Sources '' The presence of the
monastery on Iona led to this part of
Scotland being relatively well documented from the mid-6th to the mid-9th centuries. However, from 849 on, when
Columba's relics were removed in the face of Viking incursions, written evidence from local sources all but vanishes for three hundred years. The sources for information about the Hebrides and indeed much of northern Scotland from the 8th to the 11th century are thus almost exclusively Irish, English or Norse. The main Norse text is the , which should be treated with care as it was based on oral traditions and not written down by an Icelandic scribe until the early 13th century. The English and Irish sources are more contemporary, but may have "led to a southern bias in the story", especially as much of the Hebridean archipelago became Norse-speaking during the period under consideration. The archaeological record for this period is relatively scant, particularly in comparison to the numerous
Neolithic and
Iron Age finds in the area. Scholarly interpretations of the period "have led to widely divergent reconstructions of Viking Age Scotland" and Barrett (2008) has identified four competing theories, none of which he regards as proven. It is clear that the word "King", as used by and of the rulers of Norwegian descent in the isles, was not intended to convey sovereign rule (that is, that of a
High King). This is different from the way the word was used in the emerging
Kingdom of Scotland at the time. It should also be borne in mind that different kings may have ruled over very different areas and that few of them can be seen as exerting any kind of close control over this "far-flung sea kingdom". Precise dates are sometimes a matter of debate amongst historians.
Early Viking incursions in the Hebrides '' which may have been produced by the monks of
Iona and taken to Ireland for safekeeping after repeated Viking raids of the
Hebrides. Prior to the
Viking incursions the southern Hebrides formed part of the
Gaelic kingdom of (or Dalriada). North of , the Inner and Outer Hebrides were nominally under
Pictish control although the historical record is sparse. According to Ó Corráin (1998) "when and how the Vikings conquered and occupied the Isles is unknown, perhaps unknowable", although from 793 onwards repeated raids by Vikings on the British Isles are recorded. "All the islands of Britain" were devastated in 794 with Iona being sacked in 802 and 806. Various named Viking leaders, who were probably based in Scotland, appear in the Irish annals: in
837, in
845 and in
847. Another early reference to the Norse presence in the Irish records is that there was a king of "Viking Scotland" whose heir, , took an army to Ireland in 848. In the 9th century, the first references to the (
i.e., "foreign Gaels") appear. This term was variously used in succeeding centuries to refer to individuals of mixed Scandinavian–Celtic descent and/or culture who became dominant in southwest Scotland, parts of northern England and the isles. According to the , in about 872
Harald Fairhair became
king of a united Norway and many of his opponents fled to the
islands of Scotland including the Hebrides of the west coast, and the Northern Isles. Harald pursued his enemies and incorporated the Northern Isles into his kingdom in 875 and then, perhaps a little over a decade later, the Hebrides as well. The following year the local Viking chieftains of the Hebrides rebelled. Harald then sent
Ketill Flatnose to subdue them, which he did quickly, but then he declared himself an independent "King of the Isles", a title he retained for the rest of his life. There are similar problems with the provenance of , the supposed 9th-century ruler of the Hebrides and ancestor of
Clan Donald. It has been suggested that his appearance looks "very much like the product of fourteenth-century propagandists from Clann Donald".
House of In 870
Dumbarton was besieged by
and , "the two kings of the Northmen", who "returned to Dublin from Britain" the following year with numerous captives. It is therefore likely that Scandinavian hegemony was already significant on the western coasts of Scotland by then. is described as the "son of the king of " in the
Fragmentary Annals of Ireland and Ó Corráin (1998) argues that "is Viking Scotland and probably includes Man" at this time suggesting an early date for an organised Kingdom of the Isles. In the same source is also recorded as having gone to the aid of his father , who was under assault from Vikings in in about 872. died in 873 and may have been succeeded briefly by who also died that year. probably died in 874. A lament for , a Pictish king who died in 878, suggests Kintyre may have been lost to his kingdom at that time. The Norse may have taken the Isle of Man in 877 and they certainly held it by 900. In 902 the Vikings were expelled from Dublin for up to a dozen years, and a year later , the "grandson of " was killed in battle with the forces of
Constantine II in mainland Scotland. However these events were setbacks for the Norse rather than a definitive moment. Internecine fighting is recorded in the
Annals of Ulster of 914, which describe 's defeat of in a naval battle off the Isle of Man. , the site of the 9th-century siege by
Amlaíb Conung and The first four decades of the 10th century are an obscure period so far as the Hebrides are concerned. The former is recorded as being the , suggesting he may have been the first King of both Mann and the Western Isles of Scotland. , who died some four decades later in 980 or 981 whilst in "religious retirement" on Iona, was succeeded by , who was probably his nephew. 's brother then succeeded him. During their lifetimes these two "sons of Harald" are known to have launched at least two major expeditions against Ireland, and the latter is recorded as having won "the battle of Man" in 987. Iona was sacked twice, in 986 and 987, 's later piety notwithstanding. This battle of Man, recorded by the
Annals of Ulster, is said to have been won by and "the Danes" – possibly forces directly from Scandinavia under the command of
Olaf Tryggvason. The
Annals of Ulster record Gofraid's death in Dalriada in 989, describing him as "king of " although it is not clear if this was a completely new term or had originally been used earlier, perhaps to refer to 's island kingdom. The complex geography of western Scotland and the lack of written records makes certainty about the extent and nature of these kingdoms hard to fathom. For example, the
Chronicle of the Kings of Alba indicates that almost all these kings who reigned from the mid-10th to the late 11th century were buried on Iona. This may mean that Iona and Mull lay either within or close to the emerging Kingdom of Scotland. Furthermore, two records in the
Annals of Innisfallen hint that the Western Isles may not have been "organised into a kingdom or earldom" at this time but rather that they were "ruled by assemblies of freeholders who regularly elected lawmen to preside over their public affairs".
Earls of Orkney and kings of Dublin " coin from the
British Museum, minted at Dublin At this point the once again becomes the main source of information about the north. In 990
Sigurd the Stout, Earl of Orkney took control of the Hebrides, and placed a called in charge. By 1004 the isles' independence had been re-asserted under 's son , who died in that year. It is possible their rule overlapped, with 's zone of influence to the north and Ragnal's to the south. On Ragnal's death re-asserted control, which he held until his death at the
Battle of Clontarf after which the islands may have been held by . According to the Welsh text is recorded as having been king of a wide variety of places on his death in 1034. These included the Isle of Man, "many of the other islands of Denmark", Galloway, the Rhinns, and Anglesey. Olaf was an dynast and it is difficult to reconcile his rule with that of the Norwegians who apparently came before and after him according to the sagas. There is also an obscure reference in
The Prophecy of Berchán hinting that King of Scotland may have been active in Islay and Arran at about this time, emphasising the potentially fluid nature of Scandinavian, Norse-Gael and Scots influence during this period. The next recorded ruler is Sigurd the Stout's son
Thorfinn the Mighty, who took control circa 1035 until his own death some two decades later. The continuing close alliance of the Isles with Norway is suggested by a record from the
Annals of Tigernach for the year 1058: "A fleet was led by the son of the king of Norway, with the of Orkney, the Hebrides and Dublin, to seize the kingdom of England, but God consented not to this". This monarch of Norway was
Magnus Haraldsson, who may have used the death of Thorfinn as an excuse to exert direct rule of Orkney and the Hebrides. However, in the mid-11th century the dynast is said to be the ruler of Mann. He was also King of Dublin from 1036 to 1038 and from 1046 to 1052 as well as possibly being the
King of the Rhinns in Galloway, suggesting that the overlordship of the Isle of Man and the Hebrides were once again sundered (although it is possible he ruled over part or all of the Hebrides as well). from the
Kingdom of Leinster is then recorded as having control of Mann and Dublin followed by his father , the
High King of Ireland, who took possession of Mann and the Isles until his death in 1072. Godred may have been a son or nephew of , King of Dublin and by extension a descendant of . He was a survivor of
Harald Hardraade's defeat at the
Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 and fled from there to Man. Little is then heard of him until he succeeded in taking the island from Fingal in 1079, possibly with the help of troops from the Western Isles. The ancestor of many of the succeeding rulers of Mann and the Isles, he also became King of Dublin, It is not clear the extent to which dominance was now asserted in the islands north of Man, but growing Irish influence in these seas brought a rapid and decisive response from Norway. A high level of political instability is suggested by the battle fought on the Isle of Man at Santwat in 1098. This was internal strife between the men of the north of the island under , and the southerners led by a man named MacManus or Macmaras. ==Later history==