View from the Norse: applying island theory to the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland

Abstract

The study of islands in archaeology was originally biased toward the view that island societies were isolated, a stereotype that continues to be perpetuated in books and television. However, recent research has acknowledged that island societies are generally part of a network and exposed to outside influences. This paper applies island theory to the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland, specifically during the Norse settlement from the 9th century AD onward. Although today these areas are considered on the periphery of Britain, these islands were once at the heart of the Norse settlement of the North Atlantic. The settlement remains of the period in the Northern and Western Isles indicate the inhabitants kept their focus towards the sea, and their success as a central stop-over point within the North Atlantic zone is due partly to the fact that they are islands. This paper will examine to what extent the Northern and Western Isles fit into modern island theory and whether the Norse considered them islands. The paper finishes with a discussion of whether the British Isles and Ireland are, from a theoretical point of view, islands.