The Historical Geography of the Norse Viking Colonization of the Scottish Highlands

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Abstract
Small, Alan. The Historical Geography of the Norse Viking Colonization of the Scottish Highlands. Norsk geogr. Tidsskr. 22, 1–16, 1968. This paper outlines the possible causes of the Viking migrations suggesting that the movements from western Norway were due to the complex interaction of physical and social factors. From the limited amount of evidence available an attempt has been made to suggest settlement forms for the period and reconstruct their agricultural base. Attention is drawn to the similarity between the distribution and nature of settlement in Viking times and recent patterns in the Scottish Highlands. Three distinct regions of Norse activity are distinguished—the Northern Isles, the Western Seaboard and the Eastern Mainland, the southern part of which played a significant role as a transition zone between Viking and Pictish activity. Each region reflects the sea mobility on which the successful colonization depended.

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