Norse settlement
Regions of Scotland, Ireland and Man settled by the Norse.

The Norse-Gaels (Irish: Gall-Ghaedheil or Gall-Ghaeil, Scottish Gaelic: Gall-Ghàidheil) were a people who dominated much of the Irish Sea region, including the Isle of Man, western Scotland and eastern Ireland for a part of the Middle Ages; they were of Gaelic and Scandinavian origin and as a whole exhibited a great deal of Gaelic and Norse cultural syncretism. Other modern terms used include Hiberno-Norse and foreign Gaels.

The correct translation for Gall-Ghàidheil or any of the variant spellings is "Foreign Gaels" and although it can in theory mean any Gael of foreign aspect or origin, it was in practice always used of Gaels (i.e. Gaelic-speakers) with some kind of Norse identity. This term is subject to a large range of variations depending on chronological and geographical differences in the Gaelic language, e.g. Gall Gaidel, Gall Gaidhel, Gall Gaidheal, Gall Gaedil, Gall Gaedhil, Gall Gaedhel, Gall Goidel, Gall Ghaedheil etc. The modern term in Irish is Gall-Ghaeil or Gall-Ghaedheil, while the Scottish Gaelic is Gall-Ghàidheil.[1]

The people concerned often called themselves Ostmen (Bokmål: Østmenn) or Austmen (Nynorsk: Austmenn), meaning East-men, a name preserved in a corrupted form in the Dublin area known as Oxmantown which is derived from Austmanna-tún (Homestead of the Eastmen). In contrast, they called Gaels Vestmenn (West-men) (see Vestmannaeyjar and Vestmanna).


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 ninth 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 twelfth century. They founded long-lasting kingdoms, such as the Kingdoms of Man, Dublin, and Galloway,[2] as well as taking control of the Norse colony at York.

The Lords of the Isles, whose sway lasted until the sixteenth century, as well as many other Gaelic rulers of Scotland and Ireland, traced their descent from Norse–Gaels settlements in northwest Scotland, concentrated mostly in the Hebrides.[3]

The Hebrides are to this day known in Scottish Gaelic as Innse Gall, "the islands of foreigners";[4] 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 Landnámabók 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 further weight by recent archaeological discoveries. The settlement of Iceland and the Faroe Islands by the Norse would have 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 Njál, Brján, Kjartan and Kormakr (from Niall, Brian, Muircheartach and Cormac).[6] Patreksfjörður, an Icelandic village, was named after Saint Patrick. A number of placenames named after the papar exist on Iceland and the Faroes.



Modern names and words

Even today, many surnames particularly connected with Gaeldom are of Norse origin, especially in the Hebrides and Isle of Man. Several Norse words also influenced modern Scots English and Scottish Gaelic, such as bairn (child) from the Norse/Norwegian barn.


Gaelic Anglicised form "Son of-"
MacAsgaill MacAskill, McCaskill Áskell
MacAmhlaibh MacAulay, MacAuliffe Cowley

MacCamley, McCamley

MacCorcadail McCorquodale, Clan McCorquodale, Corkill, McCorkindale Þorketill
MacCoitir Cotter, MacCotter Cottier Óttar
MacÌomhair MacIver, Clan MacIver, MacIvor, McKeever Ívar (Ingvar)
MacShitrig[8] MacKitrick, McKittrick Sigtrygg
MacLeòid MacLeod Ljótr (literally "the ugly one")[9]


Gaelic Anglicised form Norse equivalent
Ìomhar Ivor Ívar (Ingvar)
Raghnall Ranald (Ronald, Randall) Rögnvald
Somhairle Sorley (or Samuel) Sumarliði (Somerled)
Tormod Norman Þormóð
Torcuil Torquil Torkill, Þorketill

See also


  2. Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2013). Wales and the Britons, 350-1064. Oxford University Press. p. 573. ISBN 978-0-19-821731-2. The Gallgaedil of twelfth-century Galloway appear to have been predominantly Gaelic-speakers ... remained a people separate from the Scots... Their separateness seems to have been established not by language but by their links with Man, Dublin, and the Innsi Gall, the Hebrides: they were part of a Hiberno-Norse Irish-Sea world
  7. Schei, Liv Kjørsvik & Moberg, Gunnie (2003) The Faroe Islands. Birlinn.
  8. McKittrick Name Meaning and History Retrieved on 23 April 2008
  9. Mcleod Name Meaning and History Retrieved on 23 April 2008

External links

