The question of who was in Scotland first—the Vikings or the Scots—taps into the very heart of the nation’s complex, multi-layered identity. It’s a fascinating historical puzzle that feels like it should have a simple answer, but the reality is a captivating tale of migration, shifting identities, and the nuances of what we mean by “Scots” and “Vikings.” To unravel it, we must journey back through layers of history, before either of these names held their modern meaning.
The short, and perhaps surprising, answer is no, the Vikings were not in Scotland before the Scots. However, this simple answer belies a far more intricate story. The crucial detail lies in defining the terms. The people we now call “the Scots” had already established themselves as a major political and cultural force in the land for centuries before the first Viking longboat appeared on the horizon. The Vikings, as a distinct Scandinavian culture, arrived later as external raiders, settlers, and eventually, integrators.
The Scots: Early Arrivals and Kingdom Builders
To understand this, we must first define “the Scots.” Originally, the Scoti were a Gaelic-speaking people from Ireland. From roughly the 5th century AD onwards, they began migrating across the narrow sea to the west coast of what is now Scotland, a land then known as Caledonia and inhabited by the Picts to the north and east, the Britons (speaking a Brythonic language akin to Welsh) in the south, and the Angles in the southeast.
These migrant Scots from Ireland settled in the area of Argyll (“the coast of the Gaels”) and established the kingdom of Dál Riata. By the 6th and 7th centuries, Dál Riata was a powerful and influential kingdom, with a rich culture of Gaelic language, Celtic Christianity, and intricate art like the St. Martin’s Cross on Iona. Its influence spread eastward, coming into frequent conflict and cooperation with the Pictish kingdoms.
The pivotal moment of Scottish consolidation came in 843 AD, when Kenneth MacAlpin, a king of both Gaelic Dál Riata and Pictish heritage, became king of the Picts, unifying the territories to create the Kingdom of Alba—the direct predecessor of medieval Scotland. This happened a generation before the first major Viking raids are recorded to have begun in earnest. Therefore, by the time the Vikings launched their infamous attack on the holy island of Iona in 795 AD, the Scots (as the people of Dál Riata) were already a long-established and dominant power in the region.
The Vikings: The Latecomer Raiders and Settlers
The Vikings, originating from modern-day Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, began their expansion out of Scandinavia in the late 8th century. They were master seafarers, and their sleek longships allowed them to strike coastal communities with devastating speed and surprise.
Their arrival in Scotland is historically marked by the raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne off the northeast coast of England in 793 AD, which sent shockwaves through Christian Europe. The raid on Iona followed in 795 AD and was repeated in 802 and 806 AD, underscoring the vulnerability of even the most revered spiritual centres.
For the first few decades, the Vikings were purely raiders—they came for plunder, slaves, and treasure before returning to Scandinavia. However, from the mid-9th century onwards, their strategy shifted from hit-and-run attacks to permanent settlement. They began to overwinter in Scotland, building fortified bases and establishing farms.
They conquered and settled vast swathes of northern and western Scotland, including:
- The Northern Isles: The Orkney and Shetland islands were completely taken over, becoming a powerful Norse earldom and part of the Kingdom of Norway for centuries. The Norse influence here is so profound that place names are almost entirely Old Norse (e.g., Kirkwall from Kirkjuvágr, meaning ‘church bay’).
- The Western Isles: The Hebrides became the Suðreyjar or “Southern Isles” in the Norse Kingdom of the Isles.
- The Mainland: They established significant footholds on the Caithness and Sutherland coastlines and deep into the western seaboard.
So, while the Scots had been building a kingdom for centuries, the Vikings arrived as a new, external force in the late 8th century, beginning as raiders and evolving into settlers and rulers in their own right.
The Nuance: Who Truly Was “First”?
While the timeline clearly shows the Scots of Dál Riata preceding the Vikings, the question gets more complex when we consider the other peoples of Scotland. The Scots were not the first people in Scotland; they were migrants themselves who arrived in the early centuries AD.
The land they settled was already ancient and inhabited by:
- The Picts: A mysterious and powerful confederation of tribes who had resisted the Romans and whose kingdom dominated the north and east.
- The Britons: Of the kingdoms like Strathclyde, speaking a language related to Welsh.
- The Angles: In the southeast, in a kingdom called Bernicia.
Therefore, while the Scots were there before the Vikings, they were contemporaries of the Picts and Britons. The formation of Scotland was not the victory of one native people over foreign invaders, but a centuries-long process of fusion and conflict between these four core groups—Picts, Scots, Britons, and Angles—before the Vikings even arrived to add a fifth, transformative layer to the mix.
A Legacy of Integration: The Viking Enduring Mark
The Viking story in Scotland did not end with settlement. They were not eventually “driven out” in any grand, final battle. Instead, over the course of several hundred years, they were gradually assimilated into the emerging Scottish state.
Through intermarriage, political alliance, and cultural exchange, the Norse settlers in places like the Hebrides became the Gall-Ghàidheil (literally ‘foreign Gaels’), a unique fusion of Norse and Gaelic culture that became a powerful military and political force. The Kingdom of Alba, under dynasties like that of Macbeth (who had Norse ancestry), slowly expanded its influence, reclaiming the territories of the south and pressuring the Norse holdings in the west.
The final political transfer came in 1266 AD with the Treaty of Perth, where the King of Norway ceded the Hebrides and the Isle of Man to the King of Scotland. Orkney and Shetland remained Norwegian until they were pledged to the Scottish crown in 1468 and 1469 as a dowry for a royal marriage.
Conclusion: A Layered Identity
So, were the Vikings in Scotland before the Scots? No. The Scots, as the Gaelic people of Dál Riata, were already a established kingdom by the time the Vikings erupted onto the scene as raiders and later settlers.
However, this fact alone doesn’t capture the full story. Scotland is a nation built upon multiple migrations. The Scots were one wave, followed by the Viking wave. Both groups encountered and interacted with the even older inhabitants—the Picts and the Britons. The genius of Scotland’s history is not a story of purity but of synthesis. The Vikings did not precede the Scots, but they arrived early enough and settled deeply enough to become woven into the very fabric of the nation’s DNA, leaving an indelible legacy that continues to shape Scotland’s culture, place names, and unique identity to this day.