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The Scottish Historical Review Monographs
The Kingdom of the Isles - Scotland's Western Seaboard, c.1100 - c.1336
The predominant theme of this study is the tripartite relations among Norway, Scotland and the Western Isles. While political history dominates, separate chapters address culture and society, art and architecture, travel and trade, and the ecclesiastical history of the Isles.
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First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 29, 2015
This is both a scholarly and readable account. Although the title refers to "Scotland's West Coast", the book really focuses on the Hebrides, mainland Argyll, and the Isle of Man; basically the regions ruled by the Kings of Man and/or the Scoto-Norse warlord Somerled and his descendants.
The setting of the scene for this history came in 1098 when the Norwegian King, Magnus Barelegs, forced the then King of Scotland to cede to Norway all of the islands off the west coast of Scotland. Local noblemen who held lands on both the mainland and the islands were thus in the position of serving two masters. However, the author argues that in practice the two kings were partitioning a region that neither could effectively control. Norway was too far away, whilst the Scottish Kingdom's centres of power in places like Perth, Stirling and Dunfermline were separated from the west by high mountains, trackless bogs and thick forests. The result was a power vacuum filled by local warlords, and a unique maritime culture formed from both Celtic and Norse elements.
This is a period and place that has been largely ignored by historians, and undoubtedly one reason for that is the great scarcity of contemporary sources. The author himself acknowledges that for this reason many of his own conclusions must be classed as tentative. However the author also argues persuasively that the time and place have also been neglected because history has traditionally been written from the perspective of the nation-state. Whilst Scotland forms part of the UK "it retains enough national identity for its history to be written this way". This approach tends to ignore those areas that failed to develop into nation states. As the author points out, Scottish historians tend to applaud the centralising actions of Scottish monarchs who succeeded in absorbing the west; and also applaud those same monarchs for resisting the centralising attempts of the English kings to absorb Scotland.
The growing strength of the Scottish Kingdom meant that in 1266 the King of Norway accepted the inevitable and ceded the Western Isles back to Scotland. It was the beginning of the end for the old Kingdom of the Isles, whose warlords had to adjust to the status of "Baron" within the Scottish Kingdom. Matters took an unexpected course in the 14th century, but that is another story...
I would think this book would only be of interest to those with a particular interest in the area, but if you do, then this may be the most authoritative account available.
The setting of the scene for this history came in 1098 when the Norwegian King, Magnus Barelegs, forced the then King of Scotland to cede to Norway all of the islands off the west coast of Scotland. Local noblemen who held lands on both the mainland and the islands were thus in the position of serving two masters. However, the author argues that in practice the two kings were partitioning a region that neither could effectively control. Norway was too far away, whilst the Scottish Kingdom's centres of power in places like Perth, Stirling and Dunfermline were separated from the west by high mountains, trackless bogs and thick forests. The result was a power vacuum filled by local warlords, and a unique maritime culture formed from both Celtic and Norse elements.
This is a period and place that has been largely ignored by historians, and undoubtedly one reason for that is the great scarcity of contemporary sources. The author himself acknowledges that for this reason many of his own conclusions must be classed as tentative. However the author also argues persuasively that the time and place have also been neglected because history has traditionally been written from the perspective of the nation-state. Whilst Scotland forms part of the UK "it retains enough national identity for its history to be written this way". This approach tends to ignore those areas that failed to develop into nation states. As the author points out, Scottish historians tend to applaud the centralising actions of Scottish monarchs who succeeded in absorbing the west; and also applaud those same monarchs for resisting the centralising attempts of the English kings to absorb Scotland.
The growing strength of the Scottish Kingdom meant that in 1266 the King of Norway accepted the inevitable and ceded the Western Isles back to Scotland. It was the beginning of the end for the old Kingdom of the Isles, whose warlords had to adjust to the status of "Baron" within the Scottish Kingdom. Matters took an unexpected course in the 14th century, but that is another story...
I would think this book would only be of interest to those with a particular interest in the area, but if you do, then this may be the most authoritative account available.
October 13, 2022
Does an amazing job covering the time period of 1100 through late 14th century.
Somerled
Kings of Man
MacSorley
MacDougall
Macdonald - Ranald, Donald, Angus Mor
MacRuari
Somerled
Kings of Man
MacSorley
MacDougall
Macdonald - Ranald, Donald, Angus Mor
MacRuari
September 13, 2007
I'm biased because my ancestry comes from the Western Isles of Scotland. I found the book include a fascinating description of the transition from tribal to feudal law.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews