April 16th. St. Magnus.

St. Magnus came from the Orkney Islands, and was born in about 1075, son of one of the two Viking rulers of the Orkneys. His early life was spent in piracy, but he was then converted to Christianity. Captured by the King of Norway, he was compelled to take part in pirate raids on the west coast of Britain, but on one occasion, in Anglesey, he refused to join in and stayed on his boat reading the Psalms. This should have brought about his death, but he contrived to escape and make his way to the court of the King of Scotland, Malcolm III, where he lived as a penitent. Later he was to return to the Orkneys and set about sharing the government of the islands with his cousin, Haakon. His cousin’s henchmen ended this arrangement by murdering him, and he died praying for his killers. He is the patron of the Orkney and Shetland Islands and the North of Scotland, and his relics were rediscovered in St. Magnus’ Cathedral, Kirkwall, during rebuilding in 1919. There is also a church dedicated to him near London Bridge. Tradition has it that he appeared to Robert the Bruce on the eve of the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) and promised him a victory.