#scandanavia

In the far north, a boy confronts the Mountain King. Illustration by Frank C. Papé.

"How Sampo Lappelill Saw the Mountain King." The diamond fairy book. 1897?

-He is a man that likes to switch things up

-Some days he likes it rough and on other days he likes it gentle

-He also likes to switch with you. He not only likes to be on top of you, but he loves it so much when you are riding him

-If you are giving him your virginity, he is very gentle and loving the whole time and makes sure that you are okay the entire time

-He loves every single part of you and makes sure that you know it

-He always tells you how beautiful you are.

-And let me tell you he loves dirty talk. He cannot go without it. He even loves to tease you when you both are doing other things outside of the house

-He loves to tease you and make you needy for him

Cloudy, yet warm day in Scandanavia

Sweden

In the winter of 1206, Norway was caught in a long civil war.

A baby named Håkon was in danger because he was the true heir to the throne.

Two warriors from the Birkebeiner knew they had to save him.

A snowstorm was raging, but they strapped on their skis and started their journey.

One warrior led the way with a spear.

The other held the baby close under his shield.

The cold was brutal.

The mountains were steep.

The risk was high.

But they refused to stop.

Because of their courage, the baby survived.

He later became King Håkon and helped bring peace to Norway.

On 8th September 1468 the Northern Isles were mortgaged to Scotland for 8,000 florins as part of the marriage agreement between the future James III and Princess Margrethe of Denmark.

Following the Battle of Largs, in 1263, and the loss of the Western Isles as a result of the Treaty of Perth, in 1266, Orkney and Shetland were the only part of what is now Scotland to remain in Norwegian hands.

But although the islands were still officially under Norse rule, the control Scottish Earls had over Orkney was on the increase.

This culminated in the appointment of Henry Sinclair, Earl of Roslin to the Earldom in 1379, and heralded changes in the ownership of land and the gradual break-up of the Norse systems of tenure.

The Earldom of Orkney was held for the Norwegian (and later Danish) Crown until 1468, at which time the impoverished Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, gave Orkney to the Scottish Crown as part of a marriage agreement with King James III.

The Scottish king was to marry Christian's daughter, Margaret, and by this agreement Orkney was held as a pledge, redeemable by the payment of 50,000 Rhenish Florins.

At the end of the first year the payment had not been forthcoming so Shetland was pledged for a further 8,000 Florins.

Two years later, Christian had still not made the payment so the Earldom of Orkney and Lordship of Shetland were annexed to the Scottish Crown.

As the years passed, the Scottish influence over the islands grew and gradually the Norse way of life and language slipped away. By the late 17th century the variant of the Norse language of Orkney - Norn - was spoken only by the inhabitants of one or two remote parishes.

In 1564, Mary Queen of Scots gifted the Royal Estates in Orkney and Shetland to one Robert Stewart - her half-brother and natural son of James V. Thus began the tyranny of the Stewart line - traditionally hailed as Orkney's darkest years.

Robert Stewart's acquisition, and subsequent "handling" of the islands, was documented as followed:

View of Kullen in Sweden. Smugglers hide their goods among the rocks. Moonlight