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The impact of the Vikings in Scotland was more comprehensive than traditionally thought and can still be seen in a number of different ways.

Scotland was never completely settled by the Vikings, however their contributions to its political and social development were nonetheless significant. During the Viking period, Scotland was not the unified country that we know today, and the various areas that now make up Scotland, had very different experiences of the Vikings. The Northern Isles and Caithness experienced the most intensive and long lasting imposition of Norse culture and political systems, with the Western Islands and the rest of the mainland experiencing less significant levels of Viking influence. The Vikings introduced their legal and administrative systems, created lasting links with Norway, and it is probable that they were instrumental in the Scottish kingdom uniting under a Scottish, rather than a Pictish king. Socially, the Vikings brought their language, which survived in the Norn language of the Northern Isles. Their influence is also seen in place names and many Scottish clan names which survive today. Sculpture and art were heavily influenced by the newcomers, as was domestic life. Even today, in the Northern Isles their Scandinavian heritage is apparent in local dialects, celebrations and festivals.



Earldom of Orkney
By about 850 the Earldom of Orkney had been established and Viking authority was unchallenged, and by the late tenth century the Earldom included Shetland, the northern mainland, the Western Isles and had a degree of authority in the Isle of Man. However the makeup of the Earldom of Orkney was never entirely static and the Western Isles were never permanently under the control of one Norse family. Political control by the Earls of Orkney created peaceful conditions during which immigrants from Scandinavia began to colonise the islands. The Earldom of Orkney became the centre of Norse power in Scotland; it nominally owed its allegiance to both the Norse and Scottish Crowns but in practice, was mainly independent. This allegiance to the Norwegian Crown had important repercussions for Scotland. For a few centuries it was a part of a greater Scandinavian world, during which ties to Norway were forged and these connections remained important in Medieval Scotland.

Political and administration systems


A major contribution of the settlers was that of their political and administrative systems. These were transplanted almost unchanged from their Scandinavian homeland. The Old Norse element þing “in place-names refers to the ancient assemblies at which justice was dispensed, disputes settled, laws promulgated, and general administrative arrangements controlled.” Of particular note is the Loch of Tingwall in mainland Shetland, where there is a stone causeway which leads out into the loch to Law Ting Holm. This was the location of the Shetland Lawthing which is recorded to have met there in 1307 and continued to do so into the sixteenth century. Tinwald in Dumfriesshire, Tingwalls in Orkney and Shetland, Dingwall on the Cromarty Firth, and Tynwald in the Isle of Man are also examples of Lawthing locations. The Isle of Man still holds an annual open-air assembly at Tynwald on old Midsummer Day where new laws are publicly proclaimed – this probably represents a tradition which goes back to the Vikings. The Western Isles and the Isle of Man were officially transferred to the Scottish Crown with the Treaty of Perth in 1266, however the Earls continued to owe allegiance to the king of Norway for another 200 years. The Northern Isles remained Norwegian the longest, and were only annexed 1471.

Indirect political impact
The Vikings also had a profound effect on the political situation in areas where they had not gained control. While the Vikings took the Western Isles, which had been part of the kingdom of Dál Riada, they were repulsed from its heartland of Lorn and Mid-Argyll. During the tenth century there was a long period of cooperation between the Scots and the Dublin-York Scandinavians. The kings of Dublin-York were an established political force who were involved in all the political relations of the time. They were usually allied with the king of Scots against the English but these alliances were made and unmade according to the balance of power. As in England, part of the formation of a sense of national identity was in response to the Viking threat. The Vikings may also have had a decisive role in the creation of the Scottish kingdom. During the eighth century it had been the Picts who were the dominant people in Scotland, yet in the middle of the ninth century Scotland became a unified kingdom under Cináed mac Alpín (Kenneth MacAlpin), who was the Gaelic king of Dál Riada, rather than a Pictish king. Whether by alliance or luck on the part of the Scots, Viking raids on the Picts weakened them to the extent that Cináed was able to create a Picto-Scottish kingdom under his control.



Linguistic evidence
In the Northern Isles Norse became the dominant culture, however in the Western Islands there was a large amount of intermarriage with the locals, thus creating a hybrid society. As such, the Norse language completely took over and the local language – Norn – did not survive. However, Norn was in use in Orkney and Shetland until the eighteenth century, surviving slightly longer in Shetland than in Orkney, and Norse words can still be found as part of the local dialects. In the Western Islands, the hybrid society meant that the Islands were probably bilingual until around the mid-thirteenth century when Gaelic became the dominant language once again. This re-emergence of Gaelic has made it difficult to definitively trace the linguistic development of the Western Isles. Place name evidence can be used to show the density of Scandinavian settlement and the dominance of their language and culture. In the Northern Isles the domination of Scandinavian names, such as Sandwick (Sandvik) and Lerwick (Lervik), reflect how completely the Vikings took over in that area. The pattern in the Western Isles is more complicated due to the earlier re-emergence of Gaelic, but an idea of the varying settlement patterns can be seen from the density of surviving Scandinavian names. In the south and east of Scotland, place names indicate that there was only sparse Scandinavian settlement, and it seems likely that those that were there, were there to trade with the Scots or the English rather than to settle. Viking linguistic dominance, ensured that the Norse system of patronymics rather than proper surnames, survived into the seventeenth century, and “several important West Highland families have Norse named eponyms, Áskell, Óláfr, Ljótr, and Sveinn for, respectively, the MacAskills, MacAulays, MacLeods, and MacSweens.”

Archaeological evidence


As well as introducing runic writing and the distinctive Scandinavian art styles, the Vikings influenced local craftsmen to create entirely new styles of stone carving. The hogback tomb was just one of these; it has no origins in Scandinavia and seems to have been developed in tenth century northern England and spread north to Scotland. The distribution of hogbacks in southern Scotland mirrors that of the settlement pattern established by place names. In addition to influencing local sculptors, the Vikings erected great monuments, such as St Magnus Cathedral and the Bishops’ Palace in Kirkwall, and the Ophir round church. These, along with runic inscriptions such as those at Maes Howe, testify to the importance of Viking culture to medieval Scotland and its development. The Vikings also had a great impact on the domestic side of life in areas where they settled. This was often on existing Pictish sites, however the houses that they built were completely different to those that the Picts had used. Viking longhouses were large rectangular buildings with slightly curved walls and rounded corners, reminiscent of houses roofed by upturned boats. The blackhouses of the Western Isles continue this tradition which goes back to Viking times. The Arnol blackhouse was built as late as 1885, and the Gearrannan blackhouse village on Lewis was in use until the last residents left in 1974.

Lasting legacy


That the Viking legacy of Scotland’s Northern and Western Isles is still apparent, is a testament to the extent to which the Vikings shaped both political and social development in these areas. Norn lasted for centuries after the Northern Isles had officially become Scottish, and their traditions and festivals are unique in Scotland. Shetland’s fire festival of Up-Helly-Aa is based on the ancient Norse festival of Uphalliday, and while the present form of the festival is just over a hundred years old, its basis is in Shetland’s Viking past. The names of people, streets – such as St Olaf’s Wynd, and places, are decidedly Viking in origin. The Gearrannan blackhouse village has now been turned into a museum and backpacker’s hostel which allows people to experience the Viking way of life. The very fact that Scotland is Scotland instead of Pictland, may well be attributed to the actions of the Vikings. The political and social legacy of the Vikings is more apparent in certain areas, but even where the Viking invasion was resisted, their influence was pivotal in Scotland’s development as a nation.