Date/Time
Date(s) - Thu 8th May, 2025
7:30pm - 9:00pm
The Lost Voices of Orkney
All too often the story of Britain’s pre-modern past seems one of kings and queens, generals and prime ministers, and the world viewed from corridors of power in Edinburgh or London. How can we hear the voices, and learn the concerns, of ordinary folk, when we are forced to rely on fragmentary sources seldom created with their perspectives in mind? Drawing from his work on Orkney – a place long considered peripheral to the ‘real’ history of Scotland and Britain – historian Peter Marshall seeks to answer that question. The attempt involves rethinking our sense of what is historically significant, and extracting meaning from the perplexing evidence of witch trials, and the folkloric residue of trowies, selkies, fairies and fin-folk.
This 90-minute online session will comprise an informal talk, readings from Peter’s book Storm’s Edge, and a question-and-answer session.
This event is part of a series celebrating the Highland Book Prize 2024 Longlist, supported by the William Grant Foundation. You can read more about the longlist here.
Whether you’re new to writing, polishing your umpteenth draft, or simply want to try a taster of a different style, form, or genre, we’re confident you’ll enjoy and be inspired by these focused shorter masterclass and workshop sessions. All hosted by Moniack Mhor on Zoom Pro, usually with an opportunity to ask questions too.
Tutor
Peter Marshall was born and raised in Orkney, and teaches at the University of Warwick, where since 2006 he has been Professor of History. Peter researches and writes on the cultural and religious history of pre-modern Britain and Europe, and is a two-time winner of the Harold Grimm Prize for study of the Reformation. He is the author of ten books, including Beliefs and the Dead in Reformation England (short-listed for the 2003 Longman/History Today Prize), Mother Leakey and the Bishop: A Ghost Story, and Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation (winner of the 2018 Wolfson Prize). Between 2013 and 2022, Peter was editor of the English Historical Review, and in 2023-4 he served as President of the Ecclesiastical History Society. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Peter lives in Leamington Spa, but pines for the islands!
Fees
We are running this as a ‘pay as you can’ event. Please see our booking options below. By paying our standard price wherever possible you help us give people on lower incomes more opportunities to attend, thank you.
We have a limited number of free places for this event, if these are showing as not available and you need a free place to be able to access the event, please email a request to us on online@moniackmhor.org.uk, thank you.
Access
Please let us know in your booking form if you have any access requirements when working online so we can do our best to support you. For more information about access to our courses, please visit our Access page.
Terms and Conditions
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