s enha ready saddle d tooawam dan hi k y behino Orridafjordrt n housee o d th d an s . Then they took ship d Magnuan , s brought Svein Damisey.o nt " 3 In order to identify the site of the Earl's bii in, or called Orfjara, t i wil e instructivb l o compart e d residence an a lisf eEarls o s t bu ' s mentioned in the Saga, with a list of biis, bulls, or bows and bordlands of the Earldom, enumerated in the Rentals of the Earldom.4 With regard to bordlands, Captain !\ W. L. Thomas writes:—" The Earls of Orkney must, from an early period, have had mensal farms, and these are marked in the Old Rental as ' bordland,' literally table-land; 1 Icelandic Sagas relating to the Settlements and Descents of the Northmen in e Britisth h Isles. Edite Vigfussoy db d Dasentan n . Publishe e Masteth y f b do r Rollse th . Orkiiey Saga,. 70 , 69 caps , 58 . transparena 2 s i Skj ) (r a t membrane stretched acros swindowa d usean ,d instead of glass. 3 MS. translation by Ion Stefansson, Ph.D. 4 Peterkin's Rentals. EARL'OEPHIEE T NOTEA TH U N SB SO . 17 thu e Bulth s , B61, Nf Orfero . , wher e Earlth e s usually dwelt,1 was- bordlaud."2 Colonel David Balfour writes:—" Bordland, N. Bord, mensa, cibus. The guest quarters of the King or Jarl, and therefore exempt from skatt." s We find the Earl of Orkney faring about the Islands in 1137, col- lecting his land rents, when he would undoubtedly have resided at Ms- bus and bordlands. * As the islands were frequently divided among several Earls at the same time in accordance with udal succession they must have had their separate headquarters, for which purpose their bus and bordlands would probably be utilised. Bordland Earldoe th f so m landed estate, which paid no skatt. Earls' Residences, llth and 12th Centuries. From Rentals 1503-1595. From the Orkneyinga Saga. [Earls' Palace Birsa.] Earl Thorfinnr (d. 1064), after his pilgrimage N.B.—This is not included in Romeo t , resided almost alway t Byrgisa s - e e th rentalth s a , herad, wher e builh e t Christ Church whole of Birsa was (chapter 37). clmrchland 1503n i , . Ear lByrgis-herat Pala . lII d 1137 (chapter 60). Earl Bognvaldr II. at° Byrgis-herad 1155 (chapter 108). [Kirkwall Castle.] N.B.—Mentione n Charterdi s Earl Rognvald t a Kirkju-vag . I r r 1046 of Earldom. (chapter 34). Burray, Bu of. Burwic Soutn ki h Ronaldsay. Hoy, including its Bu. Orphair—Bu of Orphair, with Earl Haraldr liveo wh ,d mostl Caithnessn yi , Midland, Hovvthd an , bs Orfjarn diedi hi t da a 1127 (chapter 58). Orakirk. Earl Pal s bi Orfjar. n livei hi lII t a d a 1136- 37 (chapter 69-71). Earl Roguvaldr II. at his bd in Orfjara 1154 (chapter 103). Earl Haraldr Maddadsod b hidinn e ni th t ga in Orfjara 1154 (chapter 103). OnlEarlso ytw , PalHaraldrd an l mentionee ar , s dwellinda t Orfjaraga a i t i ; 1 f Earo u l b Kognvaldr a spoke s a f no d Ear an , l Haraldr Maddadso n hidini s nwa g there at that time. Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., 1884, p. 254. 3 3 Oppressions Sixteenththe of Century Islandsthe in Orkneyof Shetland.and Glossary, s.v. Bordland. 4 O.S., chapter 71. 2 VOL. XXXVIT. 18 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 8, 1902. Bordland e Earldoth f so m landed estate, which pai skatto dn . Earls' Residences, llt12td hhan Centuries. From Rentals 1503-1595. From the Orkneyinga Saga. Netherlyking in Saudwick. Westrey— Swartmeill, Was- buster Bi d Rapnessf o ian , . Earl Rognvald t Hreppis-nea . II r n 115i s 5 (chapter 107), . Sanday—Gryndleithf o s Bu , ? Earl Rognvaldr I. in 1036 fared first to Brugh, Halkisness, Tofts, those bus which his father Brusa had Walls, Lopness, and Tres- owned (chapte tole ar d r e tha26)W t. Earl ness. e northernmosth Brus d ha a e t th par f o t islands (chapter 22). Stronsa Holland y— an d; probably Clestraid an n Musbuster s thea , y paid no skatt. ? Papa Stronsay paid no skatt, Earl Rognvaldr I. killed at Papey in litlu, and probably bordland. s yul hi d gon wherer ha mal fo ee h e t 1046 (chapter 34). Earl Rognvaldu b n i 1136-3 a . II d r 8ha called Knarrar-stadir (chapter 81). This is supposed to be the modern Knarston near Scalpa in St Ola. In the Rental 1503 Knarstan t OlaviS n ei s paris s describehi d rege,o aspr i.e., Kingsland formed an , d part of the landed estate of the Earldom. It paid skatt, and was not bordland. The Saga mentions the bti in Orfjara and the bu called Orfjara. The Kental of 1503 mentions the bull of Orphair. In one instance in e Kentath f 150o l e spellin3th f occursw Bur-ray.o Bo gw ,Bo viz. e th , e Kentath n s I lusei 164w d Bo 2throughout .e forth Buem s i .i n Murdoch Mackenzie's Charts, 1750; and Bu' is now adopted by the Ordnance Survey e pronunciatioTh . s uniformli n y 600d appearan , s always to have been so. The question is whether bull is derived from O.N. B61 or Bu. The Saga always uses bu, which, although a generic term, appears to have become associated with place-names in Orkney and Shetland.- However, Bu, as now used in Orkney, is still a sort of generic term—it is always the Bu of .such and such a place, precisel s use e a Sagae sam -th n y n th Orknedi I en wa . i y d Shet yan - stils acattler i lan1 sl fo l a dB6 b6 used n Icelandn .placei pe s a a , r - fo , name in Orkney appears in the termination bister — bolstadr. The II in EARI/E 9 1 NOTETH N S O SORPHIRT B UA . bull appears to be a Scottish addition. In illustration of the Scottish influence on Orkney place-names, so far as the letter I is concerned, take vdgr pronounced voe in Orkney; in Scotch this becomes wma then wall, as in vdgur, wawis, walls, and Kirkju-vdgr, Kirkwaw, Kirkwall. The true words are preserved in the folk-pronunciation Waas and Kirkwaa,. In the case of Hr61fsey, the I has been absorbed in the foregoing long vowel, and we now have Rousey. In the same way as the Scotch pronounce gold gmod, a mistake y b n contra-analog e occasionallyw y find /old fowr fo d (i.e., foged).1 Boll, seea d pod, becomes bow, wheren i s a , many Scotch words e doublth , e changes i II a centra dy b int d o- w?An analogy the Orkney bii becomes bull. This Icelandic b& is still in use in some Scottish place-names, meaning a house or village, e.g., the Bow Ballingshaw.f o o of Bo Fife e th , 3 The earldom landed estate in Orphir parish consisted of a compact distric f threo t e tuns, viz., Orphir, Midland Houtond an , m , ru wit e hth r faro Orakirkf mo . l describeThesal e e Rentalear th n di f 150so d 3an 1595 as bordlarids of the old earldom, i.e., the Norse Earldom, paying no ekatt. This estat s separatewa ef Swanbisteo n e dtu th fro e n mo th r •east by a tongue of the Common and by a large tract of rough uncultivated land, and the Fidge of Piggar, stretching from the Commo ne coastdowth o .t n Fro e namth m e Grin = a( d house nea a e grinsurroundinrth r gato dn i e n wall)tu g , mentioned along with Hangaba n i 1503k , ther s i presumptive e evidence thae Commo th e timt on e t a nextende d e coastdowth o t .n There is also evidence that the Common behind Houton also extended alone coast e hildowp th gth to l o ,t n dividin northe estate th gth n eo - west from Peterton.