Scandinavian Scotland

Viking influence in the area commenced in the late 8th century, and hostility between the Scandinavian earls of Orkney and the emerging thalassocracy of the Kingdom of the Isles, the rulers of Ireland, Dál Riata and Alba, and intervention by the crown of Norway were recurring themes.

There are various competing theories that have addressed the early colonisation process, although it is clear that the Northern Isles were the first to be conquered by Vikings and the last to be relinquished by the Norwegian crown.

The obliteration of pre-Norse names in the Hebrides and Northern Isles, and their replacement with Norse ones was almost total although the emergence of alliances with the native Gaelic speakers produced a powerful Norse–Gael culture that had wide influence in Argyll, Galloway and beyond.

[27] Genetic studies show that Shetlanders have almost identical proportions of Scandinavian matrilineal and patrilineal ancestry, suggesting that the islands were settled by both men and women in equal measure.

[32] Essentially a variant of the earldom hypothesis, there is little archaeological evidence in its favour,[24] although it is clear that extensive Viking incursions on the Irish coasts were supported by a presence of some kind in the Hebrides, even if the date the latter became prominent is far from certain.

[34] Excavations at Norwick on the island of Unst in Shetland indicate that Scandinavian settlers had reached there, perhaps as early as the mid-7th century, consistent with dates produced for Viking levels at Old Scatness.

Sigurd Eysteinsson and Thorstein the Red moved on northern Scotland, conquering large areas variously described in the sagas as constituting all of Caithness and Sutherland and possibly including territory in Ross and even Moray during the last decade of the 9th century.

Thorfinn Torf-Einarsson married into the native aristocracy and his son, Skuli Thorfinnsson, is recorded as having sought the support of the King of Scots in the 10th century in pursuing his claim as mormaer of Caithness.

[95][96] It is, however, known that Hebrides were taxed using the Ounceland system and evidence from Bornais suggests that settlers there may have been more prosperous than families of a similar status in the Northern Isles, possibly due to a more relaxed political regime.

[99] Rubha an Dùnain, today an uninhabited peninsula to the south of the Cuillin hills on Skye, contains the small Loch na h-Airde, which is connected to the sea by a short artificial canal.

On the mainland coast there is cluster of Norse place names around Largs and an ornate silver brooch was found on a hillside near Hunterston that is of likely 7th-century Irish origin but with a 10th-century runic inscription.

[105] The Isle of Man (which was absorbed into Scotland from 1266 until the 14th century) was dominated by the Norse–Gaels from an early date and from 1079 onwards by the Crovan dynasty as attested by the Chronicles of Mann and evidenced by the numerous Manx runestones and Norse place names.

[94][108] In Wester Ross most of the Gaelic names that exist on the coastline today are of likely Medieval rather than pre-Norse origin[109] and a now-lost charter refers to the mainland village of Glenelg opposite Skye as having been in the possession of the king of Man.

This term was variously used in succeeding centuries to refer to individuals of mixed Scandinavian-Celtic descent and/or culture who became dominant in west and south-west Scotland, parts of northern England and the isles.

Dunnottar was taken during the reign of Domnall mac Causantín[121] and the Orkneyinga saga records an attack on the Isle of May, by Sweyn Asleifsson and Margad Grimsson: They sailed south off Scotland until they came to Máeyar.

The second phase involved the integration of these settlers into organised political structures of which the most prominent in the early part were the earls of Orkney in the north[123] and the Uí Ímair in the south.

[124] The imposition of direct Norwegian rule at the end of this century brought this to a close in the north and unusually, from c. 1100 onwards the Norse jarls of the Northern Isles owed allegiance both to Norway for Orkney and to the Scottish crown through their holdings as earls of Caithness.

Furthermore, two records in the Annals of Innisfallen may suggest that the Western Isles were not "organised into a kingdom or earldom" at this time but rather that they were "ruled by assemblies of freeholders who regularly elected lawmen to preside over their public affairs".

The kingdom was than sundered due to the actions of Somerled whose sons inherited the southern Hebrides whilst the Manx rulers held on to the "north isles" for another century.

[138][139] Thus it is clear that although there were competing factions in play, the Hebrides and islands of the Clyde were essentially under the control of rulers of Scandinavian origin from "at least the late tenth century"[140] until the emergence of the kingdom of Scotland and its 13th-century expansion into the west.

[13][Note 10] Following the intervention of Somerled and his death at the Battle of Renfrew the Kings of the Isles were weakened relative to the Scottish state, but more than 150 years later Norway intervened again, this time unsuccessfully.

Following Haakon Haakonarson's ill-fated invasion and the stalemate of the Battle of Largs the Hebrides and Mann and all rights that the Norwegian crown "had of old therein" were yielded to the Kingdom of Scotland as a result of the 1266 Treaty of Perth.

[167] An influx of Scottish entrepreneurs helped to create a diverse and independent community that included farmers, fishermen and merchants that called themselves Communitas Orchadensis and who proved themselves increasingly able to defend their rights against their feudal overlords, be they Norwegian or Scots.

It took place at an early date, although the popular image of marauding berserkers and of the Norse as "enemies of social progress" remains[174] despite considerable evidence that in their latter phase the Norse-speaking populations were rather "enlightened practitioners of maritime commercial principles".

[179] Amongst the best known figures are Gormflaith ingen Murchada, Gunnhild Gormsdóttir, Aud the Deep-Minded[180] and Ingibjörg, the daughter of Earl Hakon Paulsson and wife of King Olaf Godredsson.

[181] The iconic Lewis chessmen are the best-known treasure trove and numerous finds of grave goods, including brooches and weaponry[182] such as the Scar boat burial, are well documented.

[184] Norse and Viking colonisations and settlements have made an impression on peripheral Scotland, the evidence for which can be found in place names, language, genetics and other aspects of cultural heritage.

[185] The Scandinavian influence in Scotland was probably at its height in the mid-11th century[186] during the time of Thorfinn Sigurdsson, who attempted to create a single political and ecclesiastical domain stretching from Shetland to Man.

[193] Clan MacNeacail of Skye also claim Norse ancestry,[194] and occasional references are made to the idea of Scotland joining "the Nordic circle of nations" in modern political debate.

By comparison to the Roman occupations of Scotland the Norse kingdoms were much longer lived, more recent and had a significantly more dramatic influence on spoken language and by extension culture and lifestyles generally.