Martin S. Laird

Artist | film-maker | animator

Tag: Scottish history

  • Maddad and Maddadson

    Portrait of Mormaer Matad of Atholl with his son, the infant Earl Harald Maddadson of Orkney. Charcoal drawing by Orcadian artist Martin Laird.

    Written by

    Martin Laird
    Mormaer Matad of Atholl with Earl Harald Maddadson. Charcoal portrait by Martin Laird showing the infant Earl playing board games and wielding a large knife while his father makes a mad face wearing a horned woollen hat.

  • Another Earl Murdered

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    Another Earl Murdered This illustration was created for an Orkney News article about the famed 11th Century Orcadian, Earl Thorfinn the Mighty. Thorfinn’s advisor Thorkell Fosterer murdered rival Earl Einar Wrymouth by stabbing him with a sword and then pushing him into the fireplace after a feast. An Icelandic warrior named Hallvard then pulled him…

    Written by

    Martin Laird
    Thorkell Forester, advisor to Thorfinn the Mighty, stabs Earl Einar and throws him into the fire.