A friend from university challenged me to write a story on a what if story; What if Margaret the maid of Norway lived. So being a conisiure of both history and sci-fi, the story I eventually wrote was about two time travelers hoping to experience William Wallace's revolt. But mess up up the date and place and it all culminates in saving the young would-be queen.
Upon reviewing my work, the lack of knowledge in this era was as clear as day.
So what could the two Chrononauts expect in their unexpected journey?
I recommend that you look for a copy of Bo Almqvist, edited by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne and Séamas Ó Catháin, Viking Ale: Studies on Folklore Contacts between the Northern and the Western Worlds (Aberystwyth: Boethius, 1991). He argues that medieval Orkney was something of a 'Venice of the North'. It was a mercantile center that reached out to Scandinavia, Britain, Ireland, and Iceland. Medieval Orkney was at a maritime crossroads that gave made it cosmopolitan and wealthy.
Hi there - we're happy to approve your question related to your story, and we are happy for people to answer. However, we should warn you that many flairs have become reluctant to answer questions for aspiring fiction writers, based on past experience: some aspiring writers have a tendency to try to pump historians for trivia while ignoring the bigger points they were making, while others have a tendency to argue with historians when the historical reality does not line up with what's needed for a particular scene or characterization. Please respect the answers of people who have generously given you their time, even if it's not always what you want to hear.
Additionally, as amazing as our flair panel is, we should also point out that /r/AskHistorians is not a professional historical consultation service. If you're asking a question here because you need vital research for a future commercial product such as a historical novel, you may be better off engaging a historical consultant at a fair hourly rate to answer these questions for you. We don't know what the going rate for consultancy work would be in your locality, but it may be worth looking into that if you have in-depth or highly plot-reliant questions for this project. Some /r/AskHistorians flairs could be receptive to working as a consultant in this way. However, if you wish for a flair here to do this work for you, you will need to organize this with them yourselves.