Between the Cracks: A Socio-historical Context of the Runic Inscriptions of Maes Howe, Orkney.

Abstract

The Maeshowe passage tomb (also known as Orkhaugr) is a Neolithic chambered burial monument, constructed ca. 3000 BC. It is located on Mainland Orkney, Scotland, and contains over thirty Old Norse inscriptions, most of an informal nature. This thesis attempts to determine the significance of these inscriptions within the context of social and historical developments in Scandinavian Orkney. It attempts to analyse their significance to Norse settlers, as the tomb is, for example, mentioned in the Norse Orkneyinga Saga (ca. 1230, based on oral tradition). The linguistic significance of the inscriptions is then considered, by examining the inscriptions, finding possible translations of the runes, and comparing the inscriptions to other runic evidence found in Orkney and the British Isles in general. Finally, an attempt is made to interpret the Maeshowe inscriptions by placing them within the socio-historical framework established in the first part of the thesis; by whom were they made, when did this occur and for what possible reasons?