Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1988, Page 181

SUMMARY
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Chapter 2. Documentary evidence for papar in Iceland.
The author here sets out to investigate whcther the scanty evidence we have for papar
in Iceland has been exaggerated by earlier scholars. The documcntary evidence is of Norse
and Irish origins. The central Norse source is Ari Þorgilsson's íslendingabók, written in
Icelandic sometime between 1122 and 1132. There is an obvious rclationship betwccn this
account and the one in Historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium by Theodoricus Mon-
achus, written in Latin probably between 1170 and 1180. Yet another source, Historia Nor-
vegiœ, written in Latin probably no later than 1170, does not mcntion papar in Iceland,
but has an account of them in the Orkneys, an account which bears close resemblance to
the one on papar in Iceland in íslendingabók. It is generally accepted that there was an older
version of íslendingabók, now lost. It has been suggested that this older version did not
contain the account of papar in Iceland (Ellehöj 1965), which was probably an addition
in the later version, perhaps modelled on the account of them in the Orkneys in Historia
Norvegiœ (Pálsson 1965).
The different versions of Landnámabók, Sturlubók, written in the 13th century and
Hauksbók, in the 14th century, both mention papar in accounts based in part on íslend-
ingabók with omissions and additions. From careful analysis of these sources the author
concludes that the account in Islendingabók is the original onc with all the other Norse
sources claiming some link with it and hardly adding anything to it. The question still
remains as to how reliable íslendingabók is as a source. The central Irish source is Dicuils
De mensura orbis terrae, written in 825.
Chapter 3. Early Christian remains in Ireland and on the Scottish Isles.
At the time of Norse settlement the islands north of Scotland were inhabited by the
Picts, who, it is generally agreed, were convcrtcd to Christianity by the Ccltic church,
more precisely from Iona, close to the ycar 600. Thcrc are several sites in this area which
in one way or another might be linked to the early church, although very few of them
have been investigated. One of these is the Brough of Deerness, located on a headland off
thc eastern coast of Mainland in thc Orkneys. Hcrc a small chapel, surroundcd by a
numbcr of rectangular structures of varying sizes, was cxcavated and shown to have two
phases. In an intermediate phase, not of ecclesiástical character, a lOth century coin was
found. Extensive excavations have also been carricd out at the Brough ofBirsay, a headland
off the western coast of Mainland, an important Norse site, wherc Earl Thorfinn built his
palacc and Cathcdral in the llth ccntury. The traditional interpretation of both thcse sitcs
as early Christian monasteries is now being questioned in light of the recent investigati-
ons.
Several place-namcs including the papa or othcr Christian clcment, such as Papil on
Burra, Papa Westray, Papa Stour and Eynhallou’, have bccn linkcd with monastcrics or
hermitages, but in most cases no remains have been found. Thc survey in this chapter
gives some idea of the nature of early Christian sites, for which parallels might bc looked
for in rcmains of early Christianity in Iceland, but more invcstigations arc nccdcd.
Chapter 4. Building remains on Papey.
The place-names of greatest interest, so far as the possiblc prcsence of Irish monks on
Papcy is conccrncd, arc írskuhólar (Irish knolls) and Papatœttur (Papa-ruins). írskuhólar are
several naturally formed knolls to the south of the farm. At the largest of these the ruin
of a small hut, thought to have served as a sheep-hut, was found. Papatættur consists of