St Magnus of Orkney

Magnus has often been venerated as a martyr, even though he died because of local politics (and family feuding) rather than for his faith. In truth, his sanctity consists in the fact that, in the midst of all the casual cruelty of the Dark Age Viking world, he bore witness in his own life to the higher ideals of Christian piety and nobility – a light in the darkness shining even at this most wild and distant edge of Christendom. Read more...