THE STRANGER-GAELS : A look at Norse influence in the northern Highlands and Islands of Scotland
It is important to to note that, from about the mid-9th century until 1266, much of the northern mainland and outer isles of Celtic Scotland had fallen to Norse control. Vikings from Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark) had appeared first as raiders and pirates in search of plunder, but later came as settlers.
Norsemen largely dominated what are now Caithness, Sutherland and a great portion of what would become Ross (later Ross-shire). Along with the Orkney and Shetland Isles, these lands formed part of the earldom of Orkney, initially ruled by powerful Norwegian jarls (earls) on behalf of the kings of Norway.
From the time of Kenneth MacAlpin (844-858) successive Scottish kings struggled continuously to annex these northern lands to Scotland. For a while, at least until annexation became a reality, there existed a kind of diplomatic ‘understanding’ between the kings of Scots and the Orkney jarls. Indeed a daughter of King Malcolm II (1005-1034) married Sigurd II., Jarl of Orkney.
Read the full article by Calum Curamach (originally published in MacFarlane’s Lantern No. 128, December 2013) by clicking on the link below.
