Lindisfarne: The Cradle Island

by Magnus Magnusson

Lindisfarne has captured the imagination of visitors and residents alike for decades. Also know as 'Holy Island', the rich and eventful history of the area is explored in great depth in this fascinating account. The author takes us on a journey to 'the cradle island' - the ancient shrine of Celtic Christianity - to reveal the treasures of the island. He tells the story of people and nature from the beginning to the present day, exploring the natural history and archaeology of the region.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1984

About the author

Magnus Magnusson, KBE, was an Icelandic television presenter, journalist, translator and writer. He was born in Iceland but lived in Scotland for almost all of his life, although he never took British citizenship. He came to prominence as a BBC television journalist, and was best known as the presenter of the BBC television quiz programme Mastermind, which he hosted for 25 years.

Under Icelandic naming conventions, his name would have been Magnús Sigursteinsson (Magnús, son of Sigursteinn), but his family adopted British naming conventions and he took his father's surname. Although born in Reykjavík, Magnusson grew up in Edinburgh, where his father, Sigursteinn Magnússon, was the Icelandic consul.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moves from history to natural history without missing a step

I thought that this would be an erudite but dispassionate history of Holy Isle but I was wrong; the author's love of history and natural history shines through and he moves from one to the other with ease.
His knowledgeable grasp of 1st millennium European culture and ornithology are especially noticeable whilst, as an Icelander, his cultural affinity with story telling; grand narratives and epic poetry makes this book a very readable 1500 year history. On the other hand, my one minor quibble is that the same cultural loyalties also show through in his reading of the C8th "viking" invasions, where he quite rightly questions the validity and objectivity of one famous account but then goes on to use the same source unquestioningly as an authority on other subjects!

[Nicola Hawkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good and very readable mix of history and wildlife and island characterization. Having just had a week in Northumberland, with a couple of short trips to Holy Island I found this good at evoking the turbulent past of this tiny outpost of Christianity as well as describing the recent history and differing points of view of the islanders. Perhaps it was a little confusing with all those Celtic names, but the stories of Aidan and Cuthbert were lovely.