# How Orkney became the centre of Viking Age violence Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/historyextra-podcast-746104/how-orkney-became-the-centre-of-viking-age-violence Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/historyextra-podcast-746104/how-orkney-became-the-centre-of-viking-age-violence.md Podcast: [HistoryExtra podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/historyextra-podcast-746104) Published: 2026-05-24T23:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR8078174959.mp3 Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR8078174959.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/historyextra-podcast-746104/episodes/how-orkney-became-the-centre-of-viking-age-violence Duration seconds: 2510 ## Resource For much of the Viking Age, the Orkney archipelago served as a vibrant hub of Norse activity. But these islands were also plagued by violence, not least between the Earls of Orkney themselves, as they vied for control. Speaking to James Osborne about her new translation of the Saga of the Earls of Orkney, Judith Jesch traces these centuries of conflict, and shares her insights into what they tell us about the Norse peoples who lived there. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST For more stories from the Vikings, listen to our episode with Jackson Crawford, speaking about his translation of the Poetic Edda: https://bit.ly/4mOHZDS Or check out our episode with Emily Lethbridge, reflecting on the life of Aud the Deep-Minded: https://bit.ly/41Ro9y9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/historyextra-podcast-746104/episodes/how-orkney-became-the-centre-of-viking-age-violence/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/historyextra-podcast-746104/how-orkney-became-the-centre-of-viking-age-violence.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.