The Movement of the Norsemen

The original homeland of the Vikings was Scandinavia, which now is made up of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The first Norsemen came to Scotland before 800AD. Although we think of the Vikings as plunderers and robbers they were mainly farmers who were seeking new lands where it was easier to grow crops and survive than in Scandinavia. They settled in Orkney, Shetland, Caithness, the Western Islands and Skye where they ploughed the fields during the spring. They also kept sheep and cattle. During the summer the sheep grazed on the hillside, and during the winter they were moved to the warmer areas.

A good example of a Norse settlement in Scotland is on the islands of Shetland (Jarlshof Left). There, houses had to be built using stones, earth and turf. Because few trees grow in Shetland nothing was built of timber.

The Norsemen came to Scotland looking for better farms; they didn't bring their language or customs, they changed their way of life to become more like the Scots. However they did have an influence where they settled most densely, e.g. in Lewis where all the village names are Norse. The Norsemen mixed with the local people and gradually became Christians.

The Vikings

The Norsemen are chiefly remembered as the men who came from the sea in long-ships. They came not to settle but to attack. They were known as the Vikings, pirates who travelled to many places in Europe and beyond. They also reached Greenland, Canada and Asia.

In Europe they attacked and plundered monasteries, because of the gold stored there; the unarmed monks gave little defence. They also attacked villages looking for slaves.

Between the eighth and eleventh century, at any time the Vikings could attack, invading anywhere in northern Europe, e.g. Scotland, England, Ireland or northern France, where they established the kingdom of Normandy. The main areas of Scotland they invaded were the islands, such as the Western Islands, Orkney and Shetland. On the island of Iona, off the West Coast of Scotland, there was a tranquil monastery created by St. Columba in his first mission, more than two centuries before the arrival of the Vikings. Iona was the heart of the Celtic Christian Church.