This week, we finally managed to install our new (not new ) item of furniture - a mid-18th Century grandfather clock. It's not bright and shiny like more modern ones, but a dark oak with a warm patina which the beeswax polish is drawing out. In order to set it up, we had to do a certain amount of research - how to hang the pendulum, where the weight went on the endless chain - and it got me thinking... where and when did certain divisions of time come from? The time periods which I have written either had household clocks or didn't, I have not written novels from the time of their invention. Clocks have been around for a long time, and the obsession with measuring time in an ordered fashion dates back to at least the ancient Sumerians. It was they who established a circular reading of time and, I imagine, the sixty seconds/minutes came about as much because it was an easy way to divide a circle as anything else. But it wasn't until much later that the precision of seconds ...
This week, I'm delving a long way back in history to introduce you to March's historical figure...
A week ago I launched a collection of short stories called Have We Ever Been Alone? (You can find it here) Each one of these stories includes a meeting between mankind and another sentient form. The opening story is based on the bizarre death of Sigurd Eysteinsson, and he's the subject of today's blog post.
There is some dispute over whether Sigurd was the first or second Earl of Orkney, but the impact he left upon the islands was certainly immense. He was the man accredited with bringing Christianity to Orkney, although this was almost certainly only Sigurd paying lip-service in order to protect his earldom. When Olaf Trygvesson confronted him, his choice was a clear one: convert or have your whole lands and people destroyed.
Despite the fact Sigurd accepted these rather brutal terms, Olaf took his son hostage to ensure the earl's continued support. Sigurd's son died not long after, and Sigurd was at liberty to freely follow the old religion once more.
There is no evidence that Sigurd had a daughter, although she is the main character in the opening story of Have We Ever Been Alone? and befriends a Pictish seer, who has foreseen her father's death. But excusing her presupposed existence, Sigurd's portrayal is true to life. He was a born campaigner, the stuff of legends! But he was also a cheat - a fact which was going to cost him his life.
Aside from the conversion and campaigning in which he partook, Sigurd Eysteinsson (who was also called Sigurd the Mighty) is most famous for his death. Having fought several times against Máel Brigte, the Pictish lord of Moray, Sigurd proposed a 40-man-a-side battle to resolve their continued disagreements. Máel Brigte accepted but, unbeknownst to the pict, Sigurd brought twice as many men. Unsurprisingly, Sigurd was victorious, and the battle seemed to have been won. Without a second thought, Sigurd claimed his trophy: Máel Brigte's head.
Then, fate stepped in. His horse, anxious about crossing the river, shied. This sudden and unpredictable move caused Máel Brigte's severed head to bite down on Sigurd's leg. Apart from feeling angry, and no doubt embarrassed too, about this, Sigurd probably thought nothing of it. However, the wound became infected and, without medical care, poisoned Sigurd.
It was poetic justice, really, that Sigurd cheated to win the battle, only to finally lose his life to a freak accident.
Despite this trickery, it has to be said that Sigurd was known to have governed Orkney with real wisdom. He knew how to make the best of any situation and always loyally defended his people - by whatever means.
And he left an immortal legacy to Orkney. The Ba' game which take place at Christmas and New Year, has it's roots in Sigurd's unfortunate demise. The ba', representing Máel Brigte's head, is fought over and thrown toward one end of Kirkwall or the other and, while it is an overwhelming event, thankfully even that isn't as brutal as its legendary ancestry!
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