Understanding the Norse Period through Place-name Evidence: A Case Study from the Island of Mull

Abstract

This chapter is a case study that argues for a move away from models that separate Old Norse and Gaelic-speaking southern Hebridean communities in favour of interdisciplinary ones that allow for a ‘more nuanced’ view. Focussing on Mull, and on the area around the head of Loch Buie in south-east Mull in particular, the existence of Old Norse place-names provides evidence of resident Old Norse speakers on the island. The fact that these Old Norse place-names survive long enough to be recorded among Mull’s settlement names when they first appear in 15th century textual sources provides evidence of some degree of persistence of Old Norse in the resident population form into the subsequent period, when Gaelic was the predominant language of the island. Using a multidisciplinary approach that considers archaeology and early sculpture, this research concludes that there is strong evidence for pre-Norse Christian sites, and for a degree of continuity and stability from the pre-Norse to the Norse period and beyond.