A (very) brief history of South Ronaldsay

The Bronze Age (2,000 BCE to 900 BCE)

Across Orkney, there is evidence that farmsteads flourished as we entered the Bronze Age (2,000 BCE to 900 BCE). One result was that there appears to have been significant immigration around this time, particularly of women. (The ‘immigration’ that took place might have been similar to what occurred later in Viking times. Then, sexual slavery and large-scale movement of women were a common occurrence.]

Close to the Tomb of the Eagles, we find one of the best examples of a Bronze Age burnt mound or cooking/washing place in Orkney. There appear to be over 200 burnt mound sites on the islands.

The washing/cooking area was constructed with flat slabs (and sealed with clay). It is suggested that the water was probably heated by stones warmed by burning peat [click for more information].

The Iron Age (900 BCE to CE 43)

By the Iron Age, Orkney had developed a robust agricultural system that involved mixed farming, growing cereals like barley and wheat, and rearing sheep and cattle. Various tools have survived this period including bone combs used in weaving and quernstones for grinding grain. There are also examples of pottery ware. In terms of buildings, one of the most visible examples is brochs – round towers (broch is said to derive from ‘brough’ a Lowland Scots word used for forts). However, more recent work suggests they were often used for residential rather than defensive purposes.

Brochs started appearing around 300 BCE and the highest concentration of such buildings is in Orkney, Shetland and north Caithness. For this reason, the Vikings used the name Burray (or Broch Island) for South Ronaldsay’s northern neighbour. Four Burray brochs are currently listed on Canmore (and shown on the Open Street Map): Ayresdale Broch aka West Broch of Burray (in the grounds of Northfield Battery and Observation Post); East Broch of Burray (which is to the east of the Battery); The Hillock of Fea is a possible broch (but may be best described as a cairn): and Kyelittle which is listed as ‘severely denuded’ (just to the east of the Fourth Barrier and part of what was the blockyard for the construction of the barrier).

Two classic examples of brochs can be found in South Ronaldsay – one at the Cairns dig at Windwick Bay, another at Hoxa – the Howe of Hoxa. A second development was Weems – underground houses. ‘Weem’ is said to be derived from the Gaelic word ‘uamh’, meaning cave. However, just to add to the confusion, South Ronaldsay has Weems Castle, which looks to be the ruins of a broch (click for map). Unfortunately, not much is known about the culture and language of Orkney’s residents during this time.

The Pictish Period (43 CE – 800 CE)

A common way of discussing the next stage in Scottish history is describing it as the ‘Roman Period’. The Roman occupation of England and Wales had lasted from 43 CE to 411 CE. The Northern and Western Isles and much of the mainland escaped the Roman armies and Roman governance. Some Romans may have visited Orkney, for example, to trade, but not to occupy. Instead, it is more accurate to talk about the Pictish Period in Scotland and the activities of a group of tribes that largely spoke a Celtic language. This includes Gaelic [often derived from ancient Irish dialects], but it left few written records. The dates we use here (43 CE – 800 CE) are, thus, rough and ready. 800 CE may, or may not, be right for Orkney. 839 CE might be more accurate for the mainland. A major battle with Viking invaders took place around this time, resulting in the death of the Pictish king.

The first written mention of the Picts was by the Romans. It referred to their role in the Battle of Mons Graupius in c.80 CE. Their original name might have been something like Pecht (which can be translated to  ‘the ancestor peoples’). However, in recent years, genetic studies have suggested that there wasn’t a single Celtic or Pictish group but various strands. It is now possible to talk about a genetic basis for regional identities. Picts were not the product of large-scale migration. In Orkney, for example, there appears to have been Pictish genetic continuity since the end of the Iron Age. This is interesting given the later invasion of the islands by the Vikings. Norse DNA is significant – it appears to have contributed to about 25% of Orcadian DNA – but Pictish and other earlier strands remain strong.

The scale and scope of Pictish involvement in the life of Burray and South Ronaldsay is unclear. There is evidence of their presence, e.g. at the Brough of Bursay and in the East Broach of Burray. We also know the islands had been incorporated into the Pictish kingdom by around 565 CE. Orkney was certainly viewed as “Picti”. However, we also know that the evidence of various activities from this period, e.g. the remains of a large feast at The Cairns in South Ronaldsay, may not always be the outcome of Pictish activity.

Archaeological research generally indicates the Picts were largely farmers. They often lived in villages. However, we also know that some were hunters, and that others were seafarers and warriors. From the number of symbol stones discovered over the years, we also know they were skilled in crafts. Indeed, Pictish stones have become one of the lasting and distinctive features of the period.

Around 350 Pictish stones carved with symbols and/or designs are listed in Scotland. Orkney has been home to eight accomplished Pictish symbol-bearing stones, four small stones with rough versions of symbols, sixteen or seventeen cross-slabs of different kinds and two pieces of church furniture. Unfortunately, in Orkney, Shetland and Caithness, no stone with symbols has survived upright in the landscape. Some have been found at the likely place of origin. St Peter’s Church, South Ronaldsay, had a fascinating symbol stone carved on both sides (possibly because it was reused). It was then reused, again, to form part of an east-facing window in the church and subsequently removed to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland in Edinburgh. The one carved, and probably Pictish stone, left on the island is in Old St Mary’s, Burwick. Known as the Ladykirk Stone, it is a rounded grey whin stone carved with two footprints. It is said to be a Pictish coronation stone. What we do not know is the meaning of many of the symbols that have been discovered.

Another feature of some discussions or representations of Pictish life is the idea that they had marks on their skins (stigmata) and/or were ‘painted people’, i.e. they were tattooed. One possible explanation is that, over the years, there may have been some confusion regarding the origin of the word ‘Pict’. Rather than deriving from ‘Pecht’, some believed it could flow via the Romans from the Latin word pingere ‘to paint’; or the  Greek word pictus – ‘painted’. However, as Stuart McHardy has commented, it now seems ‘highly unlikely that the Romans gave them their name. In other words, ‘the idea of the term meaning ‘the painted ones’ has no basis in fact’ [A New History of the Picts, 2011]

The written material from this period is overwhelmingly from non-Picts who may have wanted to put their spin on what they report. What we have is mostly not original but ‘copies of copies’. Sally M Foster has pointed out that:

Only one text of any kind can fairly be claimed as Pictish, the so-called king list, which give lengths of reigns. Two versions exist, neither of which are in a manuscript older than the 14th century and one of which is heavily gaelicised. [Picts, Gaels and Scots, 2014]

It was also during this period that Christianity reached the highlands and islands. From around the 8th century, we find the appearance of cross-slabs across northern Scotland. Some of these had both traditional Pictish symbols with Christian ones.

The arrival of Christianity

When the Roman armies withdrew from England and Wales, Germanic tribes raided and took over. One element of this was the elimination of much Christian thinking and activity amongst their population. Significantly, Ireland had not been invaded by the Romans (or the Germanic tribes) in the same way. Christianity had been growing, and so had the Gaelic language and culture.

The latter had also crossed the sea to what we now know as Argyll (meaning ‘coast of the Gaels) and later Skye. A kingdom had been established that included part of County Antrim in Ireland and much of Argyll across the water in what we now know as Scotland. [Scotland derives from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels. Scotia was the land of the Gaels.] By the late Middle Ages, Scotland and Scots were used in much the same way as they are today.]

This had begun in the fifth century, but the significant moment in relation to Christianity had happened in 563 CE. In that year, Columba (or Colmcille – “Church Dove”) had sailed with 12 others to the eastern part of Dál Riata. This may have been at the invitation of his kinsman Conall mac Comgail,  King of Dál Riata. One result of this visit is said to be that the King gifted him the Island of Iona as a base for his work.

The Iona group, led by Columba and his successors, went on to nurture change. They brought Christianity, monasteries and literature to the north of Scotland. Alongside this, accounts of their activities appeared. Most notably, Adomnán’s Life of Columba, (written between 697 and 700 CE) was especially influential (Adomnán was the ninth Abbott of Iona from around 679–704). We discover, for example, what is said to be the first sighting, in 565 CE, of the Loch Ness Monster. Columba was on his way by water, via The Great Glen and Loch Ness, to Inverness. He was going there to meet King Bridei (or Brude), King of Fortriu. This was ‘Pictland’ and was a risky enterprise. However, while Bridei was not known to be Christian at this time, it is said that he respected Columba, and it is possible that he converted to Christianity.

The coast at Burwick is where the earliest missionaries are thought to have landed in Orkney. Adomnán’s Life of Columba indicates that Cormac Ua Liatháin arrived around 580 AD in South Ronaldsay on his second major voyage from Iona (probably ). However, he may have stopped first in Pictish Caithness. There is some evidence of Irish priests (Papar) being based here around this time. [The North Coast Visitor Centre in Thurso has various artefacts and two interesting Pictish stones.]

This is how Adomnán describes how Cormac was recommended by Columba to King Bridei (Brude), ‘in the presence of the ruler of the Orcades (Orkneys)’:

Some of our brethren have lately set sail, and are anxious to discover a desert in the path less sea ; should they happen, after many wanderings, to come to the Orcadian islands, do thou carefully instruct this chief, whose hostages are in thy hand, that no evil befall them within his dominions.

Adomnán comments that Columba took care to give this direction because he knew that after a few months, Cormac would arrive at the Orcades. [The Life of St Columba, Book II. 71].

The Viking / Norse / Scandinavian Period (800 CE-1472 CE)

While Viking and Norse are often used interchangeably, there is an underlying difference. The term ‘Viking’ is from ‘Old Norse’ and was used, generally, to describe pirates and the raids launched from various territories in what we now describe as Scandinavia. However, it was also used to discuss those sailing longboats to other areas to explore, trade and settle. The various territories were later consolidated into the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. ‘Norse’ refers here both to a North Germanic language (Old Norse), and to people living and working in, or with origins in, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. ‘Old Norse’ was in widespread use from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. In short, Vikings tend to be viewed as raiders who might settle, Norse people as settlers.

The Danes broadly sailed to, and took over, a swathe of what we now know as the north and east of England in the late 9th Century. Later known as the Danelaw, this area, stretching from London to York and across to Lancashire, had to abide by Danish Law. Northumbria was raided but not occupied in this way. Swedish raiders hit the more northerly areas like Jórvík (now York) and, along with the Norwegians, parts of Scotland and the Northern Isles. So it was that from around 800 CE to 1468/72 CE, significant areas of what we now know as Scotland were colonised by Norwegians [and were helped in this by other Scandinavians]. ‘Scandinavian Scotland’ included Iona (first raided in 794 CE, and abandoned by the religious community based there some fifty years later). Later, the Hebrides effectively came under the control of the King of Norway.

In addition to what we now know as Britain, Viking activity took place across a wide area. This included the Baltic coast, and various trade routes across Eastern Europe, Greenland, Iceland and Normandy. They were, in other words, a major force.

The Viking impact on Orkney was far-reaching. Initially, they looked to have engaged in ‘hit and run’ raids. The aim was to obtain valuable goods and resources that could be traded or employed elsewhere. This included both the taking of slaves and extortion (taking payment from local landowners, etc., to avoid being attacked). They then turned to occupation. Defeated Viking warriors from kingdoms opposed to joining a united Norway appear to have taken refuge in Orkney. The King of Norway decided to act  – and annexed Shetland and Orkney in 875 CE.

The activities of Viking raiders, Norse settlement, and incorporation into the newly created kingdom of Norway had several fundamental consequences for Orkney.

First, both Orkney and Shetland were part of Norway for longer than they have been part of Great Britain. This has been linked to other elements, such as Orkney being closer to the Arctic Circle and Norway than it is to London, and had significant implications for island identity.

Second, the dominant language in Orkney became – and remained for around a thousand years – a variant of Norse. This was – Norroena or Norn in Scots (click for more information). Many of the key placenames reflect this. For example, South Ronaldsay and North Ronaldsay are named after St Ronald, a former Norwegian Earl of the Orkney and Shetland Islands appointed by King Sigurd I in 1129. The name is derived from Old Norse – Rǫgnvaldsey, meaning ‘Ronald’s island’. One of his lasting contributions was the building of the Cathedral of St. Magnus in Kirkwall.

Third, while farming remained central to island life throughout this period and well beyond it, the Norwegian settlers made some key changes. This included introducing new livestock breeds, improving farming methods, and innovating in areas like milling. The best-known example of the last is at Shawbost in the Isle of Lewis. Sadly, there are no similarly-aged examples in Orkney, but the Click Mill built in the 1820s, close to Dounby, shares some elements with the horizontal water mills used by Norse farmers.