Note 301 — Chapter XXXVI · OF EARL MAGNUS.

Egilsey, in Jo. Ben’s description of the Orkneys (1529) called “Insularum Ecclesia,” is regarded by Munch as deriving its name not from the Norse proper name Egil, but from the Irish Eaglais, a church. “To this day,” he says, “Egilsey contains a church shown by its construction to have been built before the Northmen arrived in Orkney, or at all events to belong to the more ancient Christian Celtic population. (See under “Egilsey” in the Introduction).