( 1042) 's impression of a Norse–Gaelic ruler of
Clan MacDonald, Lord of the Isles The Norse–Gaels originated in
Viking colonies of Ireland and Scotland, the descendants of intermarriage between Norse immigrants and the Gaels. As early as the 9th century, many colonists (except the
Norse who settled in
Cumbria) intermarried with native
Gaels and adopted the
Gaelic language as well as many Gaelic customs. Many left their original worship of
Norse gods and converted to
Christianity, and this contributed to the
Gaelicisation. Gaelicised Scandinavians dominated the region of the Irish Sea until the
Norman era of the 12th century. They founded long-lasting kingdoms, such as those of
Mann,
Dublin, and
Galloway, as well as taking control of the Norse colony at
York.
Ireland shows an
Irishman as an example of the Nordic type. The Norse are first recorded in Ireland in 795 when they sacked
Rathlin Island. This island is located off of the Northeast coast of Ireland and contains with it many gravesites with formal evidence of existence.
Annals of Ulster states that the first raid on this island was known as the
Loscad Rechrainne o geinntib, otherwise known as 'the burning of Rechru by heathens.' Sporadic raids then continued until 832, after which they began to build fortified settlements throughout the country. Norse raids continued throughout the 10th century, but resistance to them increased. The Norse established independent kingdoms in
Dublin,
Waterford,
Wexford,
Cork and
Limerick. These kingdoms did not survive the subsequent Norman invasions, but the towns continued to grow and prosper. The term Ostmen was used between the 12th and 14th centuries by the English in Ireland to refer to Norse–Gaelic people living in Ireland. Meaning literally "the men from the east" (i.e. Scandinavia), the term came from the
Old Norse word
austr or east. The Ostmen were regarded as a separate group from the English and Irish and were accorded privileges and rights to which the Irish were not entitled. They lived in distinct localities; in Dublin they lived outside the city walls on the north bank of the
River Liffey in Ostmentown, a name which survives to this day in corrupted form as
Oxmantown. It was once thought that their settlement had been established by Norse–Gaels who had been forced out of Dublin by the English but this is now known not to be the case. Other groups of Ostmen lived in Limerick and Waterford. Many were merchants or lived a partly rural lifestyle, pursuing fishing, craft-working and cattle raising. Their roles in Ireland's economy made them valuable subjects and the English Crown granted them special legal protections. These eventually fell out of use as the Ostmen assimilated into the English settler community throughout the 13th and 14th centuries.
Scotland The
Lords of the Isles, whose sway lasted until the 16th century, as well as many other Gaelic rulers of Scotland and Ireland, traced their descent from Norse–Gaelic settlements in northwest Scotland, concentrated mostly in the
Hebrides. The Hebrides are to this day known in
Scottish Gaelic as , 'the islands of foreigners'; the irony of this being that they are one of the last strongholds of Gaelic in Scotland.
Iceland and the Faroes It is recorded in the that there were
papar or
culdees (Gaelic monks) in
Iceland before the Norse. This appears to tie in with comments of
Dicuil and is given weight by recent archaeological discoveries. The
settlement of Iceland and the
Faroe Islands by the Norse included many Norse–Gael settlers as well as slaves and servants. They were called
Vestmen (Western men), and the name is retained in
Vestmanna in the Faroes and the
Vestmannaeyjar off the Icelandic mainland. A number of Icelandic personal names are of Gaelic origin, including
Njáll,
Brjánn,
Kjartan and
Kormákur (from
Niall,
Brian,
Muircheartach and
Cormac).
Patreksfjörður, an Icelandic village, was named after
Saint Patrick. A number of placenames named after the papar exist on Iceland and the Faroes. According to some circumstantial evidence,
Grímur Kamban, seen as the founder of the Norse Faroes, may have been a Norse Gael: == Mythology ==