'With a good boat under me': St Magnus and the Ladykirk Stone

Willie Thomson’s paper on The Ladykirk Stone was published in volume two of the New Orkney Antiquarian Journal. In his paper Thomson ‘disentangles the legends’ and ‘discusses the implications of the inauguration stone’s location at St Mary’s Church in Burwick’. This paper follows on from Thomson’s 2002 article by further examining the relationship between the Ladykirk Stone and St Magnus, Orkney’s patron saint. In doing so, it also draws on Thomson’s 2003 article on St Magnus, published in Northern Studies. This research is part of a wider project investigating the cultural remains of St Magnus gathering and analysing tangible and intangible evidence to broaden understanding of the veneration of Magnus in Orkney from his martyrdom in c.1117 to recent times.