Impact and Influence The Vikings and Scotland · PDF fileThe Vikings and Scotland ......

The RSE: Educational Charity & Scotland’s National Academy22-26 George Street

EdinburghEH2 2PQ

e-mail: [email protected]. 0044 (0)131 240 5000Minicom: (0)131 240 5009

www.royalsoced.org.uk

Report of a Conferenceorganised by

The Royal Society of Edinburgh

20-22 September 2006

The Vikings and Scotland -Impact and Influence

Theoyal ocietyR S

of Edinburgh

This volume is dedicated to the memory of Dr Magnus Magnusson HonKBE FRSE12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007

This was the last occasion when Magnus was able to address a major public occasion. He was a man ofmany parts: TV presenter, public servant, scholarly translator of the sagas. He insisted on this occasionthat he was ‘’just a story-teller’’, and with his accustomed magic, he held the audience in the palm of hishand. Despite his obvious frailty, we did not guess how soon the RSE was to lose one of its mostdistinguished Fellows.

Organisation

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, founded in 1857, is a non-governmental, nation-wide, andinterdisciplinary body which embraces all fields of learning. The Academy has 219 ordinary seats for Norwegianmembers and 183 additional seats for foreign members. The Academy is divided into two divisions, one forthe natural sciences and one for the humanities and social sciences. Each division is subdivided into sectionsfor the constituent disciplines. The board of the Academy consists of 9 members, including the President,Vice-President and Secretary General as well as the Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen, and Secretaries of the twodivisions. The Academy also has a small secretariat headed by a Director of Finance and Administration.

Functions

The main purpose of the Academy is the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. It provides anational forum of communication within and between the various learned disciplines, and it representsNorwegian science vis-á-vis foreign academies and international organisations. The Academy fulfils thesefunctions by initiating and supporting research projects, by organising meetings and seminars on topics ofcurrent interest, by publishing scientific and scholarly works, and by participating in and nominatingrepresentatives to various national and international scientific bodies. The Academy also has internationalscientific co-operation agreements with sister academies in the Baltic states, Poland, Hungary and France.

The Academy represents Norwegian research internationally in the “International Council for Science” (ICSU),including its many sub-organisations, and in the “Union Académique Internationalé” (UAI), the “EuropeanScience Foundation” (ESF) and “ALLEA” (All European Academies).

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ................................................................................. 2

The Vikings and Scotland: Impact and Influence ..................................... 4

Appendix One: Programme.......................................................................28

Appendix Two: Speakers’ Biographies......................................................31

Appendix Three: Participant List .............................................................35

Rapporteur: Dr Andrew Heald

The Vikings and Scotland - Impact and Influence: 20-22 September 2006

© The Royal Society of Edinburgh: February 2007

ISBN: 978 0 902198 20 3

Requests to reproduce all or part of this document, larger print versions or more copies, should besubmitted to:

The Communications DepartmentThe Royal Society of Edinburgh

22-26 George StreetEdinburghEH2 2PQ

e-mail: [email protected]: 0044 (0)131 240 5000

Minicom: 0044 (0)131 240 5009


Cover images of Scar Plaque courtesy of Historic Scotland


2

The Royal Society of Edinburgh and theNorwegian Academy of Science and Letters

wish to acknowledge the support of

The National Museums of Scotland

Historic Scotland

The Royal Norwegian Consulate General

The Strathmartine Trust

Cover images of Scar Plaque courtesy of Historic Scotland

20-22 September 2006 The Vikings and Scotland: Impact and Influence

3

and thank the Organising Committee:

Professor Hans BarstadProfessor of Hebrew and Old Testament Studies, School of Divinity

University of Edinburgh

Professor David Breeze FRSEChief Inspector of Ancient Monuments, Historic Scotland

Lia BrennanEvents Officer, The Royal Society of Edinburgh

Róisín Calvert-ElliottEvents Manager, The Royal Society of Edinburgh

Dr David ClarkeKeeper of Archaeology, National Museums of Scotland

Dr Barbara Crawford FRSEHonorary, Director,

Strathmartine Centre for Research and Education in Scottish History

Mr Bjørn EilertsenConsul, Royal Norwegian Consulate General

Professor Rona MacKie FRSEFormer International Convener, The Royal Society of Edinburgh


4

INTRODUCTION

At the end of the 8th century AD, longships arrived offthe coasts of Britain and Ireland carrying Viking warriorsfrom the North. Historical texts suggest that their primarypurpose was to raid and plunder - writers document raidson, for example, Lindisfarne in 793, ‘all the islands inBritain’ (probably the Hebrides) in 794 and both RathlinIsland and the Isle of Skye in 795. This associationbetween Vikings and terror is the canvas on to whichmany pictures of the Viking period are painted, aperception perpetuated by the modern media. But theseScandinavian peoples had a longer-lasting and far-widerimpact on Britain and Ireland. Ambitious for power,looking for land to settle and trade routes to dominate,they took certain areas of Britain and Ireland, drawingthese regions into the Viking world, a domain whichstretched from Newfoundland to the Middle East andbeyond. Certain areas of Britain and Ireland, particularlythe Atlantic regions – so often regarded as remote andperipheral in today’s society – were at the centre of thismaritime world. The Vikings were warriors first andforemost, but also farmers, skilled craftspeople,storytellers, historians and traders. At first pagan, theylater succumbed to Christianity.

At the beginning of the Viking Age c.800 A.D., Scotlandwas divided into four ethnic groups (Britons, English, Gaelsand Picts) or three major political units (Northumbria,Pictland and Strathclyde), comprising an untold numberof kingdoms and lordships. In the ebb and flow of almostfive centuries Scandinavian, British, Gaelic and Angliancultures mingled and clashed. But what was the realimpact and influence on these pre-existing societies andwhat effects did they have on what was to becomeScotland?

Scholars have been pondering such questions for centuriesbut many remain unanswered. Almost every aspect hasproven contentious: when exactly did it happen, wheredid it happen, and how many people did it involve? Wasthere contact between the two regions prior to the 8th

century? Did the indigenous and migrant groups integrateor did the invaders overwhelm and annihilate the natives?What was the impact on the Christian Church? Did theVikings really play a pivotal role in the creation ofScotland? The Viking story relative to Scotland is not asimple one. The evidence – be it historical, linguistic orarchaeological – is scant and varied. Further, any studentof Viking history really has to be aware of all the sourceswhich can contribute to our understanding. Manyapproaches to some of these fundamental questions havebeen broad-brush, resulting in generalist statements andconclusions. Recent work suggests that if we are ever toreach a fuller understanding of this critical period inScotland’s history we require far closer analysis of thedata.

But of one thing there is no doubt. The Vikings are a

popular topic, in schools, on television, in tourism; andas a subject for conferences such as the present one forwhich The Royal Society of Edinburgh and the NorwegianAcademy of Science and Letters brought together theforemost academic scholars and researchers fromScotland, Ireland, England, Norway and Denmark topresent their own assessments of the nature of the Vikingimpact and its consequences on the political, cultural,economic, linguistic and genetic make-up of the countryof Scotland which emerged in the post-Viking Age. Thescope and theme of the Conference was monumentaland encompassed a wide and diverse range of disciplinesrelative to the topic, including history, place-names,literature, linguistics, and archaeology. This varied, andoften problematic, body of evidence has been thefoundation for interpretations of Viking Scotland forcenturies. But the evidential and interpretative pool isnow enhanced by genetics, a key contribution to thefield of early population history and one which may playan important role in future consideration of the impactof the Scandinavian invaders on Scotland. This reportsummarises the main presentations and the conclusionsof the Conference.

The President of The Royal Society of Edinburgh SirMichael Atiyah (OM FRS PRSE HonFREngHonFMedSci HonFFA) opened the Conference bywelcoming the delegates and audience on behalf of theco-organisers of the conference, The Royal Society ofEdinburgh (RSE) and The Norwegian Academy ofScience and Letters (NASL). Following a note of thanksto the organisations and individuals who organised theconference, particularly Dr Barbara Crawford(Strathmartine Centre for Research and Education inScottish History, St Andrews) and Dr David Clarke(National Museums of Scotland), Sir Michael outlinedhow this conference fitted in well with the RSE’s andNASL’s current exchange programme. He also identifiedthe strong cultural, historical, economic and social linksbetween the two institutions and, more generally thecountries of Scotland and Norway. Sir Michael thenwelcomed the Norwegian Minister for Education andResearch, Øystein Djupedal, who stressed that althoughthe initial relationships between Norwegians and theindigenous populations of Scotland in the 8th century werenot amicable, the subsequent process of interaction,co-operation and learning created strong relationshipsbetween the two nations, relationships that are still strongtoday.

Professor Christopher Smout (Emeritus Professor,Institute of Environmental History, University of StAndrews) introduced the Opening Evening lecturerMagnus Magnusson Hon KBE FRSE who presentedThe Vikings in Scotland: The Northern World and itsSignificance for Scotland. In a conference that aimed toassess the impact and influence of the Vikings on Scotlandit was fitting that the symposium should be opened by ascholar who has devoted a large part of his life to the


5

topic. In his informative and entertaining lecture DrMagnusson outlined the swathe of scholarly approachesand methodologies utilised in the pursuit of understandingthe Viking period throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st

centuries, and the different interpretations that emergedfrom them. In this opening lecture, and the discussionthat followed, it was fitting that many of the issues raisedwould provide the foundations for the whole conference.Were the Vikings saints or sinners? Heroes or villains?Settlers or invaders? Raiders or traders? Pillagers or poets?’Dr Magnusson believed that we were getting nearer toanswering some of these questions, mainly through thework of scholars who would be presenting over thefollowing days. Ending his lecture he admitted that hefound great solace in remembering that in a time whenGhengis Khan was trying to subjugate the western worldby the sword, Snorri Sturluson in his lonely study in thesouth of Iceland was trying to subjugate the northernworld by the power of the word. This allusion epitomisedthe power of the academic conference, and the studiesthat followed.

The two-day conference was divided into four sections:Raids and Impacts; Settlement, Trade and MaritimeImpact; Language and Literary Culture; and Political andReligious Development. Each section comprised fourlectures, the speakers asked to speak on specific topicsby the conference committee. Historical texts played animportant part, particularly the Irish annals and Gaelicliterature and nomenclature which have hidden withinthem evidence for the Scandinavian impact on Celticareas. The later Latin and Icelandic sources, whichcomprise further ‘historical’ evidence for the subject, alsoplayed a key role. The place-names which have becomeimprinted on the landscape of the Northern and WesternIsles, the north mainland of Scotland and scatteredthroughout the Lowlands and Borders, formed anothercrucial evidential field of Scandinavian influence.Artefacts, runic inscriptions, environmental evidence,graves and settlements uncovered and studied byarchaeologists supplemented the sources. A new playerin the Viking discipline – genetics – also took centre stage.

RAIDS AND IMPACT

Sir Michael Atiyah welcomed everyone to the first day ofthe conference and introduced the President of theNorwegian Academy of Science and LettersProfessor Ole Didrik Laerum. Professor Laerum statedthat the conference represented a milestone in the studyof the relationships between Scotland and Norway, goingon to say that Norwegians view Scotland as having aspecial position, both in its history and in several scientificfields.

The first session – Raids and Impacts – was chaired byProfessor Edward Cowan (Director of CrichtonCampus, University of Glasgow). Two of the lecturesdealt with the impact on the Christian Church in northern

Britain and Ireland.

The first lecture by Professor David Dumville (Chair inHistory, Palaeography and Celtic, Department ofHistory, University of Aberdeen) studied the Impacton the Christian Church and laid a solid foundation forthe remaining conference. Immediately, some of the keyissues were confronted head on, in particular appropriateterminologies, methodologies, sources and chronologies.

Professor Dumville focused on our choice of language,arguing that labels such as ‘Scotland’, ‘the Norse’, ‘theVikings’, ‘the Danes’, ‘the Norwegians’ and so forth oftencarry specific connotations, geographies and/or social,economic and political associations which can mislead.For example, not all Scandinavians were Vikings. Andwhat does ‘Scotland’ mean in the Viking age? It has afar different history and complexion than the Scotlandwe recognise today. If we are to progress, ProfessorDumville argued, then we need to break free from modernboundaries and concepts.

With this in mind Professor Dumville highlighted howother aspects of our studies can be influenced by modernviews. In an age when we are continually asked toapologise for our national ancestors’ wickednesses thereis a tendency to view the impact of the Vikings fromopposing positions. On the one hand we can deny the‘wickedness’ of the Vikings and whitewash the topic –Vikings become traders not raiders. Or we can tar everyother culture and present them in an equally bad light.Professor Dumville believes that this present dichotomyis not particularly useful or realistic.

Professor Dumville also intimated that we need to becautious about the chronological parameters that framethe discipline. In recent Scottish writing there is a tendencyto shrink the Viking Age, whereby the pre-Viking Agedates to around 793 and the post-Viking dates to justafter 793! This schizophrenic view of the Viking Age iscausing the very area we wish to study almost todisappear. And when does the Viking Age end? Did theVikings stop having an impact on the Christian churches?

Professor Dumville then turned his gaze to an issue thatrecurred throughout the conference – the nature of thesources on which we reconstruct the past. The sourcesare varied and influence our ability to assess many areasof the Viking world. In particular, our understandings areseverely hindered by the lack of written recordscontemporary with the initial Viking incursions. This hasled to a long-standing scholarly problem. Did Vikingactivity in the 8th / 9th century affect the survival of sources?Import a Viking and lose your written sources? It is onlyin the 12th century that good written records appear butit is an unrealistic expectation to assume that they presentclarification for events three centuries prior.

The Viking ‘impact’ on the Christian Church is assumed


6

to be damaging. But in order to assess this we obviouslyhave to understand the nature of the entity (in this casethe Church) that the Vikings were supposedly having animpact on. Many Viking studies have made assumptionsabout the nature of the social and political makeup ofpre-Viking Scotland that may need to be revised.

Despite these notes of caution, Professor Dumvilleprogressed to assess the impact on the Christian Churchin northern Britain. He adopted an approach that, again,was to recur in many of the conference papers – thestudy of another area where the evidence is more plentifulin order to create an analogy for Viking Scotland. Heoffered a window of opportunity for understanding theimpact on the Christian Church in Scotland by consideringChristianity among the Northumbrians, first by the timeof the Scandinavian conquest in the period 866-76 andthen again by the time of the incorporation of Northumbriainto the kingdom of England in 927 and once more in954.

The question of the nature of the Christian church priorto the Viking period is not an easy one to answer. Ourstudies demand an appreciation that there was a pluralityof churches and cultures and that organisation of theinnumerable churches scattered across northern Britainwas as complex as the ethnic and political landscape inwhich they practised. One model will not fit all.

Professor Dumville’s analysis was founded on the recentstudy of the Church in Anglo-Saxon Society by John Blair.He finds Blair’s ‘Insular Monastic Model’ of use,particularly the definition that this represented aninfinitely extendable and flexible model. We know thatin the 9th-century bishoprics were interrupted, relocatedor even disappeared through Viking impact, but whilstalways appreciating regional variations, we can nowidentify seven major themes in ecclesiastical history 800to 1100:

· Laicisation of the church culture – that is, thewithdrawal of clerical or ecclesiastical characteror status from an institution or building

· Depletion of ecclesiastical settlements· Strong contrast in experience and outcomes in

eastern and western England· Gradual trend towards secularisation and

vulnerability to secular greed· Seizure of ecclesiastical estates (both by

Scandinavian settlers and local layman)· Deposition of rich small find assemblages petered

out around 850· Survival of a high proportion of pre-Viking

minsters, but often these are poorer, weaker andless diverse with the passage of time aftersuffering fundamental and traumatic change inthe Viking Age.

This study suggests that although raids had a dramaticeffect, we should not view raiding and pillaging as causingthe widespread abandonment of churches, even though

that may have occurred in some cases. Instead we shouldconsider a more fluid picture where change and effects(e.g. more impoverished, less diversity etc) play centralroles.

Professor Dumville considered whether this model, largelyderived from southern and central England, was usefulfor understanding northern Britain, particularlyNorthumbria. But before we import the model uncriticallyProfessor Dumville stressed that we first have to be awareof the political situations which may have had an effecton the area. For example, the southern expansion ofStrathclyde, the southward expansion of the Kingdom ofthe Picts after the collapse of the Northumbrian kingdomin 866/7 and the extent of Scandinavian settlement inour study area. Further, we should not downplay theimpact of the Vikings. We know that the four kingdomsof Anglo-Saxon England were all conquered, put out ofbusiness, in the space of 12 years by the Vikings. If thishappened in England in 12 years, what happened inScotland and what were the ecclesiastical consequences?

With all these issues in the melting pot, can we begin togeneralise about the impact on the Christian Church innorthern Britain?

Professor Dumville referred to historical sources that informus that in the third quarter of the 10th century, ProvostAldred came to Chester-le-Street and bought his wayinto the community. He did this by agreeing to provideintellectual and religious services which the communitycould not provide for itself. This suggests that thecommunity was not latinate and had lost its ability toread the Bible and liturgy. Dumville ponders whether thispassage suggests a decline of process of transmission ofbasic Christian learning in this area and may follow Blair’smodel for significant decline but not obliteration. Whena community was offered someone who could bringChristian learning back to the community it was eager toaccept.

There is, of course, far less contextual information forareas outwith Northumbria, but there are records of Vikingarmies settling on areas of Pictish territory and extractingtribute (e.g. 839, 864-7 – the period when England isbeginning to be conquered, and 877-8). These eventsmay have brought significant political change in their wake.In this context we have to suppose that given what weknow about the English situation, there would have beensevere effects for Church institutions.

Professor Dumville concluded by suggesting that Vikingimpact on the Christian church was unlikely to be benign– the interactions would have varied throughout thecenturies when different situations presented differentrelationships. In the future we need to ask questions whichare informed by the evidence, often from other regions.

Many of the themes introduced by Professor Dumville


7

were echoed by Dr Colmán Etchingham (Lecturer,Department of Modern History, National Universityof Ireland, Maynooth) during his lecture on the effectsof the Vikings on the Church. Although entitled Impacton Irish and Scottish Society, Dr Etchingham consideredthe impact of raiding on the Church throughout the 9th

and 10th centuries, primarily focusing on the Irish materialand using Scotland as a comparison. Concurring withProfessor Dumville, Dr Etchingham prefaced his talk byemphasising the methodological and analytical problemsinherent within our studies. In particular, he urged cautionin the use of ‘broad-brush’ narratives, arguing that theywere unlikely to produce a realistic assessment of acomplex situation. Further, whilst admitting that the Vikingraids had some impact, we should not blindly assumethat the Vikings were the main catalyst for all politicaland social change.

Dr Etchingham reiterated the problems of the sources.Much of the information is essentially historical observationand there is a clear imbalance between those relevantto Ireland and Scotland. Moreover, the historical recordsinevitably provide only a snapshot of a wider picture.The difficulties are well illustrated by the fact that manyimportant sites recently uncovered by excavation, forexample, at Tarbat, Scotland and Woodstown, Irelandare unrecorded, and presumably unknown, tocontemporary annalists. The problems are compoundedby the fact that the Vikings themselves may haveinfluenced the survival of certain sources. And there is afurther bias - there is good reason to suppose that theinterests of the annalists themselves may have influencedthe overall recording of church raiding. A gap in the recordor a blank on a map does not necessarily mean thatthere were no Viking raids. It is also important to notethat the annals deal primarily with raids on Churchsettlements; it is extremely rare to find record of raids onsecular settlements - when records relating to settlementsexist they are general statements. This does not meanthat raiding of settlements did not happen nor does itmean that the Vikings were only interested in churches.

Dr Etchingham stressed that it was very difficult, if notimpossible, to assess the impact of Viking raiding in eitherScotland or Ireland and for this reason he would be strikingan even more pessimistic note and engaging in moredeconstructionist theory than the previous speakers.Indeed, Dr Etchingham stressed that he was unable todeal with the question given to him. Instead, he suggestedthat what the discipline needs to do was clear the decksof speculative interpretation. The primary task is todescribe and assess the evidence as we have it and moveforward from there.

Dr Etchingham’s analysis of the Irish Annals allowsopportunities to assess the frequency and geographicalspread of Viking raiding in Ireland throughout the 9th and10th centuries. This suggests that between 795 and 830,raids were intermittent and largely confined to the coasts.

In the following two decades, the raids not only increasedbut also extended well into the Irish hinterland, with aparticular focus in the Shannon-Brosna basin. Around 850-880, the raids declined dramatically and contracted intheir extent. Viking raiding resumed in the middle of thesecond decade of the 10th century. The activity fluctuates,but not as markedly as in the previous century, althoughit is at a higher level in the first half of the 10th century. Inthe first half of the 10th century there is a greatergeographical spread into the Irish hinterland and in thesecond half the raids are more contracted, confinedlargely to the east of Ireland.

These patterns can be related to the broader purpose ofraiding. In the past it was assumed that ecclesiasticalmetalwork was the main stimulus for Viking raids, duelargely to the recovery of Irish Church metalwork from(mostly western) Norwegian grave deposits. However,Dr Etchingham believes that this tells us more about theburial practices of the Vikings than it does about thepurposes for their raiding. This is supported by the IrishAnnals which tell us that the Vikings wanted slaves andpeople more than metalwork, suggesting that the goldand silver bullion which has influenced our narratives wasof secondary consideration. Indeed, said bullion is notreally mentioned in the Annals until the 10th century. Asfar as we can tell, the Vikings were looking primarily forpeople.

It seems fairly clear that the purpose of raiding changeddramatically during the mid-9th century, at the point whenraiding declines and contracts. Earlier raids appear to havebeen ends in themselves, with no purpose beyondplunder. After the mid-9th century, raiding became moreselective and a deliberate tactic in a more general strategythat involved military or even political goals. In particular,indiscriminate raiding of churches declines with a morepurposeful approach to raiding selected churches. Wilfulburning of churches almost disappears from the recordafter the mid-9th century. In other words, as Vikingsbecame settlers, the purpose of raiding was adapted totheir wider political ambitions, linked to their Irishalliances. They never attack the churches of their allies;they attack their adversaries.

Some of these essentially historical observations aboutthe impact of Viking raiders in Ireland can be corroboratedfrom the archaeological record, particularly theaforementioned 9th-century Norwegian Viking graves withIrish metalwork and the increase in silver and gold bullionduring the 10th century.

Supposed major developments in Irish society have, inthe past, been attributed to the activities and impacts ofthe Vikings, but in Dr Etchingham’s mind these may bechimerical. For example, there is no evidence thatwarfare became more ruthless after the Viking incursions.Similarly, there is no definitive evidence that politicalpower became more centralised during the Viking Age.


8

The secularisation of the church has also been attributedto the Vikings but, like the previous issues, this appearsto be a cyclical process that occurs and recurs throughtime. Dr Etchingham concludes that although Viking raidstook place throughout the 9th and 10th centuries, therewere only two intense periods (830-840; 914-920). Re-iterating the point made by Professor Dumville, DrEtchingham emphasised that even during these timesthe Church or kingdoms did not succumb to bouts ofViking aggression. All in all the impact of raiding, at leastin an Irish context, seems neither to be far reaching norlong lasting.

Given the problem with the Irish records, and the resultingdistribution maps and interpretations that arise from them,what hope then for understanding the Viking impact onScotland?

Compared to the comparatively rich Irish documentaryrecord, the historian of Scotland, Dr Etchingham told theaudience, has to subsist on scraps. There are fewer thanten references to churches. This paucity is compoundedwhen we consider that these citations relate to only threesites: Iona (six entries); Dunkeld (two entries); andDunblane (one entry). Unlike Ireland, there is no databaseto even begin discussions. The indigenous chroniclers,together with the Irish annals, provide no more than afleeting glimpse of Viking activity of any kind in Scotland.They supply no solid foundation, so that little more thanconjectures are possible in response to any of the questionswe wish to ask. Most basic questions are obscure. Againechoing Professor Dumville, Dr Etchingham stressed thatbefore we can assess impact we have to address thesignificant gaps in our knowledge of the existing Churchstructure. How many significant churches were there inScotland and how many were attacked? At present wesimply do not know.

Both speakers concerned with the impact on the Churchstressed the need to understand the nature of the entityprior to the Viking incursions. In other words, we have toknow what was there before we can assess what impactthe Norse had. In the past, scholars have presented analmost unified front where the character of parts of pre-Viking northern Britain were fairly well understood. Butin recent times this comfort zone has been shaken, forcingus not only to reconsider pre-Viking Scotland but also theeffects the Norse may, or may not have had. This wasdemonstrated by Dr Dauvit Broun (Senior Lecturer,Department of History, University of Glasgow) whopresented a deconstruction of one of the most importantstandard narratives of Scotland in his lecture The Norseand the Creation of Scotland.

Dr Broun told the conference that until the last decade,the standard narrative for the creation of Scotland seemedstraightforward. It was generally agreed that Kenneth(Cinaed mac Alpín), the King of the Scotti, succeeded inthe year 843 in taking over the kingdom of the Picts.

This, it was held, resulted in a new joint kingdom of Pictsand Gaels, or Scots, which soon acquired a new nameAlba (Gaelic for Scotland). He was the first King ofScotland. In this story the issues of why the Pictscapitulated so easily and what happened to them wasoften ignored. When they were considered, the Norsewere at hand as a catalyst for this catastrophe. The Annalsof Ulster preserves a record of a battle between the Pictsand the Vikings in 839, where the heathens – the Vikings- defeated the men of Fortriu, presumed to be in andaround Strathearn and its environs. This led to a simplestoryline. That a whole Pictish dynasty and a large numberof their fighting associates were wiped out by the invadingVikings, leading to a political vacuum which Kennethwas able to fill four years later.

Dr Broun informed the audience that in very recent timesthis view has been challenged on a number of levels. Inparticular, there has been a growing unease concerningthe role of the Gaels and Kenneth mac Alpín. Thecontemporary 9th century source material, which wewould expect to record the aforementioned events, arewholly ignorant of Kenneth’s supposed achievements.Moreover, all the relevant sources convey Alba as Pictland.For example, a mid 9th-century text records that Albawas divided amongst the seven sons of Pictland. In otherwords Alba was not created in the mid-9th century as a‘union of Scots and Picts’, but was simply a Gaelic wordfor ‘Pictland’. Further, it has been suggested that Kenneth(Cinaed mac Alpín) was not of solid Gaelic stock butmay actually have been a Pict. In contrast to previousinfluential interpretations, the important assembly atScone could be viewed as an act of submission to theking of the Picts not the pronouncement of new laws bya conquering Gaelic ruler and his people. Finally, insteadof the kings of Dál Riata dominating Pictland from thereign of Custantin (obit. 820), Custantin may actuallyhave been a Pict whose dynasty dominated Dál Riata.Even more influential is Alex Woolf’s suggestion thatFortriu (the principal Pictish kingdom in our sources) waslocated elsewhere than hitherto thought. Alex Woolfargues that Fortriu is north of the Mounth, probably inand around the inner Moray Firth, and probably embracingMoray and Ross, therefore taking in the area in andaround the important church site at Portmahomack.

If all this is put together, what emerges is an increasinglypowerful Pictish kingship in the early 9th century with astrong focus in the north. In other words, there was novacuum into which Kenneth walked.

These recent thoughts have serious implications for ourunderstandings of Scottish history, let alone ourunderstandings of the impact of the Norse. In particular,it allows the question of the beginning of the Scottishkingdom to be reformulated now in terms of a radicalshift in a centre of power within northern Britain. Theview of Scotland as a south-centred kingdom whichendured throughout the Middle Ages can, therefore, be


9

defined politically as beginning at the point when Fortriuin the north ceased to be a major force. But when didthis happen and what caused the shift?

There can be little doubt that the Norse delivered a fatalblow to the Fortriu dynasty in 839 and although the menof Fortriu are recorded as defeating the Norse in 904,their subsequent decline may be associated with thegrowing influence of the Norse, particularly the Earldomof Orkney. This may be represented by the subsequentNorse takeover of lands once held by the Picts in andaround Moray and Ross. These suggestions appear to besupported by 12th- and early 13th-century documentaryevidence that indicate that Moray was no longer part ofthe established pattern of high secular and ecclesiasticalgovernance of the Scottish kingdoms. In other words,the Norse did have a significant impact on the creationof Scotland but not in the ways once traditionally thought.The very different political development of Pictland inthe Viking Age, which now brings Norse activity in Rossand Moray centre stage, suggests that we have to rethinkthe ways we interpret the Norse as catalyst.

One of the most significant advances in the study of theimpact and influence of migrant peoples across Britain inthe last decade - including the Vikings - has been in thefield of genetic studies. Put simply, analysis of certainDNA signatures can assess to what degree modernpopulations descended from specific ancestors. Byrelating these to distributions of people we can then infersuch things as population movements. In other wordsgenetic studies can illuminate who our ancestors wereand where they came from. Although brought to publicattention by the recent BBC programme Blood of theVikings Dr James Wilson (Royal Society ResearchFellow, University of Edinburgh) has been studyingthe genetic impact of the Vikings on different populationsfor many years.

In his lecture on the genetic impact of Vikings, Dr Wilsonpresented the results of his recent research with particularfocus on the Y-chromosome, a segment of DNA inheriteddown the paternal line. His discussions were founded onthe ability to recognise genetic markers, which can revealsignificant differentiation between, for example, Celtic-speakers, Norwegian, and other continental populations.This is, of course, of particular relevance to Viking studieswhere genetic types in modern day Scottish populationscan be apportioned to different ancestries in order toestimate the genetic impact of the Vikings and otherinvaders in particular places.

Dr Wilson began by outlining his results from Orkney. Inthe current literature there is a heated debate betweentwo broad schools: those who believe the Vikingsintegrated with the natives and those who believe theVikings annihilated the local population. Dr Wilson wasinterested to see whether genetics could shed light onthis complex question. Analysis of paternally-inherited

Y-chromosomes demonstrated a strong signature of Norseinfluence in Orkney and Shetland, resulting in a populationof mixed origin, that is a ‘Celtic’ and ‘Norwegian’population. Analysis of surnames takes the story further.Surnames in Orkney can be divided into an indigenouscategory (that is, endemic to the Isles) and a Scottishgroup (names that have come to Orkney from other partsof Scotland). The genetic signature of the indigenouscategory class shows very strong Viking influence whereasthe Scottish group does not. In Dr Wilson’s words, theblood of the Vikings does indeed flow strongly in Orkneytoday. Further, he believes that the genetic results fromthe indigenous group do not rule out some form of survivalof a Celtic or Pictish genetic population, but more detailedresearch is required to elucidate this point. The potentialof genetic studies was clearly shown by Dr Wilson’ssuggestion that the technique may soon be able to pointto the places in Norway where the Vikings in Orkneycame from. Current suggestions are that they may havecome from in or around Trondheim. In the future wemay even be able to pinpoint the fjord from whereparticular Vikings set sail.

But what was the impact of the Vikings in other areas?Dr Wilson extended his Y-chromosome survey to otherparts of the British Isles and the Continent (e.g. Denmark,northern Germany and the Netherlands). The resultsshowed that it was not possible to differentiate betweenthe Danes and the northern Germans, thus making itimpossible to assess the individual genetic impacts of theDanes or the Anglo-Saxons on the native Britishpopulations. The study, therefore, considered three sourcepopulations: indigenous (represented by Irish/Welsh);Danes/Anglo-Saxon (Continental); and Norse.

The survey showed that the Northern Isles stood out inhaving by far the strongest paternal Norse ancestry,followed by the Western Isles, Durness and the Isle ofMan. Areas in the Danelaw such as York and Norfolkhave the highest levels of Danish/Anglo-Saxon input.Cornwall, Oban, Pitlochry and Stonehaven have thehighest levels of indigenous signatures. The studyconcluded that the Irish and the Welsh were the paternaldescendants of the first inhabitants of the British Isles.But other parts of the Isles also have a large indigenousgenetic component. Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxoninfluence differs strongly in certain areas. Interestingly,the Dublin study group and Ireland in general showedvery little evidence for Norse blood.

Stressing that the genetic impact of the Vikings was nowclear, Dr Wilson moved on to consider other groups,beginning with the Picts and the Scots. He stressed thatthis was a difficult area and required far higher resolution.But the emerging results are extremely tantalising. DrWilson is perhaps beginning to identify ways which willmake it possible to recognise a migration of Irish peopleto Scotland at some point. Could this be the Dalriadicmovement into western Scotland in the Early Historic


10

period? Further, Dr Wilson may be recognising a putative(pre-)Pictish Y-chromosome, with a particularconcentration in eastern Scotland. We may even be ableto recognise an Anglo-Saxon signature in the future.

Genetic technology is moving at a furious pace. Our insightinto the genetic impact of migrant groups and themovements of other ancestral groups can only progressand augment our narratives. The study of genetics hasonly started to make an impact on Scottish history.

SETTLEMENT, TRADE AND MARITIME IMPACT

The second session focused on Settlement, Trade andMaritime Impact and was chaired by ProfessorChristopher Morris FRSE (Professor Emeritus ofArchaeology and former Vice-Principal (Arts-side),University of Glasgow). Settlement, trade and maritimetopics have always figured large in the archaeologicaldomain, archaeologists relying on material - be theyhouses, artefacts or fish bones - excavated from the earthto construct their narratives. By way of a scene-setterProfessor Morris outlined concepts that are current in thediscipline today, particularly the movement towards morescientific approaches, with particular emphasis on theenvironment and the landscape, and the use of absolutedating techniques. These methodologies contrastmarkedly with those used in the 19th and early 20th

centuries, the golden age of Scottish Viking archaeologywhen the majority of settlements, hoards and graves wereuncovered. In today’s 21st century discipline, there is astrong need for a multi- and intra- disciplinary approachthat encompasses a myriad of evidential fields, specialistsand thoughts. But as we shall see, at least in thearchaeology of Viking Scotland, there is still some progressto be made.

Frans-Arne Stylegar (Commissioner of Monumentsand Sites, Vest-Agder County) began the afternoonsession with his lecture Excavations at Kaupang andEvidence of Connections with the British Isles. Ninth-century historical texts record a visit from Ottar, a chieftain-trader from Northern Norway, who visited King Alfred’scourt. The text also records a trading place in Sciringesheal (Skiringssal), a port where goods were loaded andunloaded and trade and artisan activity took place. Theexact location of this site has fascinated historians andarchaeologists for centuries. Today, there is little doubtthat it was situated at Kaupang in Tjølling, in Vestfoldcounty, south-east Norway. This town is one of the mostimportant in Viking Scandinavia, comparable to Birka inSweden and Ribe in Denmark, and sits within an importantViking landscape which includes the Oseberg and Gokstadship burials and the Borre mound cemetery.

In 1850, P.A. Munch, one of the earliest and most famousNorwegian historians, discovered Kaupang when localfarmers showed him an immense amount of barrows andobjects. But even at this time, a great number of the

mounds had already been removed. When NicolayNicolaysen began his excavations in 1867, 50% of themounds had already gone. Despite this, Nicolaysenundertook a large-scale investigation of over 60 gravemounds. He uncovered a cremation cemetery, largelydated to the 10th century. Stylegar suggested thatNicolaysen was disappointed with his findings – heobviously wanted to find the Kaupang mentioned in thehistorical records, not a cremation cemetery. Hisdisappointment appears to have been carried forward tolater, smaller-scale investigations, for example by ProfessorGustafson at the turn of the century.

It was only in the late 1940s that modern excavationsbegan, led by Charlotte Blindheim. The site was a life-time passion. Blindheim started excavating in 1947 andher last publication was in 1999. She concentrated onanother cemetery, this time of inhumations, and part ofthe settlement – the so-called ‘Black Earth’ area wherecharcoal, ashes and other domestic waste from the towncoloured the soil black. During these excavations,Blindheim uncovered traces of houses and jetties andover 10,000 finds. These included Frankish pottery sherds,beads, coins, objects made of iron, lead, bronze, silverand gold, fragments of weaving equipment, spindlewhorls, finished products (e.g. cooking pots and moulds),semi-finished products and waste from soapstone(steatite) and a considerable amount of glass sherds andglass rods.

Since Blindheim’s work, Kaupang has been known as aseasonal trading site. It is clearly linked to a number ofregions right across the Viking world, through trade, giftexchange and/or political alliances. These patterns arevisible from the late 7th century onwards. Finds includedarticles exported from Norway such as soapstone vessels.Bronze objects show contact with Sweden and Arabiccoins indicate contact with Russia and the Orient. Glassand pottery illustrate Continental contacts, particularlythe Rhine area and the Frankish realm. Others reflectcontact with Britain and Ireland. The production/exchange/emporium at Kaupang may have servedregional Vestfold chieftains or kings.

In 1997, Professor Dagfinn Skre and his associates(including Mr Stylegar) undertook a new programme ofwork at Kaupang. The main aim was to gain new insightinto the connections with the local area, the hinterland,the North Sea and the Baltic. Initial fieldwalking uncoveredover 1000 Viking Age artefacts including evidence of aglass bead maker’s workshop. Excavations in another partof the Black Earth revealed plots suggesting that the sitemight actually be a much longer-lived settlement thanpreviously thought and more than just an emporium.Extensive evidence for various crafts was also recovered.

As Mr Stylegar reminded the audience, the settlementand cemetery at Kaupang creates a problem. Thesettlement appears to be over around AD900 whereasthe cemeteries continue well into the mid 10th century.An estimated 1000 burials existed, in the vicinity of which


11

205 burials have been investigated during differentcampaigns. The graves are aristocratic, and include richlyfurnished boat burials and chamber graves, and richcremation graves. One hundred and sixteen can be datedto either the 9th or 10th centuries, with dominance in the10th century. But the settlement appears to stop earlier inthe early 10th century. Further, other graves and cemeteriessituated in similar locations to Kaupang, that is, on thecoast, generally end in the 9th century. This difference,according to Mr Stylegar, marks Kaupang out as a specialplace.

Following this review of the site, Mr Stylegar discussedthe connections of Kaupang in a local, Skagerrak/Balticand North Sea perspective. In the earlier phases, both inthe settlement and the graves, the artefacts appear toderive largely from the continent, particularly Germany,Frisia and Denmark. This pattern changes in the 10th

century. The grave goods are more-or-less equallydistributed between finds from the continent, finds fromthe British Isles and Ireland, and finds from the easternworld. The speaker believes that the importance of theInsular and Western connections were overstated duringthe 1950s as was the importance of trade. Mr Stylegarbelieves that it is hard to argue today that there was aspecial connection between Kaupang and the British Isles.Such suggestions were probably linked to the politicalclimate of the 1950s where in a post-war era peoplewished to emphasise western contacts more thansouthern continental (e.g. Germanic) influences.

There can be little doubt that the rich finds assemblagefrom Kaupang accrued significant status for theinhabitants in the area. Such links between control ofprecious goods and crafts are a mainstay of Viking studieswhere wealth is associated with power and influence.

This topic was explored further by Dr James Barrett(Senior Lecturer, Department of Archaeology,University of York) in his lecture on The Pirate Fishermen:The Political Economy of ‘Saga Age’ Orkney. Heinvestigated the socio-economic system that may haveunderpinned the wealth and influence of the Earldom ofOrkney. In other words, he considered how one made aliving, particularly as an aristocrat, in Late Viking AgeOrkney. Using historical and archaeological evidence, DrBarrett attempted to address two basic questions. First,was the Earldom of Orkney as wealthy as is sometimesassumed? Secondly, if so, what were the social andeconomic bases of this wealth and how did these factorschange over time? Dr Barrett’s main hope was to separatethe mythology from the reality of Orkney’s golden age.

According to Dr Barrett there are four attributes to apolitical economy: political power (e.g. who you know;or who you are associated with – kinship etc); economicpower; ideological power (ideas that justify the ways thingsare, such as religion or ritual); and military power. Inconsidering how these four aspects changed through time

Dr Barrett considered three epochs (10th, 11th and 12th

centuries), the real floruit of the Earldom of Orkney. Hisconclusions are summarised in the following table:


12

10 th century 11 th century 12 th centuryPolitical pow er Estab lishm ent of the

Norse elite, perhaps even the institution of the Earldom of O rkney. If you w ere in that club you w ere im portant.

The Irish Annals te ll us that the Earldom of O rkney as a recognisab le entity exists.

M ay be im portant m arriage a lliances tak ing p lace betw een h igh pow er ind ividuals and fam ilies in O rkney and other pow er b rokers, particu larly the k ings of A lba.

Po litica l m arriages continue but apparently w ith petty k ings, reg ional m agnates and unsuccessfu l w orld challenges. In other w ords, a lliances w ere not happening at the h ighest leve ls of po litical society.

Econom ic pow er Subsistence for local needs (e.g. not for export)S ilver and gold hoards (AD950-1030) associated w ith a ‘p lunder’ econom y.

Enorm ous boom in fish ing, ind icating export in fish , particu larly cod. Probably exported to e lite sites.

Im portance of cattle husbandry for dairy ing, for m ilk and butter, perhaps to support e lite settlem ents.

A rable farm ing intensified perhaps show n by the deve lopm ent of infie lds and m an-m ade m anured so ils.

P iracy and m ercenary – continuation o f p lunder econom y w ith the w ealth presum ably ending up w ith the e lites.

Export in fish still im portant.Contacts w ith Norw ay still very im portant.

Export of grain to Ice land and perhaps Norw ay.

F irst d irect evidence of trade w ith low land Scotland in the form of ceram ics (e.g . Scottish W hite G ritty W are).

P iracy continued at sim ilar levels – it w as a routine part of e lite life.

Ideological pow er. Brough of Deerness (defenceable stack site, m ay be a m onastery). M id 10 th century Christian chapel the earliest evidence w e have for Christian practice in O rkney. A ssociated w ith around 30 build ings, m any longhouse in fo rm . Is th is a sm all ch iefly centre using Christian ity as its ideological basis?

B irsay area.The very la test pagan graves’ co in dated to the m id 10 th century.

Is th is evidence of greater varia tion in O rkney w ith in the 10 th century?

Unification of the Earldom under sing le Christian Earls.

Estab lishm ent of the Christian B ishopric at B irsay. Th is area m ay have been chosen as it w as the last surv iv ing p laced w ith Pagan ideo logy in the p receding century.

Christian ity continued to p lay a key ro le w ith B ishops beginning to be pow erfu l m agnates in their ow n right.Christian ity still used by k ings to prom ote the ir ow n cause.

M ilitary pow er Presum e that the e lite could m uster a considerab le arm y.

Sources ind icate notable arm ies associated w ith the Earldom .

The beginning of the end o f the m ilitary pow er of the Earldom .


13

10 th century 11 th century 12 th centuryPolitical pow er Estab lishm ent of the

Norse elite, perhaps even the institution of the Earldom of O rkney. If you w ere in that club you w ere im portant.

The Irish Annals te ll us that the Earldom of O rkney as a recognisab le entity exists.

M ay be im portant m arriage a lliances tak ing p lace betw een h igh pow er ind ividuals and fam ilies in O rkney and other pow er b rokers, particu larly the k ings of A lba.

Po litica l m arriages continue but apparently w ith petty k ings, reg ional m agnates and unsuccessfu l w orld challenges. In other w ords, a lliances w ere not happening at the h ighest leve ls of po litical society.

Econom ic pow er Subsistence for local needs (e.g. not for export)S ilver and gold hoards (AD950-1030) associated w ith a ‘p lunder’ econom y.

Enorm ous boom in fish ing, ind icating export in fish , particu larly cod. Probably exported to e lite sites.

Im portance of cattle husbandry for dairy ing, for m ilk and butter, perhaps to support e lite settlem ents.

A rable farm ing intensified perhaps show n by the deve lopm ent of infie lds and m an-m ade m anured so ils.

P iracy and m ercenary – continuation o f p lunder econom y w ith the w ealth presum ably ending up w ith the e lites.

Export in fish still im portant.Contacts w ith Norw ay still very im portant.

Export of grain to Ice land and perhaps Norw ay.

F irst d irect evidence of trade w ith low land Scotland in the form of ceram ics (e.g . Scottish W hite G ritty W are).

P iracy continued at sim ilar levels – it w as a routine part of e lite life.

Ideological pow er. Brough of Deerness (defenceable stack site, m ay be a m onastery). M id 10 th century Christian chapel the earliest evidence w e have for Christian practice in O rkney. A ssociated w ith around 30 build ings, m any longhouse in fo rm . Is th is a sm all ch iefly centre using Christian ity as its ideological basis?

B irsay area.The very la test pagan graves’ co in dated to the m id 10 th century.

Is th is evidence of greater varia tion in O rkney w ith in the 10 th century?

Unification of the Earldom under sing le Christian Earls.

Estab lishm ent of the Christian B ishopric at B irsay. Th is area m ay have been chosen as it w as the last surv iv ing p laced w ith Pagan ideo logy in the p receding century.

Christian ity continued to p lay a key ro le w ith B ishops beginning to be pow erfu l m agnates in their ow n right.Christian ity still used by k ings to prom ote the ir ow n cause.

M ilitary pow er Presum e that the e lite could m uster a considerab le arm y.

Sources ind icate notable arm ies associated w ith the Earldom .

The beginning of the end o f the m ilitary pow er of the Earldom .

In conclusion, Dr Barrett argued that the Earldom ofOrkney was a powerful and wealthy polity in the 11th

and 12th centuries. The evidence for the 10th century ismore difficult to interpret. The sources for this power werevaried and diverse. But this worked within a flat, unstablehierarchical pyramid, that is, a heterarchy. Trade appearsto eclipse plunder over time but this may not have beentoo apparent to the people living in the 10th, 11th and12th centuries.

The whole basis for the conference is, of course, theimpact and influence of the Vikings. This portrays thegroup as active individuals who undertook a variety oftasks and exerted influence over groups and areas. Beingmigrants, these individuals obviously had to have waysand means of getting from one place to another. Theyalso would need shelter and a suitable house site whenthey arrived. The following two lectures dealt with aspectsof these fundamentals, considering settlement and boats.

Dr Anna Ritchie (Archaeological Consultant), one of theforemost Viking archaeological scholars currently workingin Scotland has excavated and studied Viking settlementin Scotland, the subject of her paper.

The evidence for Viking settlement on the ground inScotland derives primarily from archaeological fieldworkand excavation, the identification of Scandinavian place-names and historical sources, all of which indicate thatthe most densely settled areas were the Northern Isles ofOrkney and Shetland, Caithness and the Western Isles.Settlement was rural and dispersed in character from thebeginning, and only with the development of Kirkwall inthe early twelfth century can we be certain of anysubstantial urban centre, though the presence of twopagan cemeteries at Pierowall in Westray indicates asizeable village from early Viking times onwards.

As with much of the Viking Age, the date of thebeginning of settlement generally is notoriously difficultto pin down in the absence of historical evidence, but DrRitchie suggests that we should seek the earliest farmsand the earliest pagan burials among the islands closestto Norway: the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland.Looking at the archaeological evidence for the start ofcolonisation in the Northern Isles, some Norse farms andpagan graves can be dated broadly to the earlier part ofthe ninth century, while in the Hebrides the pagan gravessuggest that colonisation was underway by the middle ofthat century. Research on placenames in Scandinavia hasshown that islands are likely to bear the earliest names,and it is noticeable that the Scandinavian names ofShetland Islands relate to ordinary everyday life reflectingthe domestic character of the early settlement. Shetlandhad an important economic resource that would beattractive to Norwegians in the outcrops of steatite inUnst and in southern mainland, steatite being an easilyworked stone with which they were familiar from theirhomeland. But when the Norse earldom was created in

the later ninth century, its seat lay in Orkney ratherthan Shetland, probably because Orkney’s fertile soilscould provide richer estates and because Orkney wascloser to Scotland, England and Ireland. Another reasonis likely to have been the fact that Orkney had been apower-centre for the indigenous northern Picts, andthe new earldom had to be seen to dominate andreplace that political power. In the Northern Isles, theearliest farms are likely to be those in easily defendedislands, such as Unst in Shetland and those in fertileSanday and Westray, Orkney, or in promontorysituations. The majority of Viking settlements in theWestern Isles appear to have been established alongthe fertile and easily farmed western coastal lands.

In common with settlement elsewhere in the NorthAtlantic colonies, Scotland’s Viking-Age farms consistedinitially of oblong hall-houses and barns, the dwellinghouse kept separate from the barn or byre. Old houseswere often demolished and rebuilt on the same spot,and by the eleventh and twelfth centuries extra roomswere being added to the dwelling house, and there issome evidence for the adoption of the true longhouse,in which humans and animals lived under the sameroof at either end of one long building. Our most long-lasting settlement, Jarlshof in Shetland, is unfortunatelysomething of a problem in that its detailedchronological sequence is unclear, but it appears tohave flourished from around the mid ninth centuryuntil the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries. Mostexcavated farms were relatively short-lived, and wemust assume that the more successful sites lie underlater farms.

As well as presenting an outline of the character ofthe Viking settlement in Scotland, Dr Ritchie broadenedthe field to consider the wider implications embeddedwithin the stone and turf buildings. In particular shefocused on two aspects – were there pre-Vikingcontacts and what was the effect on the localpopulation? Dr Ritchie dealt with the first issue quickly.Although it is common among both British andNorwegian scholars to assume that there was contactbetween western Norway and the Northern Isles priorto the conventional start of the Viking Age in the lastcouple of decades of the eighth century, this is oftenlittle more than an assumption. The tools of the tradefor recognising contact are dubious. Using high statusmetalwork as a dating tool is notoriously difficult andthe suggestion that Picts in Orkney were importingreindeer antler from Norway for making hair combs isbeguiling but unproven.

As stated above, the second issue – what was theimpact on the local population – is currently a thornyone. A huge amount has been written in the lastthirty years about the social relationship between theNorse and the Picts in Orkney in particular, as a resultof excavations of Norse settlements that have produced


14

native Pictish types of artefacts. However, Dr Ritchiestresses that only one of these settlements has yieldedevidence of direct continuity of settlement from a Pictishcultural milieu into a Viking cultural milieu, at Pool inOrkney. Apart from this site, in every case there appearsto have been a break in occupation between Pictish andNorse levels. In other words, these Pictish settlementshad been abandoned before they were taken over byNorse colonists. Dr Ritchie suggests that a pre-Viking textmay hold a clue to the explanation of this.

According to the Annals of Ulster, a monastic sourcewhich at that time was in fact being compiled at themonastery of Iona, in the year 681 Orkney was ‘destroyed’by the Pictish high king Bridei son of Bili. No reason isgiven for this devastating military expedition but theremust have been a very strong political motive for it. LikeDr Broun before her, Dr Ritchie made reference to therecent suggestion by Alex Woolf that the Pictish royalpower-centre of Fortriu was actually based in the MorayFirth area. From here a sea-borne campaign to Orkneywould have been even more feasible. A catalyst for theattack could have been famine and social unrest.Whatever the reason, this destruction of Orkney in 681may have had such long-lasting effects that this formerlypowerful sub-kingdom of the Picts had not recovered bythe time that the Vikings arrived. There is support for thisidea in the fact that Orkney lacks any of the elaboratelycarved cross-slabs that were commissioned in mainlandPictland by wealthy Pictish patrons in the eighth century,an absence that argues for sadly reduced wealth andpower among both the secular population and the Church.If the Picts were in a weakened state, they would soonhave been assimilated into the new Norse colony andsubsequent earldom and their ethnic origins forgotten.The Norse takeover of the Northern Isles may, therefore,have been easier than might have been expected. As tothe fate of the remaining indigenous Picts, Dr Ritchiebelieve that the true answer to the peace or war debateis that they were seen by the Vikings as a source ofrevenue, comparable perhaps to the relationship betweenthe Norwegians and the Sámi in northern Norway. Thatthe native population of Scotland was regarded by theVikings as a taxable resource has some historical backing,for the Frankish Annals of St Bertin record for 847 that inthe Western Isles ‘The Scotti, after being attacked by theNorthmen for very many years, were rendered tributaryand [the Northmen] took possession, without resistance,of the islands that lie all around and dwelt there’.

Dr Ritchie concluded by considering the future of researchinto Viking settlement which was a sobering experience.Dr Ritchie suggested that whereas other disciplines, suchas place-name research (see below) were in a veryhealthy state and displayed excellent collaborationbetween scholars in Scotland and Norway, this was incontrast to the archaeological discipline. Indeed, shesuggested Viking-Age archaeological research in generalis in rather a stagnant state in Scotland currently, partly

because we have been waiting forty years for seminalexcavations to be published and partly because the subjectis not well covered in Scottish universities. Most of theinnovative work is being done by English universities. Fewstudents studying in a Scottish environment study theViking Age and among the numerous excavations andfieldwork carried out in recent years there are only afew, if important, projects. With a few notable exceptions,artefact studies are also in a stagnant state. Dr Ritchiesuggested that we are also lagging behind our neighboursin presenting Viking-Age sites to the public, despite theperennial huge interest in all things Viking and its potentialfor tourism.

But Dr Ritchie did not end on a pessimistic note. Insteadshe outlined possible avenues for the future. Theseincluded efforts to identify the earliest farms, particularlywhere they can be linked with contemporary pagancemeteries, and that a priority, now that we can achievemore accurate radiocarbon dates, should be the creationof detailed radiocarbon chronologies.

Professor Arne-Emil Christensen (University of Oslo)closed the first day’s session by discussing Viking Shipsand Highland Galleys. Because of the large number ofarchaeological finds of ships from the Viking Age, thereis a considerable knowledge of what ships looked like inthe period 800-1100, reflected in the considerableliterature written on the subject. Further, there is still aliving tradition of boat building using similar techniquesin parts of Norway today which gives a rare insight intoold practices.

Professor Christensen began his talk by presenting anilluminating and informative contextualisation of thedifferent types of Viking ships used throughout thecenturies. He began by asking what were the precursorsto Viking ships? Were there trading and warrior shipsand when did the sail arrive in the north? Answering thefinal question, Professor Christensen stated that althoughCaesar saw sailing ships in the English Channel in 55BC,the sail does not arrive in the north until remarkably late.In Professor Christensen’s view, the Vikings learned fromtheir sailing expeditions and changed their boatsaccordingly through time. Further, the types of boats builtduring the Viking Age were affected by the developingand changing social and political structure. For example,as Kings became wealthier they could build warshipsintended only to carry men and arms. Similarly, duringthe 10th and 11th centuries pre-urban sites appeared. Suchsites would have needed a different type of cargo boatthan those used previously, one that can take a largercargo. Different voyages would have required differentboats. In other words, during the Viking Age there is agreatly increased number of boat types that includes amyriad of boats.

Professor Christensen then considered what kinds of boatswere used by the people who opposed the Vikings?


15

Although there are numerous boat finds from theContinent, almost all are river craft and could never havesailed the sea. The finds from Sutton Hoo are related toScandinavian traditions and there are merchant andfreight vessels from 10th-century Anglo-Saxon England.Conversely, Irish sources tell us that the Irish used skinboats and nothing else. The same may be true ofScotland. These differences are important not only forour understanding of boats and boat-building techniquesbut also for wider socio-political developments. Once theVikings had raided, if they were able get back to theirships they were likely to win any confrontation. Tacticswere based on ships.

But who could build a boat in the Viking Age? Did, forexample, the Earls of Orkney build their own boats? Ofcourse a necessity of building a boat is the raw materials.When available, oak was the preferred wood, althoughpine was also used. Iron was used to hold the plankstogether. But where did the Vikings living in, for example,Atlantic Scotland get these resources? ProfessorChristensen believes that Orkney and Shetland never hadship-building timbers in the Viking Age and that there isa good chance that many of the boats were built inNorway. This suggestion is supported in the historical texts.The Viking boat, particularly an imported one, is the Vikingequivalent of a modern day sports car or a very goodrace horse! Sources also tell us that small boats wereexported to Shetland up until the Napoleonic wars in flatpacks and then assembled in Shetland. But this is not tosay that there were no boat builders in Scotland – theremay be such sites on Eigg and Arran. However, ProfChristensen is in little doubt that the people working therewere strongly influenced by Scandinavian techniques.

Professor Christensen argues that the legacy of the Vikingship goes far beyond the Viking Age. In pursuit of thispoint he considered the Highland Galley. In contrast tothe Viking ships there is little modern literature on thetopic. The galleys are known from written sources in theLate Middle Ages and through depictions on gravestones,mainly slabs, which are on the west coast in the InnerHebrides. It is certain that these vessels are troop carriers,used to enforce the law or to raid. Some are remarkablylate – a depiction in Rodel Church, Harris dates to 1528.Contemporary with the Mary Rose, it is a modernisedViking vessel on the west coast of Scotland. It tells usthat the Lord of the Isles needed and used an old-fashioned, but not obsolete, type of ship which is so similarto Norwegian Viking ships that there must be aconnection. Although it is difficult to prove a directconnection the ships are similar in design and technique.The connection may be sealed by consideration of anotherfascinating detail - the use of animal-headed sterns. This,of course, can be paralleled on Viking ships.

LANGUAGE AND LITERARY CULTURE

The third section of the conference was concerned with

Language and Literary Culture and was chaired by DrDoreen Waugh (Celtic and Scottish Studies,University of Edinburgh). The session began with alecture by Dr Gillian Fellows-Jensen (University ofCopenhagen) whose concern was Place-names asevidence of Scandinavian influence. Her main aim wasto outline the recent thoughts on Scottish place-namessince the beginning of the 1980s and to concentrate ona few of the issues that have come to the fore. In thecourse of her lecture Dr Fellows-Jensen noted more than20 scholars who have published in the field over the last25 years, demonstrating the vibrancy of the topic. Thisbreadth and depth of scholarship was clearly representedin her extensive and detailed lecture.

Dr Fellows-Jensen divided her lecture into four majorlinguistic zones:

· Zone 1: Shetland, Orkney and North-EastCaithness, with names of basically Norsecharacter

· Zone 2: Northern Scotland, embracingSutherland, Easter Ross, the Western Isles andthe western seaboard, where originally Norseplace-names were later adopted by Gaelicspeakers.

· Zone 3: South-West Scotland with place-namesof mixed Gaelic, Norse and Danish character.

· Zone 4: South-East Scotland where scatteredScandinavian place-names occur.

Soon after the initial Viking incursions into Zone 1, Norsebecame the dominant language and over time developedinto the language now generally referred to as Norn,which came to be increasingly influenced by Scots.

Dr Fellows-Jensen informed the audience that thechronology of Orkney place-names has long dominateddiscussion and this provided a key focus of her talk.Previous scholars, such as Marwick, had assumed thatthere was a zone of primary settlement, surrounded bysecondary settlements, with a final peripheral zonecharacterised by the development of shielings and stockenclosures. Recent scholars have been reluctant to acceptthat there was such a fixed chronological scheme andhave argued persuasively that many of the Norse generics– on which the scheme is based – were in use theresimultaneously rather than consecutively, and that onlydetailed local investigations of the geographicalbackground of the place-names set against the literary,historical, documentary and topographical evidence willmake it possible to fully understand the developmentpattern of settlement. Berit Sandnes has added light toOrkney place-name chronology by examining toponymsfor settlement history. She pointed out that half of theplace-names involved in the material examined havetoponymic generics and that such a considerable groupdefinitely ought to be taken into account in the history ofsettlement patterns. Recent work on the so-calledHuseby-names in Orkney has also been enlightening, and


16

they can now be seen to belong to the Late-Viking orpost-Viking period, perhaps even as late as the end ofthe 12th century. The question of the transition betweenNorse and Scots place-names in Orkney has also cometo the fore. Recent studies suggesting that many of theplace-names considered by previous scholars to be Norseare more correctly to be looked upon as Scots, althoughit is often difficult to be certain about the age of theindividual names. Dr Fellows-Jensen also highlighted theexcellent work that is being undertaken in Shetland andCaithness.

Before leaving Zone 1 Dr Fellows-Jensen felt obliged tosay a few words on the ongoing debate concerningwhether the Vikings exterminated the native population.She does not believe that the Vikings wanted toexterminate the native population if only because theywould have needed their assistance in their newterritories. More importantly, there is evidence from areassuch as the Isle of Man and La Hague in Normandy thatsuggests an almost complete loss of pre-Norse namesafter the arrival of the Vikings was not always necessarilythe result of a displaced population.

Dr Fellows-Jensen marked the transition between Zone1 and Zone 2 by outlining the importance of recent studiesconcerned with place-name elements such as bólstaðr.This element occurs in Shetland, Orkney, Caithness andthe Hebrides but not in the coastal stretches of mainlandScotland, on the east coast from Beauly Firth to the RiverOykel and on the west coast from Cape Wrath to theMull of Kintyre and Arran. The bólstaðr-names in thecolonial setting of Scotland seem to have denoted asecondary settlement in areas with a strong agriculturalfocus, where the settlement structure had had time tobecome sufficiently well-established to allow for thesplitting up of a farm to accommodate one or moredependent units and where the conditions for growingcrops and rearing livestock were present.

The absence of bólstaðr-names from the mainland coastalareas of Scotland, however, is not due to geographicalfeatures but to the fact that in these areas the Norsesettlers would have been subject to attacks by theneighbouring Gaelic population. Indeed, a major problemfacing place-name studies is how to account for thevariations in the phonetic development of, for example,the element bólstaðr in the Western Isles, where allScandinavian elements had passed from Norse into Gaelicand subsequently from Gælic into English. Dr Fellows-Jensen also stressed how difficult it is for a non-Gaelicspeaker to interpret individual place-names of Norseorigin. Norse material is likely to be lying half-hidden orcompletely concealed to the non-Gaelic speaker in theplace-names of the Western Isles.

Dr Fellows-Jensen informed the audience that a gooddeal of research had been done in the last quarter of acentury on the various parts of Zone 2 outside the Western

Isles. Starting at the southern frontier of Norse settlementin Easter Ross and working across the northern seaboardand down the western seaboard and ending up in Kintyre,she gave a summary account of the place-name evidencefor Norse settlement that has been presented in recenttimes. The lightning tour along the northern and westernlittoral of Scotland suggested that in spite of thecomparatively sparse archaeological evidence for Norsesettlement and the relative rarity of Norse habitative place-names, there must have been permanent Norsesettlement in these areas, but that this settlement didnot penetrate far inland. Nor was there much time forsecondary settlement by the Norse before they wereabsorbed by the Gaelic population. She stressed that therewas no reason to think that habitative place-names weremore likely to have marked permanent settlement thanwere topographical place-names. All that it is necessaryto remember is that a habitative name must always havebeen given to a settlement, while a topographical namemay have had a long existence as a name for atopographical feature before eventually becoming adoptedas a name for a settlement, a so-called secondarysettlement name.

Turning to Zones 3 and 4 Dr Fellows-Jensen emphasisedthat some place-names show clear links with the Danishsettlements in northern and eastern England. Further, thespread of Scandinavian names northwards into Scotlandfrom Cumbria may reflect influence from the Danelawand she provided examples of this. She alluded to hogbacktombstones, a distinctive form of Anglo-Scandinaviansculpture, to support a Danelaw origin for the spread ofthe certain names in -bý across the Pennines and intosouth-western and central Scotland. Stylistic analysis ofthe tombstones reveals clear affinities between themonuments in Scotland and those in Cumbria. Dr Fellows-Jensen then considered another and probably youngerspread of place-names to Scotland from the Danelaw.This is of the group of place-names sometimes referredto as Grimston-hybrids because they contain aScandinavian personal name and the Old English elementtûn.

Dr Fellows-Jensen stressed that the important factor toremember when discussing the Scandinavian place-namesin southern Scotland is the spread of what has beenreferred to as norsified English by linguistic scholars butwhich she would prefer to refer to as nordicised English,as the major influence on northern English wasundoubtedly Danish. Nordicised English would seem tohave arisen in the Danelaw, perhaps in northernLincolnshire, where the language had been subject toheavy Danish influence, but at a time when Danish wasalready going out of use because of the gradualrestoration of English rule. The nordicised traits, however,were still being absorbed in the course of the eleventhcentury not only into the local dialects of the EastMidlands and Yorkshire but also into the dialects ofDurham and Northumberland, where Danish could not


17

have been spoken for very long, and also of Cumbria,where there had been Norse place-names before aDanelaw-inspired layer of names was superimposed uponthem. After the Norman Conquest the northwards spreadof an English language with nordicised traits continuedinto parts of Scotland, not only into south-west Scotlandand Lothian but also further up into the Central Lowlandsand the urbanised areas along the eastern coast ofScotland.

Dr Fellows-Jensen concluded her presentation by statingthat the distribution in Scotland of place-names containingScandinavian elements obviously reflects significantcontact with Scandinavian speakers but it is clear that itis not all these place-names that imply actual settlementby Scandinavians. She re-iterated the great Englishhistorian Frederick Maitland’s century-old caution spokenin connection with his discussion of the implications ofthe Danish settlement of eastern England in the ninthand tenth centuries - ‘in truth we must be careful howwe use our Dane’. The speaker concurred stressing thatwe must be even more careful how we use ourScandinavian place-name terminology in the comingyears.

For a period of three and a half centuries, the OrkneyingaSaga is the principal authority for the history of Scotland.It represents the history of the peoples who establishedan Earldom of Norway in the Northern Scottish Isles athousand years ago and whose descendants for severalcenturies held sway over parts of northern mainlandScotland and arguably the Hebrides. Its importance toViking scholarship is unquestionable and was referred toat numerous points throughout the conference. Suchsources are our critical ‘historical’ evidence for the period.These valuable tools were explored by Professor ElseMundal (Centre for Medieval Studies, University ofBergen) in her lecture Orkneyinga saga: Its Literary Form,Content and Origin.

Professor Mundal began her lecture by stressing the thingsthat we do not know about the existing Orkneyinga Saga.We do not know the name of the author. We do notknow exactly when the Saga was written and we do notknow where the Saga was written. Further, the text doesnot exist in its original form, only in a revised version.The Orkneyinga Saga we have is not the original, theoriginal is long lost. Further, scholars cannot agree onhow much the Saga was changed from the originalversion.

As Professor Mundal told the audience, most scholarshave recorded that the author of the original OrkneyingaSaga and the individual who later revised the text wereIcelanders. She agrees that the person who revised thesaga must have been an Icelander. However, although itis impossible to arrive at a firm conclusion, it is still anopen question whether the author of the originalOrkneyinga Saga was an Icelander or not. In this light

we have to consider what the evidence is for an Icelandicprovenance or an Icelandic author. If there are noconvincing arguments for an Icelandic link are thereindicators in the text which suggest an alternative sourceor author? Could the Saga have been written in Orkney?

In the absence of the original Saga we, of course, haveto turn to the Saga we have. Does this offer anyresolution?

The saga text as we have it contains some elements inthe text which seem to point towards Iceland as a placeof origin. For example, they influenced the Saga of Kings(Heimskringla). However, just because the OrkneyingaSaga was present in Iceland at the time such Sagas werewritten does not mean that it too was written in Iceland.The Icelanders are particularly well-known for their exportand import of books, particularly from Norway, andProfessor Mundal argued that we should presume thatOrcadian books were also imported. Further, the fact thatall the preserved manuscripts of the Saga seem to derivefrom the Icelandic revised version is also not a convincingargument for an Icelandic provenance. The weight ofstatistics does not prove individual cases. Professor Mundalalso emphasised that, in contrast to texts that were writtenin Iceland, for example the Saga of Kings, OrkneyingaSaga has remarkably little to say about Iceland orIcelanders. Perhaps, unusually, the connections betweenIcelandic and Orcadian families are not emphasised. Thisdoes not mean that the author was not interested in familyconnections, far from it. Relations between Orcadian Earlsand Norwegian or Scottish families are mentioned veryfrequently in the Saga. Professor Mundal suggests thesepatterns are characteristics that do not support a theoryof an Icelandic origin for the Orkneyinga Saga. In hereyes, Iceland is on the periphery of the author’s interest.

As Professor Mundal highlighted, the author’s primaryfocus appears to be on Orkney, Shetland, northernScotland and Norway. There is also interest in other areassuch as the Western Isles and Sweden. The people ofShetland are described as very loyal and helpful asopposed to the people from the Hebrides who areportrayed in an unfavourable light. With this in mind,Professor Mundal considered other elements in the textthat seemed to suggest that the Saga was written inOrkney and not Iceland. There is no doubt that the authorknew Orkney very well. The text provides a number ofplace-names, descriptions of landscapes, individuals’names and family connections. The author also has agood understanding of Scotland and Norway, althoughthis is less detailed.

As Professor Mundal stressed, this was not the first timea connection between the author of Orkneyinga Sagaand Orkney had been suggested. However, in the pastpeople have assumed that the author was still Icelandicbut lived in Orkney for a long time and may have finishedthe Saga in Norway. But Professor Mundal deems it


18

inappropriate to chase an Icelandic author from land toland. Instead she prefers an Orcadian author who hadclose connections with Norway and Shetland. Thisproposition is supported by the source of the oral storieswhich form important cornerstones for any Saga. In thecase of the Orkneyinga Saga none of the sources areIcelandic. Instead they are from Orkney, Caithness andthe Hebrides. Further, Professor Mundal questions thebelief that the influences derived from Skaldic poetry inthe Saga necessarily suggest a sole connection withIceland. Gaelic loan words in the language of theOrkneyinga Saga may also indicate an Orcadian tradition.

Professor Mundal concluded her lecture by stating thatalthough it is not possible to prove that the OrkneyingaSaga was written in Orkney nor indeed by an Orcadianauthor there are also strong doubts that the text has anIcelandic origin.

Paul Bibire (former lecturer, Universities of StAndrews and Cambridge), in his discussion of Orkney’sSkaldic Achievement, dealt with the distribution ofrecorded skaldic (‘court’) poetry, only known in significantvolume from Norway, Orkney and Iceland. He suggestedthat this may not have been an accident of transmission,nor due to a ‘conspiracy’ on the part of Icelanders whowrote the sagas in which skaldic poetry is preserved. Onthe contrary, historical sagas mostly seem only to havebeen composed about Norse cultural institutions,monarchies and earldoms, about which poetry wasknown.

The composition of skaldic poetry in the West Norsecolonial communities may have depended on theircircumstances of settlement and Conversion toChristianity. In England, Ireland and Normandy, the Norsesettlers appear to have adopted Christianity immediatelyand fully, and they co-existed with pre-existing Christianpopulations without significant known religious problems.If this appearance is not a mere artefact of ignorance, itcould perhaps be partly explained in terms of local oreven household religious practice, employing the‘patronage’ of local divinities, bjargvættir, landvættir. Inthe Norse colonial settlements in Christian lands, the localdivine patrons were the local saints, and any incomingsettler seeking their patronage would thereby becomeChristian. Aidan or Cuthbert, or Edmund, may haveconverted the Norse settlers in England. This might, forinstance, explain the production of the Edmund MemorialCoinage in the Viking kingdom of East Anglia, only aboutthirty years after these same Vikings martyred the royalsaint.

Such conversion, as earlier for instance among the Franksand English, seems to have involved ‘cultural decapitation’of pre-Christian societies. Learned, Christian, Latin-based‘high culture’ largely superseded the earlier high-statusand aristocratic cultural practices and art-forms of pagantimes, even when, as in Anglo-Saxon England, there was

a determined attempt subsequently to recover orreconstruct a pre-Christian past.

In Iceland, contrastingly, there was no pre-existing andsurviving Christian population, and native Norse culturaltraditions continued to flourish. After the communaldecision of the Icelanders to accept Christianity, theirnative traditions could be used to express Christiancontent.

The Earldom of Orkney could be seen as following bothkinds of model. There is little or no evidence for a pre-existing and surviving Christian population in Orkney orShetland, but Norse settlers in Caithness, Easter Ross andMoray must have interacted closely if to different degreeswith native, Christian populations. The Orcadian Norseseem to have been converted reasonably peaceably butwithout the ‘cultural decapitation’ seen elsewhere. Therecorded skaldic poetry of the Earldom seems to reflectthis. The earliest poetry, attributed to Earl Torf-Einarr, isbrutal vaunting over the death of a son of King HaraldFairhair of Norway; it functions as mockery of the king,and claims the same sort of cultural independence of theNorwegian monarchy as did the Icelanders. The eleventh-century court-poetry of Earl Thorfinn the Mighty makeshim equivalent in status to the contemporary Norwegiankings, and the Christian court-poetry of St Ronald ofOrkney depicts him as a Christian prince of the twelfth-century renaissance, as much at home with thetroubadours of Provence, or the Crusader kings of CatholicChristendom, as with pilgrims at Jerusalem.

Professor Michael Barnes (Professor Emeritus ofScandinavian Studies, University of London) thenconsidered another form of evidence for Scandinavianwriting in Scotland in his lecture Runes. As many speakersbefore him, Professor Barnes began by highlighting theproblems inherent within the material. Considering atfirst the material from mainland Scotland, he suggestedthat on the face of it, the corpus hardly makes forfascinating or illuminating reading. Nor does it constitutea large body of material. Were the term Viking to berigorously defined, there would be less material still. Foreven if we err on the side of generosity and place theend of the Viking Age at c. 1100, some of the inscriptionsstill fall outside the period. The corpus is, however,considerably augmented by the inclusion of material fromthe Northern Isles. But Professor Barnes intimated thatanyone expecting exciting insights into the secrets of theVikings will again be disappointed. The corpus largelyconstitutes fragments of memorial stones and graffiti forthe most part. Orkney can, in addition, boast several twig-rune inscriptions.

As Professor Barnes informed the audience, even withthe Shetland and Orkney material above added in, wehave still omitted one major corpus. This is the Maeshowecollection, the thirty-three runic inscriptions discovered in1861 on the walls of the neolithic chambered tomb in


19

the Orkney Mainland. But these inscriptions are distinctfrom the other runic material found in Orkney. Their rune-forms and language suggest a date-range c. 1125–75.The references they make to the activities of crusadersindicate strongly they are to be connected with thecrusade mounted by Earl Rôgnvaldr Kali, for which menforgathered in Orkney in the autumn of 1150 before settingsail in the spring of 1151. Indeed, it is entirely possible allthirty-three inscriptions were carved that same winterafter ‘Jerusalem men broke open this mound’, as one ofthe texts informs us. The majority appear to have beenNorwegian, and it is highly likely that some of thesevisitors scratched runic messages onto the walls ofMaeshowe. There is at least nothing in the inscriptionsthemselves that rules out Norwegian authorship, and therunic versatility shown in Maeshowe contrasts stronglywith the rather poverty-stricken efforts found elsewherein the islands.

When studying runic inscriptions, Professor Barnes saidthat in addition to asking: “What do they say?”, we shouldalso concern ourselves with context. Why are they thereat all? What gave rise to them? Context can often castas much light on an inscription as its specific wording. Itis important to know whether it comes from a burial, asettlement site, a church, a waste pit, or somewhereother. This both helps in the interpretation of the text, inparticular if it is fragmentary, and throws light on themilieu in which it was made. We should also be askingother questions. Apart from the obvious: “How old isit?”, we may enquire: “How clearly defined is the text,and so how certain is our interpretation?”; “What rangeof alternative interpretations is there?”; “How were therunes carved?”; “What information may the inscriptionimply beyond the simple sense of its words?”; “Is thereinterplay between wording and layout or artistic design?”;“Does the artefact as a whole offer any clues to social,linguistic or political milieu?”. Professor Barnes was awarethat in a brief, general lecture of this kind, it would notbe possible to subject the whole of the Scottish corpus –however defined – to such searching analysis. He,therefore, adopted a more selective approach, and useddifferent types of evidence to try to place the Scandinavianrunic inscriptions of Scotland in the context of the widerNorse involvement in the region.

At the outset Professor Barnes highlighted that runicwriting is not static; people used different runes at differenttimes and in different places. Types of runic text alsovary according to time and place. To some extent,therefore, it is possible to date and place an inscriptionnot only by its language, but also according to the rune-forms with which it is written and what it says. All theinscriptions from Scotland employ variants of what isknown as the younger runic alphabet or younger fuþark.This was the end-product of a late seventh-/early eighth-century Scandinavian reduction and simplification of theolder – and earliest – runic alphabet. There is no way theyounger fuþark can be confused with its precursor, or

with Anglo-Saxon runes, a separate development of theolder runic alphabet. From this, Professor Barnes argues,we may deduce that the Scottish corpus as presentedhere is wholly Scandinavian in origin. That is not to saythat all runic inscriptions now within the borders ofScotland are of Scandinavian type. The Ruthwell Crossand the Whithorn stones are carved with Anglo-Saxonrunes.

Scandinavian rune-forms, too, vary according to placeand over time. It is scarcely surprising to find that therune-forms of the Scottish inscription agree most closelywith those of Norway. Time-wise there are a goodnumber of forms to guide us. About the year 1000, perhapsunder the influence of the Roman alphabet which wasintroduced into the North from the late tenth centuryonward, Scandinavian carvers began to expand theirinventory of runes, principally by adding a diacritic dot tocertain characters. Where we find dotted runes –transliterated with the Umlaut sign ¨ – we infer that theinscription concerned was made later than the tenthcentury. Some dotted characters do not make anappearance until the very end of the twelfth century.

Professor Barnes outlined the different types of objectson which runic inscriptions appear, beginning withcommemorative stones. This is the predominant type inScandinavia and it is clear that large numbers ofmemorials to dead kinsmen were carved and set up inthe period c. 750–1100, with the heaviest concentrationin the tenth and eleventh centuries. These monumentscarry a fairly stereotypical message, at its most basic:‘NN raised this stone after MM, his/her father (son,brother, etc.)’. Scotland has a couple of fragmentaryinscriptions that clearly belong to this type and we shouldprobably be right in assigning these inscriptions to theperiod of rune-stone raising, i.e. before 1100. The stonefrom Kilbar stands out within the Scottish corpus. Althoughassuredly a commemorative stone, its formula differs fromthe usual. Instead of ‘NN raised this stone...’ we have‘After NN is this cross raised’. Most striking is the absencefrom it of the raiser of the stone; only the personcommemorated is mentioned. That is a feature of thevery earliest commemorative inscriptions, and has led atleast one runologist to place Kilbar at the beginning ofthe tenth century, which could make it among the earliest,if not the very earliest, of the Scandinavian runicinscriptions of Britain. In fact, Professor Barnes thinks thateven an early tenth-century date could be anunderestimate of Kilbar’s age - the Scandinavian parallelsare dated in the eighth or ninth centuries. On the otherhand, we must ask: How soon after the Norse settlementof Barra is the raising of a commemorative stone likely?There are also certain linguistic features in the inscriptionsuggestive of the tenth or eleventh rather than the eighthor ninth centuries. Other inscriptions are found onrecumbent slabs, or, even raised crosses that stood in asocket in a recumbent slab. In Scandinavia the graveslabis a later type of inscription than the raised


20

commemorative stone, coming into prominence in thetwelfth century.

Moving on from the raised commemorative stone,Professor Barnes turned to the Maeshowe corpus. Theseinscriptions are plainly graffiti, and about half of themsay nothing more than ‘NN carved’ or ‘NN carved (these)runes’. Although experience suggests that to record one’spresence is a human imperative, it is apparently only inthe medieval period it becomes the fashion forScandinavian rune-writers to engrave their name followedby the otiose statement that they ‘carved runes’. Thismeans that (Maeshowe apart) one is inclined to datesome Scottish examples, for example from Orkney andHoly Island (in Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran) to after theViking Age, a conclusion that the rune forms and languageof several of these inscriptions support.

Analysis of linguistic criteria can assist in determining thetype of Scandinavian employed, and will often also helpwith dating. With the possible exception of Danishinvolvement in an inscription from Iona, most of the runesfrom Scotland are Norwegian in character. ProfessorBarnes also outlined linguistic forms helpful in datinginscriptions which include the 3rd person singular presentand past tense forms of the verb ‘[to] be’, a short v. along form of the preposition meaning ‘after’ and theepenthetic vowel just mentioned.

Layout is another aspect of runic inscriptions that mustbe examined. While casual carvings on wood and bonemay often contain features of interest, it is the formalpublic monuments on stone that tend to followcharacteristic patterns. The makers of Viking-Agecommemorative inscriptions in Denmark and westernSweden, for example, tend to carve their runes in rowsthat run up and down the broad face of the stone betweenframing lines. In eastern Sweden, carvers developed thetradition of setting their runes within the body of a stylisedserpent; the inscription normally begins by the head andfollows the twists and turns of the body until the tail isreached.Norwegian rune-stone tradition prefers the narrow edgeof the stone, and usually has the runes running upwardsin a straight line. All but one of the Scottish inscriptionsclassified as of (or as likely to be of), raised commemorativetype, conform – as far as can be seen – to the Norwegianpattern. The odd one out is Kilbar whose runes run inthree rows down the broad face of the stone. Kilbar,however, does not accord with Danish or Swedish traditioneither. Its closest analogues are to be found in the Isle ofMan, where we seem to be dealing with an offshoot ofNorwegian tradition with strong local colouring.

Using the Eshaness slab and the Hunterston brooch asan example, Professor Barnes highlighted how there mayalso be interplay between layout or artistic design andwording. For example, it seems, the aim of the inscriptionon the Hunterston brooch was to record ownership of a

valuable brooch, and once Melbrigða á stilk had beenscratched onto part of one of two undecorated sectionsof the hoop, the job was done. Perhaps for aestheticreasons, perhaps to prevent further claims to ownership,the still vacant space was then filled with rune-like symbols– graphs that have the appearance of runes but lacktheir distinctive features. This example underlines the fact– often forgotten or ignored – that runic inscriptions aremore than texts, and that for a proper understanding ofthem it is essential they be viewed in context.

Professor Barnes also tackled a number of other issues,including the question of who made the inscriptions. Hesuggested that perhaps a fair proportion of the Scottishrunic inscriptions are unlikely to have been made by localresidents at all. The genesis of the Maeshowe collectionand the likely Norwegian involvement have already beentouched upon. An apparently similar case is the HolyIsland group, which may be the work of visitors passingby, rather than the local community. That said, the smallassemblages of runic material from Birsay and Orphir invitethe opposite conclusion. The recovery of severalinscriptions from these two well-known and prestigiousNorse settlement sites suggests the existence of a runicculture among native Orcadians, as well as Norwegianvisitors to the islands. Three of the Birsay fragments appearto belong to raised commemorative stones, or to oneand the same stone, implying perhaps one or more local,rune-using families.

Professor Barnes pushed the question of who might havecarved a runic inscription and in what circumstances,further. He suggests that we should be aware that theanswer may sometimes lead us to the present day. Foralthough runic writing as a genuine tradition had diedout in most parts of the Scandinavian world by the lateMiddle Ages, use of runes has never completely ceased.Modern use of runes, of course, by no means alwaysimplies fakery. When, on the other hand, tourists inOrkney scrawl inscriptions taken from postcard illustrationsonto ancient monuments, we may wonder whether atleast some of them have in mind to fool innocentrunologists or museum-folk into believing they have foundthe genuine article. These naive acts of modern vandalismare of course easy to spot.

However, we are on less certain ground when dealingwith artefacts accepted as runic decades ago about whichwe now grow suspicious. Orkney boasts at least fiveinscriptions consisting wholly or partly of twig-runes. Inother words, a little over 25% of the total Orkney corpus.Professor Barnes stresses that this is a remarkable figurewhen we consider that of the 600 or so inscriptions frommedieval Bergen, less than 2% contain twig-runes or theiranalogues. It is also striking when we consider that not asingle Scandinavian twig-rune is known from any otherregion of the British Isles. Common to all the Orkneyinscriptions of this type are (1) lack of a proper find report,(2) an uncertain context, (3) brevity, (4) the absence of


21

an obviously recoverable meaning, (5) a find-spot withina six-and-a-half mile radius of Maeshowe. The last maybe the most significant factor; for since Maeshowe wasexcavated in 1861 there has been an awareness of runesin Orkney – and of twig-runes in particular. Two of themost prominent of the Maeshowe inscriptions containtwig-runes, which, unlike their counterparts elsewherein Orkney, give perfect sense and complement the plainrunes they accompany. In the light of this it does notseem too far-fetched to suggest that some or perhaps allof the other Orkney twig-runes were made in moderntimes in imitation of the twig-rune inscriptions inMaeshowe. The ease with which twig-runes can beproduced gives added weight to the suggestion. But thereis no incontrovertible evidence one way or the other, onlydeep scepticism.

Professor Barnes ended his lecture by asking what theinscriptions tell us of the impact and influence of theVikings on Scotland. Although the sources’ suggestion ofNorse crusaders forgathering in Orkney before setting sailto, for example, the Holy Land receive confirmation fromthe runic sources, these are individual episodes. Morefundamental is the fact that the Norse settlers broughttheir written culture with them and continued to use itfor several centuries, in some places presumably side byside with people employing the Roman and ogamalphabets. On the other hand, if the number of runicinscriptions that have so far come to light is any reflectionof the total number carved, the transplanted runictradition was less than vigorous.

Linguistically, the inscriptions suggest that the bulk of thesettlement in Scotland was from Norway rather thanDenmark or Sweden, but Professor Barnes stressed thatthis only confirms what was fairly clear already. Thereare few signs of influence from indigenous tongues inthe Scottish runic material. Most of our inscriptions comefrom regions in which Scandinavian established itself asthe sole or dominant tongue. It is clear that there musthave been interaction with Gaelic or other languages,but the runic inscriptions offer little evidence of it. Thebest evidence for the intermingling of cultures, if notlanguages, is the raising of crosses rather than stones. Inareas where Norse settlers came into close contact withGaelic culture, the indigenous practice of raisinginscriptionless crosses seems to have merged with theScandinavian fashion for setting up commemorativestones. It is noteworthy that while in Ireland, Man andthe Hebrides we find raised crosses with runic inscriptions,in the Northern Isles, as far as can be seen, only plainstones are found.

Professor Barnes concluded by intimating that those whohope that the runic inscriptions might help us determinehow long forms of Scandinavian language survived inScotland will be disappointed. In Shetland, Orkney andnorth-eastern Caithness, spoken Scandinavian outlivedrunic writing by a considerable margin of time. Elsewhere

there are too few inscriptions – and those that exist aretoo early – to offer any indications about language death.The Scandinavian runic inscriptions of Scotland supportother evidence of Viking involvement in the area, butadd relatively little to the sum of our knowledge. As aScandinavian cultural transplant, however, and asoffshoots of a writing system that served theScandinavians for some 1200 years or more, they holdconsiderable interest.

POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT

The final session of the conference was concerned withPolitical and Religious Development and was chaired byDr Barbara Crawford (Strathmartine Centre forResearch and Education in Scottish History, StAndrews).

Professor Knut Helle CorrFRSE (Professor Emeritusof Medieval History, University of Bergen) openedthe session with a talk on the Earls of Orkney. His mainfocus was how and when the Orkney Earldom came intobeing and a study of the main developments until thepowerful rule of Earl Thorfinn the Mighty ( d. c1065), asseen from a Norwegian point of view.

Professor Helle began by highlighting the problemsinherent in studying the establishment of the OrkneyEarldom, particularly that there is no direct mention of itin the historical texts until two hundred and fifty to threehundred years later. The oldest relevant historical text isHistoria Norwegie, probably written in Norway in the thirdquarter of the 12th century. At the end of the 12th centurya somewhat different story was told in the OrkneyingaSaga (lost original version) of which we have to rely onthe surviving secondary edition which probably dates toaround the 1230s. During the early 13th century SnorriSturluson also compiled his Separate Saga of St Olaf(1220s) and Heimskringla (1230s) which clearlyinfluenced the secondary edition of Orkneyinga Saga.Largely, all three vernacular texts give the same outlinefor the origin of the Orkney Earldom. They also agreewith Historia Norwegie that the earldom was establishedin the days of King Harald Finehair of Norway, who isclosely associated with the decisive battle of Hafrsfjordnear Stavanger.

The dating of this battle and of Harald’s reign is importantfor present understanding of the origins of the Earldomof Orkney but is also problematic and open to debate.For a long time it was believed that there was no commonchronological system behind the varying regnal periodsgiven to early Norwegian kings in the medieval historicalliterature of Iceland and Norway, but in the 1960s it wasdemonstrated that the learned founding fathers ofIcelandic medieval historiography had in the early 12th

century basically agreed on a royal Norwegianchronology, by which Harald was held to have becomeking when he was ten years old in the year 858, to have


22

fought the battle of Hafrsfjord in 868, and to have passedaway in 931/2. The latter date may represent the bestfixed point for his reign, but it is hardly credible that heruled for more than 70 years, and during the last centurythere has been a clear tendency among historians to datethe battle of Hafrsfjord to shortly before 900.

Posterity has undoubtedly exaggerated Harald’s role inthe political unification of medieval Norway. Based on ascant tradition in older historiography that he was thefirst sole ruler of Norway, Snorri Sturluson in Heimskringladeveloped his grand story of Harald’s systematic conquestof the whole of Norway in the late 9th century. ProfessorHelle believes that this is an obvious construction. It hasno roots in older historical works but has neverthelessinfluenced much modern scholarship. Again, in recenttimes its validity has been called into question and todayan alternative interpretation of Harald Finehair’s territorialexpansion seems more reasonable and bettersubstantiated.

There is no safe evidence for Snorri’s assertion that Haraldstarted his territorial expansion from Vestfold in theOslofjord region of east Norway. According to an oldersaga and skaldic tradition, his father was king of part ofinterior east Norway and his mother daughter of a pettyking of the centrally placed region of Sogn in west Norway.Harald inherited his grandfather’s kingdom and madeSogn the point of departure for his territorial conquests,which resulted in permanent, direct control over a westNorwegian core territory stretching southwards to theregion of Rogaland, where the Hafrsfjord battle wasfought against enemies from the east, and possibly alsoto the region of Agder in southernmost Norway. ProfessorHelle points out it is highly unlikely that Harald was ableto have permanent, direct control over more than hiswest Norwegian core territory. To the extent that he madehis power felt in other parts of Norway it was probably inthe form of a precarious overlordship over other regionalrulers, such as the earls of Møre in the northernmost partof west Norway and the earls of Lade in Trøndelag andnorth Norway. Indeed, the eastern part of modern dayNorway did not become a permanent part of theNorwegian kingdom until the 11th century. This is theprobable Norwegian backdrop to the establishment ofthe Orkney Earldom.

With these dates and geographical frameworks in mindProfessor Helle then went on to examine the extent towhich Harald was involved in the emergence of theOrkney Earldom. For the time before and during Harald’sreign people were leaving west Norway, for variousreasons. Quite a few of them went to Iceland around890–910, allegedly because of Harald’s powerful rule,and he is reported to have imposed a fee on others thatemigrated. Orkneyinga Saga and Heimskringla recordthat Harald took measures against Vikings from Orkneyand Shetland who attacked western Norway. He wenton to the Hebrides and then attacked Scotland and the

Isle of Man. In contrast to other scholars, Professor Hellesees no reason to reject the view that Harald undertookwestern expeditions. With a mind on wider social,economic and political events, there is every reason tosuppose that he would have wanted to exercise somecontrol over Orkney and Shetland. That he conducted awest-oriented policy is supported by the fact that his sonand successor, Haakon, was later fostered at the Englishcourt of King Athelstan.

Yet there is no direct mention in the oldest relevant text,the Historia Norwegie, that Harald was behind theestablishment of the Earldom of Orkney. Here it is toldthat certain Vikings, descendants of Earl Ragnvald ofMøre, crossed the sea to Orkney in Harald’s days andsubjected the isles. Since then their descendants had beenlords of the isles but bound to pay tribute to the Norwegiankings. By this the author of the Historia may have meantto indicate that the contemporary tributary status of Orkneydated back to Harald’s days, which would fit in with theaccount of Heimskringla and Orkneyinga Saga that theOrkney Earldom was given to the Møre family by Harald.The mention in Historia Norwegie that one of Harald’ssons – Halfdan Long-Leg – was killed in Orkney wouldseem to suggest that the author was familiar with thestory of the emerging Earldom as it was later told inHeimskringla and Orkneyinga Saga. Far from the HistoriaNorwegie and the three vernacular texts conflicting witheach other, Professor Helle views them as beingsupplementary, agreeing on the fact that from thebeginning the Orkney Earldom was to some extent underroyal Norwegian sway.

Professor Helle concluded by suggesting that the Earldomof Orkney was established at the very end of the 9th

century by members of the Møre family who co-operatedwith Harald Finehair. Harald gave the earldom some kindof approbation but was not in the long run able to controlit to the degree he wanted, as shown by the killing of hisson Halfdan Long-Leg at the hands of the legendary EarlEinar, who nevertheless managed to keep the earldomfor himself and his descendants.

The saga tradition leaves little doubt that internal rivalryamong members of the earls’ family shaped the historyof the earldom throughout the rest of the Viking Ageand into the following Middle Ages. Norwegian rulersdid not hesitate to exploit the needs of rivalling earls andpretenders for external support, and were often behindthe frequent partitions of the earldom into thirds or halvesfrom the early 11th century. The Norwegian and Icelandichistoriography of the latter part of the 12th century maywell exaggerate the influence of Norwegian Viking Agekings over Orkney and Shetland in order to supportcontemporary advances towards a more solid dominionover the isles. Yet there is little reason to doubt that fromthe days of Harald Finehair, Norwegian rulers repeatedlysought to assert themselves as overlords over the Earldomof Orkney, and that they at times succeeded in making


23

themselves felt as such.

On the other hand it should be stressed that Norwegiankings never appear to have laid claim to sovereignty overthe northern part of mainland Scotland, primarilyCaithness, which was held in fief by the Orkney earlsfrom the Scottish king, starting with Earl Thorfinn theMighty in 1014.

Mr David Sellar (Honorary Fellow, School of Law,Edinburgh University) next focused on the west in hisdiscussion of The Kingdom of the Isles. His presentationcovered the area encompassing all the major island groupsto the west of the Scottish mainland, both Inner and OuterHebrides, and also, and crucially, the Isle of Man to thesouth from around the ninth or tenth centuries up to the13th century.

Like Helle and many speakers before, Mr Sellar stressedthat the sources for this period are pitifully scarce, andsuch few sources as there are can usually be interpretedin more than one way. In addition, these sources haveto be gleaned from a wide political spectrum, Scottish,Norwegian, Icelandic, Anglo-Saxon, Irish and Welsh; andfrom many disciplines ancillary to mainstream history:archaeology, literature (including sagas and poetry),placenames, personal names, legal history and mostrecently genetic studies. As with many other areas ofViking studies Mr Sellar commented that there is ampleroom for speculation, and the temptation is to fashion amore coherent narrative than the known facts warrant.Almost every statement made about the kingdom of theIsles from the 9th through to the 12th century needs majorqualification.

Mr Sellar first considered the origins of the Kingdom ofthe Isles. He stressed that there is very little hard evidenceto go on. Such evidence as does exists is often late andof dubious value. Relevant questions here are thedisputed date of Scandinavian settlement in the isles andthe extent of native survival. The answer to thesequestions is, in any case, unlikely to be uniform throughoutthe whole geographical area. Further, did the arrival ofthe Scandinavian incomers signal a fresh start, with theexpulsion or even extermination of earlier inhabitants?Genetic evidence should eventually help to settle thisparticular controversy. And what was the role of otherparties? It has been suggested that the kingdom ofDalriada in its death throes in the ninth century may havehelped to breathe life into the new Kingdom of the Isles.

Regarding chronology, Mr Sellar suggested that by lookingnorth to the emergence of the Orkney earldom and southto the establishment of the Scandinavian kingdom ofDublin, it seems likely that the kingdom of the Isles maydate from about the same time, that is, towards the endof the ninth century. One guiding thread is the title RíInnse Gall, which appears for the first time in the obit ofGofraid son of Harald in 989. Sixteen years earlier, English

sources name Gofraid’s brother Maccus as one of thekings who rowed the Anglo-Saxon King Edgar on theDee at Chester, and describe him as rex plurimaruminsularum (“king of very many islands”). Furtherreferences indicate that Maccus and Gofraid’s field ofoperation included both the Isle of Man and the InnerHebrides. It seems reasonable to conclude, therefore,that the Kingdom of the Isles was already in existence insome form by the second half of the tenth century.Although it is entirely possible that it may have emergedmuch earlier, the short answer is that we can not besure. Mr Sellar suggested that most historians wouldagree that it is reasonable to talk of an establishedkingdom by the time of Gofraid Crovan, sometime kingof Dublin as well as the Isles, who took power in 1079and died in 1095.

Mr Sellar then considered some of the characteristics ofthe established Kingdom of the Isles. He outlined thatthere are obvious comparisons to be made between theKingdom of the Isles and the Orkney earldom on the onehand and the Scandinavian kingdoms in Ireland,especially Dublin, on the other. But there are alsodifferences. The ambience of the Orkney earldom, aspresented for example in Orkneyinga Saga, wasoverwhelmingly Scandinavian; whereas that of theKingdom of the Isles was partly Gaelic. The Scandinaviankingdoms in Ireland, on the other hand, like that of theIsles, need to be seen in a Gaelic context as well as aScandinavian one; but, unlike the Kingdom of the Isles,these were centred on towns and trade – Dublin,Waterford, Wexford, Limerick and so forth. There maybe some evidence of trade in the Isles, but there is notmuch sign of a town. These points led Mr Sellar toconcentrate on two important characteristics of theKingdom of the Isles. The first was the hybrid nature ofthe kingdom, partly Gaelic and partly Norse.

Mr Sellar’s starting position was Megaw’s thirty-year-oldstudy which set out the Gaelic credentials of the dynastywhich ruled from Man, which had been previouslyoverlooked or even denied. On the face of it, the Manxend of the kingdom does have a very Scandinavian look– for example, the names of the kings, the fact that theIsle of Man has more runic inscriptions than anywhereelse outside of Scandinavia proper, and the oldestassembly of its kind in Western Europe. Yet after reviewingthe available evidence Megaw reached the conclusionthat, ‘We now see that our “Scandinavian” kings werecharacteristically Gaelic speakers.’ Mr Sellar believesthat this conclusion has been generally accepted.

Mr Sellar expanded this topic by touching on the sourcesused by Megaw - place-names, personal names, or ratherby-names, and on poetry – and considered them anew.Although the names of the Manx kings were uniformlyScandinavian, their by-names (nicknames, if you prefer)were often Gaelic. The evidence for this comes partlyfrom the contemporary record and partly from later


24

tradition. Recent work on the evidence for intermarriagebetween Gael and Scandinavian in Ireland concluded thatit was not unusual to find a mixture of Scandinavian andGaelic names in Ireland from the later tenth centuryonwards. The evidence of the Manx runes is even moreinstructive, and has been noted by several scholars. Theinscriptions on the crosses show that Vikings might givetheir sons Gaelic names, while men with Gaelic nameschose Scandinavian names for their children. Geneticevidence also, as outlined to us earlier in this conference,points strongly towards the hybrid nature of the kingdom.

Then there is the evidence of poetry. There is the well-known Gaelic praise poem for Ragnall, king of Man, whodied in 1229. Later Gaelic poems in the same genre arethe praise poem to Angus of Islay (c.1250), and the poemto MacSween of Knapdale, written about fifty years later.These poems are important as contemporary witnesses.It is true that they are stylised and bound by conventionas to what they can say, but they can yield intriguingnuggets of information. There is, for example, the stanzain the address to Angus of Islay, ‘Around thee are Torkell,Ivar and Olaf … heroes of Dublin of bright hazels’. Butperhaps the most significant thing about these poems isthe fact that they suggest a long and deep acculturationin the Gaelic learned tradition in their audience. Likeskaldic verse, the poems are allusive and are composedaccording to difficult and intricate rules. They demand awell informed audience familiar not only with the Gaeliclanguage but also with the poetic conventions. It is allthe more surprising therefore that these poems, especiallythat to Ragnall of Man, come not at the end of a longmainstream Irish tradition of writing poems in this genre,nor indeed in the middle, but right at the beginning.

The second important characteristic of the Kingdom ofthe Isles considered by Mr Sellar was the aspirations ofthe Kings of the Isles towards a common westernEuropean model of kingship. Indeed, he emphasisedthat the Kingdom of the Isles should not be thought of asexisting in some part-Gaelic, part-Norse time-warp: thekings clearly aspired to be up-to-date West Europeanmonarchs. He drew attention again to their castle-buildingactivities, their conventional piety - grants to the church,the foundation of monasteries, the creation of parishesand suchlike. They also used some of the other trappingsof Western European monarchy: such as charters instandard Latin form, seals and heraldry.

Mr Sellar completed his talk by referring to an article hewrote over forty years ago concerned with the Originsand Ancestry of Somerled in which he tried to assess theveracity of the traditional pedigree of Somerled aspreserved in medieval Gaelic manuscripts. This proclaimshis ultimate Gaelic ancestry in the male line. Mr Sellaroutlined his old position and then recent discussionsconcerning the topic. In a good illustration of how inter-disciplinary research can aid Viking studies, he ended byreferring to recent Y-chromosome research conducted by

Prof. Bryan Sykes of Oxford. Somerled’s Y-chromosomeappears to be of a distinctively Scandinavian type. If thisis correct, Somerled’s ancestry in the male line wasScandinavian rather than Gaelic. Ironically, the studyalso suggests, again on the basis of genetic evidence,that the MacLeods, who have always gloried in their highScandinavian descent in their poetry and their familytradition, are, in fact, of Gaelic descent in the male line.Mr Sellar concluded by saying that one might say thatthis all goes to show the hybrid nature of the Kingdom ofthe Isles.

The final two lectures were concerned with theproblematic area of religious development and change.Dr Lesley Abrams (Tutor in History, Balliol College,University of Oxford) presented first on the transitionFrom Paganism to Christianity in Scotland. Dr Abramsbegan her lecture by revisiting a female Viking grave onBarra found in 1862. The woman was buried with ovaltortoise brooches, objects for textile production, a ringed-pin and possible drinking horn. The grave was coveredwith a mound. Dr Abrams pointed to the Scandinavianand Pagan attributes of such burials. She contrasted thispagan grave with the Kilbar rune-stone from the sameisland. The stone has a cross on one side and runicinscription on the other. Although we cannot tell howmany years separated the burial and the grave Dr Abramstakes these to epitomise one of the biggest changes thatearly Medieval societies underwent – the transition fromPaganism to Christianity.

How did this process happen? Dr Abrams returned toareas discussed previously in the conference, stressingthat in order to frame this question we have to considerthe effect on the population and settlement patternsduring the initial Viking incursions and migrations. Shestressed again how these complex processes affect anyinterpretations, including religious conversion, we haveto offer.

Dr Abrams outlined how Christianity could have adramatic effect on individuals and societies. Aside fromgiving a moral structure, it also impacted on many otherareas of life, for example, what you did with your dead,how you treated your children, when you could work,how you were ruled and where your money went. In DrAbrams’ view Christianity’s greatest success was its abilityto get into all aspects of life: morality; social control;education, the ideology of rule; patronage; display ofsocial status and political power. All of these eventuallycame to be manifested in Christianity.

But there are many problems associated with studyingChristian conversion and, more particularly, establishingwhether it has actually happened. How does one definea Christian in the Conversion period? Is it when peopleare baptised? Is it when they absorb Christian teaching?Is it when people adopt Christian attitudes and lifestyles?Is it when an individual chooses Christianity or is it only


25

when the society converts?

Dr Abrams also considered motivation – why did peopleconvert? Universally there would be the Christian messageof salvation, but focus has more often been on thepractical benefits for elites where religion is equated withpower. Christianity brought a cultural package, includingbooks, ideology, ritual, opportunities for monumentaldisplay and the like, all attributes that were appealing toelites. In contrast, Dr Abrams suggested that it is difficultto assess the perceived advantages of conversion forpeople further down the social ladder. Perhaps theChristian obligation of helping the poor brought benefitsto such people. Perhaps the elites converted first.

With these considerations in mind, Dr Abrams outlinedthe two classic models of conversion. The ‘top-downmodel’, where missionaries make their pitch to kings whoin turn convert their families and courts. The kings thenuse their secular power to encourage or force throughconversion which leads to a new social order. This modelis supported in historical texts and can often be peaceful.The alternative ‘bottom-up model’ is more difficult todefine and recognise. It is where individuals modelthemselves on their neighbours and they are notcompelled to convert. In other words, there is no directingpower. The first model has been the one that has longdominated discussions, spurred on largely by historicaltexts and the fact that societies were obvious hierarchical.But Dr Abrams questioned whether we have to alwaysaccept this view and believes that we are simplifying acomplex situation.

Taking Scandinavian Scotland as an example she believesthat Conversion would have depended on a variety oflocal circumstances. For example, the ebb and flow ofmilitary power and differences in power and social standingbetween groups and elites, particularly indigenous groups,would all have been influential. The degree of contactwith the homeland which was still pagan would also havehad an effect. Indigenous regional circumstances werealso important – was there a pre-existing Christianpopulation and how dominant was it? Were thereinherited Christian institutions and/or Christian cults?Answers to these questions are very difficult to answer.Where there is evidence it is largely confined toarchaeology, sculpture, place-names and churchdedications. We also have retrospective historical records.

Given this, Dr Abrams wondered if we can say anythingdefinite about the conversion of Scandinavian Scotland.Grave goods may be suggestive. She believes that it isfair to assume that all of the Viking settlers were paganon arrival, shown by the numerous Viking graves.Although burial with grave goods continued well into the10th century she suggested that cessation of this practicesuggests that something had changed in society. Whereversocieties were converted to Christianity, by and large theystopped putting objects in graves in this way.

Dr Abrams then considered whether the traditionalmodels offered any insight. She began her analysis inthe Northern Isles where conversion has traditionally beenexplained by recourse to the top-down model. Recentlythis has been challenged. Scandinavians may havebecome Christianised long before the Orkney Earldomwere forced to accept Christianity, as told in the historicaltexts. This may be supported by recent archaeologicalexcavations, for example at Deerness, Orkney where achapel was in use before 995. In other words the firstScandinavian churches in Orkney were private chapelsbuilt by chieftains next to their halls and homes. Further,the political factions in Orkney may be mirrored byreligious factions, a point Dr Barrett made earlier in theconference. This question, Dr Abrams suggests, can onlybe solved by an increased programme of excavations.

Dr Abrams then moved her focus to the Hebrides, askingwhich model fits this region best. This is a problematicarea, mainly because it is difficult to recognise two ofthe entities that form the model – existing churches andelites. Where are the churches which could haveorchestrated religious conversion in the Hebrides, or atleast exercised some form of religious leadership? DidIona play a central role? Further, who were the elites –where would, for example, top-down influence havecome from, if at all? Indeed, the whole conversion processmay have been different from the Northern Isles withless scope for using conversion as a political act. Perhapsconversion was related more to peer-pressure andemulation. Patronage may have been on a small-scalelevel fostered by local situations. At present, there is littleevidence of high profile political conversion or missionarycampaigns in the Hebrides. Clearly regional circumstanceswould have distinguished the experience of conversion.

Moving on from the initial processes of conversion, DrAbrams then assessed the potential role of influentialScandinavian converts who could have been as importantas any Christian survivor. According to later traditions,some of the noteworthy Scandinavian settlers of Icelandcame from the Hebrides and they were Christian. Whilstthis is recorded in the historical texts, Dr Abrams findsthe evidence inconclusive. Perhaps they were used as aform of legitimisation in later times.

Dr Abrams ended where she began - in Barra. Referringto the pagan and Christian evidence, she pondered whatwould the lives have been like for individuals practisingand living these different traditions. She speculated thatthe people represented by the grave and the cross spokethe same language; lived in the same kind of house andused the same type of pottery. The livelihood of theircommunities was probably gained in much the same way.But conversion obviously made a difference to theirdeaths, the ways they were buried and the associatedceremonies. Their families may have been tied intodifferent power structures with different political


26

allegiances and commitments. Conversion may haveopened up a wider social network. Conversion wouldhave caused restrictions, for example people would haveto give up sacrifices and divinations. Certain places inthe landscape may also have been transformed – a sacredspring becomes a holy well. Conversion also would haveaffected family values and lifestyles.

Dr Haki Antonsson (Research Fellow, Centre ofMedieval Studies, University of Bergen) continuedthe religious theme by discussing The Uses of Saints’ Cults.He began his paper by emphasising the importance oflocal saints for relatively recently converted peoples ofChristian Europe. In Scandinavia the cults of St Olaf ofNorway (1030) and St Magnus of Orkney (d. 1116/17)are representative of the earliest native saints. DrAntonsson compared these two cults from a variety ofperspectives, while also attempting to place them withina wider European context. The principal question heconsidered was whether a common pattern can bedetected in the make-up of native Scandinavian cults.

Dr Antonsson stressed that a key point is that St Olaf andSt Magnus were secular rulers and not abbots, bishopsor other members of the institutional Church. In theeleventh and twelfth century, kings and princes appearas saints in Scandinavia, as well as in other parts of theso-called European periphery: Hungary, Bohemia andKievan Ruœ. In Scandinavia it is only with the growingindependence of the Church, from the second half ofthe twelfth century onwards, that a shift can be observedtowards ecclesiastical figures as saints.

There were undoubtedly both dynastic and national/regional dimensions to the appearance of secular rulersas saints on the Christian periphery. Of course, the twodimensions – the dynastic and the national/regional –overlap and, in a sense, reinforce each other. The nationaldimension is most clearly encountered in the case of thecult of St Olaf in Norway. From very early on his cultbecame not only identified with the Norwegian kingshipbut also with the very notion of Norway as a kingdom.Dr Antonsson believes that comparable sentiments canbe gleaned in Orkneyinga Saga, which was written inthe early thirteenth century, in relation to St Magnus.

The importance of the cults for the Church as aninstitution, however, should also be emphasised. Thus inOrkney, the cult of Magnus played an important role inthe development of the bishopric of the earldom fromthe late 1130s onwards. Around roughly the same time,the newly established archbishopric of Trondheim/Nidaros(1153) adopted and relaunched the cult of St Olaf withthe purpose of raising the see’s profile and prestige. Themost concrete expressions of this activity are, of course,the construction of the new cathedral in Kirkwall and thegreat extension to St Olaf´s cathedral in Nidaros.

The Latin Legends of St Olaf and St Magnus (the latter

only fragmentarily preserved) were composed roughly inthe same period (1170s or 1180s). The hagiographicthemes common to both Passio Olavi and Vita SanctiMagni are intellectual constructs which, one expects, wereread and appreciated only by the learned few. But DrAntonsson argued that they are important intellectualconstructs, for they reveal how the earliest writers aboutNorway and Orkney applied sophisticated discourse inorder to integrate the pagan, semi-pagan or Viking pastsof these regions into the divine or salvific history ofChristianity. It is noteworthy that similar discourse can befound in the earliest hagiography emanating from Centraland Eastern Europe (in particular, in the Lives of StWenceslas in Bohemia and Boris and Gleb in Kievan Rus).In the case of St Magnus, a highly educated Englishmanwas recruited for this purpose, while Passio Olavi wascomposed under the auspices of the archbishop of Nidaros.The short Passio Olavi, in particular, is a well-crafted andlearned text and, as its manuscript preservationdemonstrates, was undoubtedly composed with exportin mind. These texts were thus not only written to provideappropriate readings for the feast-days of the saints, butalso in order to inform other learned ecclesiastics in foreignlands that these lands in the far North had been fullyintegrated into the Christian world.

Dr Antonsson concluded that whether the cult of St Olafinfluenced that of St Magnus, or vice-versa, is impossibleto establish. In the light, however, of the close linksbetween Norway and Orkney in this period, it is reasonableto assume a mutual interaction.

CONCLUSION

Dr Barbara Crawford (Strathmartine Centre forResearch and Education in Scottish History, StAndrews) concluded the conference with an assessmentof The Vikings and their Significance for Scotland. DrCrawford stressed that the theme of the Conferenceencompassed a wide and diverse range of disciplinesrelative to the topic and brought together all the variedaspects of the Viking impact on Scotland: the history, thearchaeology, the place-names and the literary andlinguistic evidence. In addition we heard the latestcontribution to the field of early population history in theform of new genetic studies, an aspect which is going tohave a very important role indeed in future considerationof the impact of the Scandinavian invaders on Scotland.

As the Conference had been made aware, the Vikingstory relative to Scotland was not a simple one. Nor, aswe had heard from many of the speakers, was theevidence plentiful. Indeed it is remarkably thin as regardsthe historical sources. That is why students of Viking historyhave to be aware of all the sources which contribute toan understanding of the culture and impact of theseinvaders from the north: of the material evidence dug upfrom the ground; of the place-names which the invadersbrought with them and which have become imprinted


27

on the landscape of the Northern and Western Isles, thenorth mainland of Scotland and scattered throughout theLowlands and Borders; of the Irish annals and Gaelicliterature and nomenclature which have hidden withinthem evidence for the Scandinavian impact on Celticareas; of the later Latin and Icelandic sources which areour ‘historical’ evidence. Understanding all this multiplicityof information, and combining it into a synthesis which isintelligible and well informed is no easy task, especiallywhen interpretation of the source evidence keepschanging and new hypotheses challenge our pre-conceived beliefs.

Dr Crawford suggested that for us in Scotland, the impactof the Vikings has started to loom rather larger in thenational consciousness than it once did. For one thing,the Vikings are not merely a ‘fringe’ phenomenon of theNorthern and Western Isles, for we now understand thatthey probably affected the central political developmentof the Picto-Scottish kingdom. For another, it is betterappreciated that they were not merely a destructive force.They came and settled in the islands and north mainlandwith their own religious and political identity and probablywith their own economic agendas. Throughout theconference the audience heard some very new re-assessments of the economic and religious changes whichwere brought about, and of the very different andcontroversial political development of Pictland in the VikingAge, which now brings Norse activity in Ross and Moraycentre stage, suggesting that it is likely to have beenrather influential in the re-shaping of the early medievalkingdom of Alba.

That Norse activity was led by the Earls of Orkney andseveral papers focused on these northern earls and theirmilitary and economic power-base, as well as theirimportant contribution to medieval Christendom and thepowerful cult of saints. The wealth of the Earldom underlaythe flourishing of skaldic poetry in Orkney, and theproduction of the Earls’ saga was a result of the fameand renown of the Earldom court, where it may indeedhave been written (or part of it). One of the longest,finest and most skilfully carved runic inscriptions of thewhole northern world is found in Orkney, inside aprehistoric tomb, moreover, which adds to its culturalsignificance. Were these gifted and creative men of thenorth also Vikings? It all depends on how we interpretthat much over-worked term. The genesis of this literaryflourishing certainly lies in the northern culture which theVikings brought with them, and which contributes so muchto the Scotland of today. The Norse-Gaelic culture of theKingdom of the Isles is also a little appreciated factor,but which, as we heard, is entrenched in historical personalnomenclature and in the praise poems of Hebrideanpoetic tradition. The Highland galley (and the ship term‘birlinn’) is directly descended from the Viking longshipand northern maritime technology. Dr Crawford closedthe conference by stressing that the delivered papersbrought all these aspects – and many more - to the fore

and revealed the varied and long-lasting importance ofthe Vikings for Scotland. She also highlighted one aspectwhich had barely been touched on, the role of publicassemblies (“things”) and the sites of these assembliesin Norway, and in the different parts of the Viking world.Thingvellir in Iceland and Tynwald in the Isle of Man arethe best known survivals of this remarkable aspect ofViking legal history but such assemblies were establishedwherever the Vikings put down roots and createdcommunities. It is possibly in the world of law that theVikings made their most significant contribution to thesocial development of the Norse colonies and theirneighbouring kingdoms!


28

APPENDIX ONE

PROGRAMMEWednesday 20 September 2006

17.30 Welcome

17.35 Speaker Introduction By ChairpersonProfessor T Chris Smout CBE FBA FRSE

17.40 The Northern World and its Significance for ScotlandMagnus Magnusson Hon KBE FRSE

18.30 Question and Answer Session

18.50 Vote Of Thanks

Thursday 21 September 2006

09.00 Registration and Coffee

09.30 RSE and Norwegian Academy WelcomeSir Michael Atiyah OM FRS PRSE Hon FREng HonFMedSci HonFFAPresident, The Royal Society of Edinburgh

And

Professor Ole Didrik LaerumPresident, The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

Morning Session: Raids and Impact

09.35 Introduction and OverviewChairperson: Professor Edward CowanDirector of Crichton Campus, University of Glasgow

09.40 Session 1: Impact on the Christian ChurchProfessor David DumvilleChair in History, Palaeography and Celtic, Department of History, University of Aberdeen

10.15 Session 2: The Norse and the Creation of ScotlandDr Dauvit BrounLecturer, Department of History, University of Glasgow

10.50 Tea / Coffee

11.20 Session 3: Impact on Irish and Scottish SocietyDr Colmán EtchinghamLecturer, Department of Modern History, National University of Ireland, Maynooth


29

11.55 Session 4: The Genetic ImpactDr James WilsonRoyal Society Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh


13.00 Lunch

Afternoon Session: Settlement, Trade and Maritime Impact

14.00 Introduction and OverviewChairperson: Professor Christopher D Morris FRSEProfessor Emeritus of Archaeology and former Vice-Principal (Arts-side), University of Glasgow

14.05 Session 5: Excavations at Kaupang and Evidence of Connections with The British IslesFrans-Arne StylegarCommissioner of Monuments and Sites, Vest-Agder County

14.40 Session 6: The Pirate Fishermen: The Political Economy of �Saga Age� OrkneyDr James BarrettSenior Lecturer, Department of Archaeology, University of York

15.15 Session 7: Viking Settlement in ScotlandDr Anna RitchieConsultant Archaeologist

15.50 Tea / Coffee

16.20 Session 8: Viking Ships and Highland GalleysProfessor Arne-Emil ChristensenUniversity of Oslo


17.30 End of Session

18.30 Evening Reception at Edinburgh Castle

Friday 22 September 2006

Morning Session: Language and Literary Culture

09.05 Introduction and OverviewChairperson: Doreen WaughUniversity of Edinburgh

09.10 Session 9: Place-names as Evidence of Scandinavian InfluenceDr Gillian Fellows-JensenUniversity of Copenhagen


30

09.45 Session 10: Orkneyinga Saga: its Literary Form, Content and OriginProfessor Else MundalCentre for Medieval Studies, University of Bergen

10.20 Tea / Coffee

10.50 Session 11: Orkney�s Skaldic AchievementMr Paul BibireFormer Lecturer, University of St Andrews

11.25 Session 12: RunesProfessor Michael BarnesProfessor Emeritus of Scandinavian Studies, University of London


12.30 Lunch

Afternoon Session: Political and Religious Development

13.30 Introduction and OverviewChairperson: Dr Barbara Crawford FRSEUniversity of St Andrews

13.35 Session 13: Earls of OrkneyProfessor Knut Helle CorrFRSEProfessor Emeritus of Medieval History, University of Bergen

14.10 Session 14: The Kingdom of the IslesMr David SellarHonorary Fellow, School of Law, University of Edinburgh

14.45 Session 15: From Paganism to ChristianityDr Lesley AbramsTutor in History, Balliol College, University of Oxford

15.20 Tea / Coffee

15.50 Session 16: Saints and Their UsesDr Haki AntonssonResearch Fellow, Centre of Medieval Studies, University of Bergen


17.00 Concluding Remarks: The Vikings and Their Significance for ScotlandDr Barbara Crawford FRSE

17.30 Close


31

APPENDIX TWO

SPEAKERS� BIOGRAPHIES

Magnus Magnusson Hon KBE FRSEFormer Writer and Broadcaster

Magnus Magnusson was born in Iceland in 1929, andstill retains his Icelandic nationality. He was educated atThe Edinburgh Academy and Jesus College, Oxford, wherehe studied English Language and Literature, and OldIcelandic. He entered journalism in 1953 as a cub reporteron the Scottish Daily Express, before joining The Scotsmanin 1961 as Chief Features Writer and Assistant Editor.Since 1967 he has been a freelance writer andbroadcaster, specialising in history, archaeology and theenvironment. He was the Question-master of BBC1’spopular quiz programme Mastermind for 25 years (1972-97), and presented on BBC1 a major 12-part series,Vikings!, in 1980. He has published more than 30 books,including translations of novels by the Icelandic NobelPrize-winner Halldór Laxness, as well as several IcelandicSagas.

Professor Edward CowanDirector of Crichton Campus, University ofGlasgow

Ted Cowan taught at the Universities of Edinburgh, Guelph(Ontario) and Glasgow before taking up his presentposition as Director of the University of Glasgow’s CrichtonCampus. Professor of Scottish History at Glasgow, he ismuch in demand as a speaker, journalist and broadcaster.He has published widely on various aspects of ScottishHistory and has been a Visiting Professor in Australia,New Zealand, Canada and the United States. His mostrecent publication is For Freedom Alone: The Declarationof Arbroath 1320.

Professor David DumvilleUniversity of Aberdeen

Prof David Norman Dumville. Educ St Nicholas GSNorthwood, Emmanuel Coll Cambridge (open entranceexhibitioner, sr scholar, MA), Univ of Edinburgh (PhD,Jeremiah Dalziel Prize); Career Univ of Wales fell Deptof Welsh UC Swansea 1976-77, asst prof Dept of EnglishUniv of Pennsylvania 1977-78; Univ of Cambridge: univlectr Dept of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic 1978-91,reader in early mediaeval history and culture of the BritishIsles 1991-95, prof of palaeography and cultural history1995-2004; Girton Coll Cambridge: fell 1978-2004 (lifefell 2005-), dir of studies in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic1978-2004, coll lectr 1978-99, (moral) tutor 1980-82,memb Cncl 1981-82, memb various Coll ctees; externaldir of studies in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic: EmmanuelColl and St Catharine’s Coll Cambridge 1978-85,Fitzwilliam Coll Cambridge 1991-2003; prof of history,

palaeography and Celtic Univ of Aberdeen 2005-; visitingprof Sch of Celtic Studies Dublin Inst for Advanced Studies1996-97; distinguished visiting prof of mediaeval studiesUniv o Calif Berkeley 1997, visiting fell Huntington LibrarySan Marino CA 1984; vice-pres Centre Int de Rechercheet de Documentation sur le Monachisme Celtique(Daoulas) 1986-; Br Acad research reader in thehumanities 1985-87, research assoc Sch of Celtic StudiesDublin Inst for Advanced Studies 1989-; managing edMediaeval Scandinavia and JI of Celtic Studies 2005-;memb Editorial Advsy Bd: Anglo-Saxon Studies inArchaeology and History 1978-85, Toronto Medieval Textsand Translations 1978-, Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies1980-93, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 1993-2002;author of numerous reviews and articles in learned jls;memb jt Br Acad and Royal Historical Soc Ctee on Anglo-Saxon Charters 1986-90 and 1993-2003; O’Donnell lectrin Celtic Studies: Univ of Oxford 1977/78, Univ ofEdinburgh 1980/81, Univ of Wales 1982/83; FRHistS 1976,FSA 1983, FRSAIre 1989, FSA Scot 1999, Books Chroniclesand Annals of Mediaeval Ireland and Wales: TheClonmacnoise-group Texts (with K Grabowski, 1984), TheHistoria Brittonum: The ‘Vatican’ Recension (1985), Britain’sLiterary Heritage: The Early and Central Middle Agesc650-c1200 AD (1986), Histories and Pseudo-histories ofthe Insular Middle Ages (1990), Wessex and England fromAlfred to Edgar: Six Essays on Political, Cultural, andEcclesiastical Revival (1992), Liturgy and the EcclesiasticalHistory of Late Anglo-Saxon England: Four Studies (1992),English Caroline Script and Monastic History: Studies inBenedictinism AD 950-1030 (1993), Saint Patrick AD 493-1993 (jtly, 1993), Britons and Anglo-Saxons In the EarlyMiddle Ages (1993), The Churches of North Britain in theFirst Viking-Age Europe (1997), Councils and Synods ofthe Gaelic Early and Central Middle Ages (1997), APalaeographer’s Review: The Insular System of Scripts inthe Early Middle Ages (2 vols, 1999-2005), Saint Davidof Wales (2001), Annales Cambriae (2002-), The Annalsof Ulster (2005-), Cain Adomnain and Canones Adomnani(with P P O Neill, 2003), Abbreviations used in InsularScript (2004), The Early Mediaeval Insular Churches andthe Preservation of the Roman Literature (2004),Brenhinoedd y Saeson, ‘The Kings of the English (2005-);Recreations: travel in North America, politics and otherarguments.

Dr Dauvit BrounUniversity of Glasgow

Completed Ph.D. at University of Edinburgh in 1988(supervised by Dr John Bannerman and Prof. G. W. S.Barrow) and appointed lecturer in Scottish History atUniversity of Glasgow in 1990 (senior lecturer in 2000).


32

Publications range from 8th-14th cents, and include TheIrish Identity of the Kingdom of the Scots in the 12th and13th Centuries (Woodbridge 1999), The Charters of GaelicScotland and Ireland in the Early and Central Middle Ages,Quiggin pamphlet no.2 (Cambridge 1995); by Septembershould have completed The Idea of Britain and the Originsof Scottish Independence (EUP) and the first volume of anew edition (with Julian Harrison) of The Chronicle ofMelrose: a Stratigraphic Edition (Scottish History Society).Editor (pre-1600) of The Scottish Historical Review, andeditor (1991-9) of The Innes Review. General editor (withMaire Ni Mhaonaigh and Huw Pryce) of Boydell andBrewer Studies in Celtic History.

Dr Colmmán EtchinghamNational University of Ireland, Maynooth

Dr Etchingham is a lecturer in the History Department ofNUI Maynooth. His research interests cover the history ofpre-Norman Ireland. Particular areas on which he haspublished are the organisation of the church and its rolein society, early Irish law, Irish kingship, the evaluation ofthe annals as a historical source, the Vikings as raidersand settlers and Viking Age relations between Irelandand Britain.

Dr Etchingham’s publications include

· ‘Les Vikings dans les sources documentairesirlandaises: le cas des annals’, in L’héritagemaritime des Vikings en Europe de l’Ouest , ed.Élisabeth Ridel (Caen: Presses universitaires deCaen, 2002), pp 35-56.

· ‘North Wales, Ireland and the Isles: the InsularViking zone’, in Peritia 15 (2001 [2002]), 145-187.

· Church organisation in Ireland AD 650 to 1000(Maynooth: Laigin Publications, 1999, reprinted2002). Pp viii + 538.

· ‘Preface to paperback edition’, in E. A.Thompson, Who was Saint Patrick? (Woodbridge:The Boydell Press, 1999; first published 1985),pp xvii-xxxii.

· ‘The idea of monastic austerity in early Ireland’,in Luxury and austerity, ed. J. R. Hill and ColmLennon (Dublin: University College Dublin Press,1999), pp 14-29.

· ‘Early medieval Irish history’, in Progress inmedieval Irish studies, ed. Katharine Simms andK. R. McCone (Maynooth: St Patrick’s CollegeMaynooth Department of Old and Middle Irish,1996), pp 123-53.

· Viking raids on Irish church settlements in theninth century: a reconsideration of the annals

(Maynooth: St Patrick’s College MaynoothDepartment of Old and Middle Irish, 1996). Ppvi + 79.

Dr James WilsonRoyal Society Research Fellow

After graduating in genetics from the University ofEdinburgh, Dr. Jim Wilson studied the genetic history ofthe British Isles as part of his DPhil at New College,Oxford. During his doctorate he demonstrated geneticallythe predominantly Norse paternal ancestry in his nativeOrkney and a genetic connection between the Iberiansand the Celtic-speaking peoples of the British Isles. TheBBC2 series ‘Blood of the Vikings’ followed on from thiswork. After postdoctoral work at University CollegeLondon on medical and pharmaco-genetics he returnedto Scotland and is now a Royal Society Research Fellowat Edinburgh and runs a large-scale genetic epidemiologyproject looking at risk factors for cardiovascular diseasein Orkney. The genetic history of the British Isles is alsounder further study, using new high resolution data andgenetic markers.

Dr James BarrettUniversity of York

James Barrett is a Senior Lecturer in medievalarchaeology and zooarchaeology at the University ofYork. He has published widely on social and economicaspects of Scandinavian settlement in Scotland and onthe long-term development of the European fish trade.He directed excavation of the late Viking Age andmedieval settlement of Quoygrew, Orkney, from 1997to 2005 and was recently coordinator of environmentalarchaeology for excavations at Kaupang, Norway. He iscurrently principal investigator of The Medieval Originsof Commercial Sea Fishing Project, funded by theLeverhulme Trust.

Dr Anna RitchieConsultant Archaeologist

A freelance archaeologist working in Scotland for thelast forty years, Anna Ritchie has been a President ofthe Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, a Trustee of boththe National Museums of Scotland and the BritishMuseum and a member of the Ancient MonumentsBoard for Scotland, and she was awarded OBE forservices to Scottish archaeology. Her excavations inOrkney include a Viking settlement and her books includeViking Scotland and Iona, and research interests havetaken her to the Faroes, Norway and Iceland.

Professor Arne-Emil ChristensenUniversity of Oslo

Arne Emil Christensen has worked as an archaeologistat the Cultural Museum, University of Oslo since his


33

MA in 1963. His PhD was on the medieval boat findsfrom Bryggen in Bergen. He has excavated and publishedViking-Age and Medieval shipwrecks, and worked on IronAge/Viking-Age tools and craftsmanship, He was Curatorof the Viking Ship Museum for 10 years, until retirementin 2005.

Dr Gillian Fellows-JensenUniversity of Copenhagen

Gillian Fellows-Jensen B.A., Ph.D., dr.phil. BornManchester. Educated at the Universities of London andCopenhagen. Employed at Copenhagen University’sInstitute of Name Research from 1962-2003. Still engagedin research into Scandinavian place-names and personalnames in the British Isles and Normandy. Member of theArnamagnaean Commission since 1991. Since 1994 I havebeen responsible, together with Peter Springborg, fororganising nine international seminars on Care andconservation of manuscripts. The tenth seminar is due tobe held in October 2006. Since 1982 I have been amember of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences andLetters and in 1999 I organised on behalf of this Academya joint symposium with the Royal Society of Edinburgh onDenmark and Scotland: the cultural and environmentalresources of small nations (published 2001).

Professor Else MundalCentre for Medieval Studies, University of Bergen

Else Mundal, born 1944. Studied history, folklore andScandinavian languages and literature, including OldNorse, at the University of Oslo 1964–71. Docent of OldNorse at the University of Oslo from 1977, professor ofOld Norse at the same university from 1985, professor ofOld Norse at Department of Scandinavian languages andliterature, University of Bergen from 1994, from 2003attached to Centre for Medieval Studies at the sameuniversity. At Centre for Medieval Studies Else Mundal isthe leader of the research project The Arrival of Writingwhich is one of four major projects within the researchprogramme of this centre. She is also responsible for theresearch training at the centre.

Mr Paul BibireFormer Lecturer, University of St Andrews

Paul Bibire is a former lecturer at the universities of StAndrews and Cambridge.

Professor Michael BarnesProfessor Emeritus of Scandinavian Studies,University of London

Michael P. Barnes, born in 1940, took a BA Degree inScandinavian Languages at University College London in1963, followed by a research MA in the same field in1966. As well as London, he has studied in Norway,Sweden and the Faroe Islands. From 1964 to 2005 he

taught in the Department of Scandinavian Studies, UCL,of which he was Head 1983-98. He is currently ProfessorEmeritus of Scandinavian Studies in UCL. Michael Barneshas published books and articles on Scandinavian-language topics, including most recently The NornLanguage of Orkney and Shetland (1998), FaroeseLanguage Studies (2001), Introduction to ScandinavianPhonetics (2005 – co-authored by Tom Lundskær-Nielsenand Annika Lindskog) and The Scandinavian RunicInscriptions of Britain (2006 – co-authored by R.I. Page).He was for many years editor of Saga-Book, the journalof the Viking Society for Northern Research, and iscurrently one of the Society’s Joint Honorary Secretaries.

Professor Knut Helle CorrFRSEProfessor Emeritus of Medieval History, Universityof Bergen

Knut Helle (b. 1930) is Professor Emeritus of MedievalHistory at the University of Bergen.His main fields of research are medieval politicalinstitutions, urban history and history of law. Hispublications include books on topics from all these fieldsand also comprehensive histories of Norway and the OldWorld in the high Middle Ages. He has written severalarticles on Norway’s medieval relations with the BritishIsles and the Norse island communities of the NorthAtlantic, and was the editor the first volume of TheCambridge History of Scandinavia (2003), to which healso contributed.

Mr David SellarHonorary Fellow, School of Law, University ofEdinburgh

David Sellar is an honorary fellow of the School of Lawof the University of Edinburgh. His main interests lie inScots law and Scottish history. In addition to publicationson private law and legal history, he has written onHebridean sea-kings, the Lordship of the Isles, and theorigins of many Highland families, including theMacDonalds, the Campbells and the MacLeods. Hegave the O’Donnell Lecture in Edinburgh in 1985, andwas a Rhind Lecturer in 2000. He has been a Memberof the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland, Chairmanof Council of the Scottish History Society, Vice-Presidentof the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Literary Directorof the Stair Society and Chairman of the standingConference of Scottish Medievalists. He has been ButePursuivant of Arms since 2001.

Dr Lesley AbramsTutor in History, Balliol College, University of Oxford

Fellow and Tutor in History, Balliol College, Oxford, since2000. Educated at Toronto and Oxford. Previousacademic appointments in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge, and


34

the Department of History and Welsh History, Universityof Wales, Aberystwyth. Has published in the fields ofthe history of the Anglo-Saxon Church, the conversionto Christianity of Scandinavia and Scandinaviansettlements overseas, and, more generally, on religiouschange in the early Middle Ages.

Dr Haki AntonssonResearch Fellow, Centre of Medieval Studies,University of Bergen

Born in Reykjavik, Iceland 1970. Studied history and OldNorse literature at the University of Iceland, 1990-1992.M.Litt.(1995) and Ph.D.(2000) in medieval history,University of St Andrews. Lecturer in the Department ofMedieval History, University of St Andrews, 2000-2001and in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic,University of Cambridge 2001-2004. Research Fellow,Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Bergen 2004-. Haki’s main interest of research is European influenceon Scandinavian society and literature in the eleventhand twelfth century, particularly the cult of saints onwhich he published a number of articles. A monographentitled The Cult of St Magnus Orkney: a ScandinavianMartyr-Cult in Context will be published by Brill AcademicPublishers in early 2007.


35

APPENDIX THREE

PARTICIPANT LIST

Dr Christopher AbramLecturer, Department of Scandinavian Studies,UCL, London

*Dr Lesley AbramsTutor in History, Balliol CollegeUniversity of Oxford

Miss Irene AddieGlasgow

Mrs Catherine AndersonPhD StudentEdinburgh

Ms Ruth Anderson QuigleyEdinburgh

*Dr Haki AntonssonResearch Fellow, Centre of Medieval StudiesUniversity of Bergen

Lady AtiyahEdinburgh

Sir Michael Atiyah OM FRS HonFREng HonFMedSciHonFRSE PRSEPresident, The Royal Society of Edinburgh

Mr Martin AxfordRetired Civil ServantBridge of Weir

Mrs Wendy AxfordRetired LibrarianBridge of Weir

Mr John BaldwinEdinburgh

Dr E J Balfour CBE DSc FRSEScourie EstateMarkinch

Mrs Beverley Ballin SmithArchaeological Project ManagerUniversity of Edinburgh

*Professor Michael BarnesProfessor Emeritus of Scandinavian StudiesUniversity of London

*Dr James BarrettSenior LecturerDepartment of Archaeology, University of York

Mrs Robina Rendall BartonViking Unst Project CoordinatorShetland Amenity TrustLerwick

Lt. Cmdr. Thomas BellRetiredby Alyth

*Mr Paul BibireFormer LecturerUniversity of St AndrewsSt Andrews

Ms Doreen BirkelandStudentGrangemouth

Mrs Pamela BlackleyVolunteer Guide at St GilesEdinburgh

Mrs Katrina BlytheRetiredEdinburgh

Ms Adrienne BrennanArtist/ Designer/ TeacherGourock

*Mr Dauvit BrounLecturerDepartment of HistoryUniversity of Glasgow

Mrs Alison BrownRetiredRutherglen

Mr Norman BrownRetiredRutherglen

Mrs Lorna BrownYouth Development WorkerOrkney

Mrs Anne BrundleCurator of ArchaeologyThe Orkney MuseumKirkwall

Mr Alan CalderDunfermline

* Denotes Speaker / + Denotes Chairperson


36

Mrs Ethne CalderDunfermline

Ms Jane CarmichaelDirector of CollectionsNational Museums of ScotlandEdinburgh

Dr James CarterRetiredCupar

Mrs Anne CarterRetiredCupar

Ms Morven ChisolmInternational Relations OfficerRoyal Society of Edinburgh

*Professor Arne-Emil ChristensenUniversity of Oslo

Dr Carol ChristiansonCurator and Community Museums OfficerShetland Museum & Archives, Lerwick

Dr David ClarkeKeeper of ArchaeologyNational Museums of ScotlandEdinburgh

Dr Mairianna Birkeland ClydeAssociate LecturerOpen University IIV ScotlandEdinburgh

Dr Aart CoertRetiredHeesch

Miss Jean E. M. ComrieRetiredEdinburgh

Mrs Roswitha CormackEdinburgh

+Professor E J Cowan FRSEProfessor of Scottish HistoryUniversity of Glasgow

+Dr B E Crawford FRSEHonorary DirectorStrathmartine Centre for Research and Education inScottish History, St Andrews

Miss Charlotte CrowstonEdinburgh

Miss Beth CummingEdinburgh

Mr Robert DiamondMilngavie

Mrs Kirsti DinnisEdinburgh

*Professor David DumvilleChair in History, Palaeography and CelticDepartment of HistoryUniversity of Aberdeen

Mr Ron DuttonAviemore

Jamie Earl of Mar and KellieAlloa

Professor K J Edwards FRSEProfessor in Physical GeographyDepartment of Geography and EnvironmentUniversity of Aberdeen

Mr Bjørn EilertsenNorwegian ConsulRoyal Norwegian Consulate GeneralEdinburgh

Lady Margaret ElliotEdinburgh

Sir Gerald Elliot FRSEEdinburgh

*Dr Colmán EtchinghamLecturer, Department of Modern HistoryNational University of Ireland, Maynooth

Miss Caroline EunsonOrkney

*Dr Gillian Fellows-JensenUniversity of Copenhagen

Mr Robert Leaper FentonHon Consul (Retired)Sheildaig

Miss Fiona Margaret FergusonRetiredLargs

Mr Anthony FinlayEdinburgh

Mrs Anne FinlayEdinburgh



37

Mr Ian FisherHon Research Fellow, University of GlasgowEdinbugh

PhD Lennart FjellPhD StudentUniversity of Bergen, Norway

Mrs Ida Solvi FlemingRetiredEdinburgh

Mrs Sheila ForbesEdinburgh

Mr Hilary FoxworthyForfar

Mrs Elspeth FoxworthyForfar

Dr Peder GammeltoftAssociate ProfessorInstitute of Name ResearchCopenhagen University, Denmark

Dr Sally GardenScottish-Nordic Music SpecialistMons GraupiusCupar

Ms Sheena Grant GemmellArmathwaite

Mrs Sarah Jane GibbonKirkwall

Ms Julie GibsonCounty ArchaeologistArchaeology DepartmentOrkney Archaeological Trust

Mr Thomas E. GrayRetiredEdinburgh

Mrs Betty GreenRetiredEdinburgh

Mr Ronald GuildEdinburgh

Mr Kyle HarcusOrkney

Mr Sam HarcusLocal Development OfficerOrkney


Dr Andy HealdLater Iron Age and Early Historic CuratorNational Museums of ScotlandEdinburgh

Dr Donna HeddleDirectorCemtre for Nordic StudiesOrkney College

*Professor K Helle CorrFRSEProfessor Emeritus of Medieval HistoryDepartment of HistoryUniversity of Bergen, Norway

Dr C. Ann HellerRetired RadiologistEdinburgh

Professor Richard HellerEmeritus Professor- RetiredEdinburgh

Mr Frith HoehnkeNorwegian Scottish AssociationEdinburgh

Mrs Gillean HoehnkeNorwegian Scottish AssociationEdinburgh

Mrs Virginia HoltNMS Voluntary GuideEdinburgh

Mr Hugh HopkinsGlasgow

Mrs Ragne HopkinsGlasgow

Ms Olive HoustonRetiredEdinburgh

Mr Øystein HovdkinnThe Consul General of NorwayRoyal Norwegian Consulate GeneralEdinburgh

Mr William HowardRetiredKirkton of Bourtie

Mrs Vanessa HudsonTrusteeSenhouse MuseumCumbria


38

Mr Alan HudsonTrusteeSenhouse MuseumCumbria

Dr David HughsonGuide at National Museums of ScotlandEdinburgh

Mrs Odile HughsonGuide at National Museums of ScotlandEdinburgh

Professor A Iggo FRS FRSEEmeritus Professor of Veterinary PhysiologyDepartment of Veterinary PhysiologyRoyal (Dick) School of Veterinary StudiesEdinburgh

Dr Betty IggoRetiredEdinburgh

Mr William JenkinsStewardIsle of Bute

Professor Judith JeschProfessor of Viking StudiesSchool of EnglishUniversity of NottinghamNottingham

Ms Anne JohnsonVisitor Services AssistantNational Museums of ScotlandEdinburgh

Mr Philip Hugh KerrAdministratorStudents Loans CompanyGlasgow

Mr James KirbyGlen Finnan

Mr Magnus KirbyEdinburgh

Mr Michael KirwanRetiredEdinburgh

Arne KruseSenior LecturerScandinavian StudiesUniversity of Edinburgh

Dr Ole Didrik LaerumProfessorDepartment of PathologyHaukeland University HospitalBergen

Dr Raymond LambLecturerUHI Millenium InstituteThurso

Ms Anne-Christine LarsenMuseum InspectorThe Viking Ship Museum

Dr Pauline LastRetiredLongniddry

Professor F T Last OBE FRSELongniddry

Miss Elizabeth H LawrensonStudentWormit

Dr Christina LeeLecturer in Viking StudiesSchool of English StudiesUniversity of Nottingham

Mr Gifford LindDunfermline

Mrs Kari LornieBalerno

Dr Christopher LoweDirectorHeadland Archaeology LtdEdinburgh

Mrs J. Sheila LydvoRetiredSt Andrews

Lord Donald MacaulayRetiredEdinburgh

Lady Mary MacaulayRetiredEdinburgh

Mr Neil Alexander MacaulayEdinburgh

Professor Sir Neil MacCormick FBA FRSERegius Professor of Public Law



39

Faculty of LawUniversity of Edinburgh

Mr Donald D MacdonaldChairpersonDingwall History Society

Mrs Alexandra M MacdonaldHon. SecretaryDingwall History Society

Professor R M MacKie CBE FRSEProfessorial Research FellowDepartment of Public Health & Health PolicyUniversity of Glasgow

Mrs Nancy MacNeil of BarraRetiredEdinburgh

Professor Ian R. MacNeil of BarraRetiredEdinburgh

Mrs Margaret Ollason MantellRetired teacherBanff

Mr Henry James Lyall MantellRetired ArchitectBanff

Mr Juhu MarttilaPhD StudentGlasgow

Ms Fiona MartynogaFreelance Museum Researcher/ WriterTraquair

Mr Cairns MasonStirling

Mr Bram Thomas MathewPHD StudentHector Brae CourtAberdeen

Professor J B L Matthews FRSEMilnathort, Kinross

Mr Carl Maurice John MauritzenTrinity

Mr Douglas McBethConsulting EngineerBalerno

Mrs Erin McguireStudent (Phd)Department of ArchaeologyUniversity of Glasgow

Mr David McKenzieBrechin

Mrs Sandra McNeishMilngavie

Rev Kenneth Watson McNeishRetiredMilngavie

Mrs Jorid McQuillanRetiredNorwegian Scottish AssociationEdinburgh

Mr Gregor McQuittyPhD Candidate (St Andrews)Cupar

Mr Ewan Reynolds McVicarLinlithgow

Dr Donald McWhannellWest Ferry

Mr John MillarRetiredKirkcaldy

Mr Innes MillerLand-Use ConsultantInnes Miller MediationsEdinburgh

Dr Raymond MillsRetired Consultant PhysicianEdinburgh

Mrs Eileen Patricia MillsRetiredIsle of Arran

Mr Colin James Edward MillsRetired ArchitectIsle of Arran

Mrs Elizabeth MoffatEdinburgh

+Professor C D Morris FRSEProfessor Emeritus of ArchaeologyUniversity of Glasgow



40

Mr Daniel John MorrisonEdinburgh

Miss Siobhan MuirOrkney

Mrs Janet MullanRetiredEdinburgh

*Professor Else MundalCentre for Medieval StudiesUniversity of Bergen, Norway

Mr Tim NeighbourArcheologistCFA Archaeology LTDMusselburgh

Mrs Moira OgleRetired Medical SecretaryEdinburgh

Mr Ole Rasmus OvretveitMaster StudentUniversity of Bergen, Norway

Mr Gavin ParsonsLecturerIsle of Skye

Ms Talta PesonerEdinburgh

Mrs Helena PettieEdinburgh

Dr Sara M. Pons-SanzPostdoctoral Research FellowSchool of English StudiesUniversity of Nottingham

Mr Edward John PooleyIsle of Man

Ms Helen PooleyStudentIsle of Man

Mr Robert Ian PrydeRetiredHaddington

Mr Guy PuzeyP.G. Research StudentScandinavian StudiesEdinburgh

Mrs Gerda RankinRetired (Formerly German Consulate)Edinburgh

Dr Alison ReithResearch FellowSection of Squamous Cell Biology & DermatologyUniversity of Glasgow

Mr Tom RendallPhD StudentOrkney CollegeKirkwall

Mrs Linda RiddelEdinburgh

*Dr Anna RitchieConsultant ArchaeologistEdinburgh

Ms Isabelle Morag RitchieRetiredDunfermline-Trondheim Twinning AssociationDunfermline

Mr George RobertsonRetiredDunfermline

Mr A Struan RobertsonResearcherNorwegians in Scotland 1940-1945Edinburgh

Ms Vanessa RodnightRecords Management TraineeUniversity of Edinburgh

Mrs Molly RorkeEdinburgh

Dr Arthur John RostronRetiredEdinburgh

Dr Heather SalzenRetiredEdinburgh

Professor E A Salzen FRSEEmeritus Professor of PsychologyUniversity of Aberdeen

Miss Emma SandersonA.D.OCaithness Archaelogical TrustDunbeath



41

Miss Deborah SandisonOrkney

Mrs Doreen Ruth ScottRetiredEdinburgh

Ms Nicki ScottTullibody

Mrs Pauline ScottRetiredEdinburgh

Mr Ian ScottRetiredEdinburgh

*Mr David SellarHonorary FellowSchool of LawUniversity of Edinburgh

Dr Maxwell ShardowTrauma Surgeon (Retired)Corstorphine

Mr Eric SimpsonDalgety Bay

Mrs Grace SkatunRetiredNorth Berwick

Mr Brian SmithArchivistShetland Museum & ArchivesLerwick

Mrs Graizella M SmithTeacher/ IllustratorEdinburgh

+Professor T C Smout CBE FBA FRSEEmeritus ProfessorInstitute for Environmental HistoryUniversity of St Andrews

Mr Mark William SollyCastletown

Mrs Margaret StewartRetiredBathgate

Mr Frank Ian StewartStudentUniversity of Edinburgh

Mr Peter StuartRetiredBridge of Allan

Mrs Alice StuartRetired (member of Scottish Norwegian Society)Bridge of Allan

*Frans-Arne StylegarCommissioner of Monuments and SitesVest-Agder County

Dr Harold T. SwanEx-consultant- RetiredEdinburgh

Dr Katrin TheirOED, OUPOxford

Miss Sarah ThomasPhD Student, Archaeology and HistoryUniversity of Glasgow

Mr Alan ThomsonOrkney

Dr Emily V ThornburyJunior Research FellowChurchill CollegeCambridge

Dr P Tothill FRSEEdinburgh

Mr John A. B. TownsendRetiredSt Leonards-on-Sea

Dr Jill TurnbullEdinburgh

Mrs Kathryn ValentineHonorary CuratorLargs Museum

Mrs Wanda Renee Wailes-FairbairnRetired InterpreterBerwick-upon-Tweed

Ms Susan WalkerCultural Co-ordinatorHighland CouncilIsle of Skye

Mr Ian WalkerNorwegian Scottish AssociationLinlithgow



42

Mrs Dina WardGlasgow

Mr Geoff WatersPost-Graduate StudentUniversity of Edinburgh

Mrs June L. WatersRetiredMilltimber

Mr Donald H. WatersRetiredMilltimber

Dr John WattsRetired/ WriterAddiewell

+Dr Doreen WaughUniversity of Edinburgh

Mrs Jay WhimsterAberdour

Mr Colin WhimsterAberdour

Ms Alison WilkieRetired freelance radio/tv broadcaster in ScotlandInverness

Dr Gareth WilliamsDepartment of Coins & MedalsThe British MuseumLondon

*Dr James WilsonRoyal Society Research FellowEdinburgh



43

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is an educational charity, registered in Scotland.Independent and non-party-political, we are working to provide public benefit throughoutScotland and by means of a growing international programme. The RSE has a peer-elected,multidisciplinary Fellowship of 1400 men and women who are experts within their fields.

The RSE was created in 1783 by Royal Charter for “the advancement of learning and usefulknowledge”. We seek to provide public benefit in today’s Scotland by:

• Organising lectures, debates and conferences on topical issues of lasting importance,many of which are free and open to all

• Conducting independent inquiries on matters of national and international importance

• Providing educational activities for primary and secondary school students throughoutScotland

• Distributing over £1.7 million to top researchers and entrepreneurs working in Scotland

• Showcasing the best of Scotland’s research and development capabilities to the rest ofthe world

• Facilitating two-way international exchange to enhance Scotland’s internationalcollaboration in research and enterprise

• Emphasising the value of educational effort and achievement by encouraging,recognising and rewarding it with scholarships, financial and other support, prizesand medals

• Providing expert information on Scientific issues to MSPs & Researchers through theScottish Parliament Science Information Service

Opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily represent the views of The Royal Society ofEdinburgh, nor its Fellows.


44

RSE International Programme

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) initiates and supports a wide range of activities which enhanceScotland’s involvement in global collaboration. Through events, strategic partnerships and publications,the RSE promotes the reputation of the nation’s research, innovation and culture. By forging effectivepartnerships with equivalent national academies overseas, amongst others, the RSE is helping to: • Facilitate two-way international exchang programmes, enabling top Scottish-based researchers, in

any field, to collaborate with the best of their counterparts anywhere in the world• Raise awareness overseas of some of the best of the research and innovation being undertaken in

Scotland• Stimulate collaboration between centres of excellence through joint international events• Provide a forum for discussion of international issues in science, the arts and letters, technology,

industry and commerce.

This successful programme, which has grown since its inception in 1998, is delivered in partnership bythe Society’s professional staff and the International Committee of the RSE, which comprises eminentFellows of the Society.

International EventsExamples of other recent International events include:Languages in Scotland: what’s the problem? (One-day conference: March 2006) ~ exploring the currentstate of language learning and teaching in Scotland, considering its impact on the nation’s economyand cultural awareness of its people.

The RSE China Reception (Evening Reception: February 2006) ~ an opportunity for postdoctoralresearchers, based in Scottish research institutions, interested in working with the best of theircounterparts in China to gain awareness of the opportunities available through the RSE’s bilateralexchange programme with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Agreements with Sister AcademiesThe RSE has bilateral, or formal agreements with:• the Chinese Academy of Sciences• the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic• the Hungarian Academy of Sciences• the Polish Academy of Sciences• the National Science Council of Taiwan• The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts• The Slovak Academy of Sciences

These agreements set out the basis for cooperation, mainly through bilateral funding programmes andjoint events.

The RSE also has informal agreements with:• the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters,• the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters• the Cuban Academy of Sciences.• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

These agreements establish a willingness to cooperate between the two academies, through the sharingof publications and organising of joint events.

This volume is dedicated to the memory of Dr Magnus Magnusson HonKBE FRSE12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007

This was the last occasion when Magnus was able to address a major public occasion. He was a man ofmany parts: TV presenter, public servant, scholarly translator of the sagas. He insisted on this occasionthat he was ‘’just a story-teller’’, and with his accustomed magic, he held the audience in the palm of hishand. Despite his obvious frailty, we did not guess how soon the RSE was to lose one of its mostdistinguished Fellows.

Organisation

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, founded in 1857, is a non-governmental, nation-wide, andinterdisciplinary body which embraces all fields of learning. The Academy has 219 ordinary seats for Norwegianmembers and 183 additional seats for foreign members. The Academy is divided into two divisions, one forthe natural sciences and one for the humanities and social sciences. Each division is subdivided into sectionsfor the constituent disciplines. The board of the Academy consists of 9 members, including the President,Vice-President and Secretary General as well as the Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen, and Secretaries of the twodivisions. The Academy also has a small secretariat headed by a Director of Finance and Administration.

Functions

The main purpose of the Academy is the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. It provides anational forum of communication within and between the various learned disciplines, and it representsNorwegian science vis-á-vis foreign academies and international organisations. The Academy fulfils thesefunctions by initiating and supporting research projects, by organising meetings and seminars on topics ofcurrent interest, by publishing scientific and scholarly works, and by participating in and nominatingrepresentatives to various national and international scientific bodies. The Academy also has internationalscientific co-operation agreements with sister academies in the Baltic states, Poland, Hungary and France.

The Academy represents Norwegian research internationally in the “International Council for Science” (ICSU),including its many sub-organisations, and in the “Union Académique Internationalé” (UAI), the “EuropeanScience Foundation” (ESF) and “ALLEA” (All European Academies).

The RSE: Educational Charity & Scotland’s National Academy22-26 George Street

EdinburghEH2 2PQ

e-mail: [email protected]. 0044 (0)131 240 5000Minicom: (0)131 240 5009


Report of a Conferenceorganised by

The Royal Society of Edinburgh


The Vikings and Scotland -Impact and Influence

Theoyal ocietyR S

of Edinburgh

Impact and Influence The Vikings and Scotland · PDF fileThe Vikings and Scotland ......

Documents

Transcript of Impact and Influence The Vikings and Scotland · PDF fileThe Vikings and Scotland ......