author
Alfred Wintle Johnston
Best known for a focused study of the Northern Isles, this early 20th-century writer explored how Norse and Gaelic influences shaped Orkney and Shetland. His work has endured as a compact, thoughtful contribution to local history.
1 Audiobook
Orkney and Shetland Folk 872-1350
by Alfred Wintle Johnston
About the author
Alfred Wintle Johnston was an author and historical researcher associated with Orkney. A family memoir published in The New Orcadian states that he was born at Orphir House, Orkney, on September 25, 1859, and died in Welwyn Garden City on February 19, 1947.
He is known today for Orkney and Shetland Folk 872-1350, a study of the peoples of Orkney and Shetland during the Norse earldom and the later Gaelic period. The book examines ancestry, naming, and cultural change in the islands, and it remains the work most clearly linked to his name in major public-domain and books databases.
Johnston’s writing is especially appealing to listeners who enjoy concise, research-driven history with a strong sense of place. Rather than telling a broad national story, he focused on the long, layered history of the Northern Isles and the communities that shaped them.