Commentary
In 1066 Man appears to have been ruled by a king with a Norse name, Godred, whose father, Sitric also had a Norse name, although Godred’s son, Fingal, had a Celtic name Godred Crovan, whose power extended well beyond Man had a Norse name, Godred, linked with a Celtic ‘nickname’ Crovan
Irish and Norwegian kings were involved in Manx politics and to an extent vied for control with the rulers of England, Argyll and Scotland.
Latin inscriptions on pillars of stone from Maughold show us the importance of this monastery, the presence of a bishop on the site and work being done to provide water to the monastery. There is a large collection of sculptured stones of the pre-Viking Age from the site.
The Manx slate is soft and easy to work, so there was a long tradition of sculpting in stone before the Vikings arrived on the island. Their influence can be seen in runic inscriptions and art styles on crosses and other sculptures of the tenth century. Gautr (Norse name!) is mentioned as a sculptor in several inscriptions and his style is recognisable on others.
The Isle of Man: Early History and Viking Settlement
The Isle of Man is centrally placed and lying roughly on a north-south axis in the Irish Sea. It lies some 40 - 50 kms from both the Irish and Cumbrian coasts, 30 kms to the south of Galloway, Scotland and 70 kms north of Wales, all visible on a clear day from the top of Snaefell, Man's highest point at 621 m. The island itself is some 53 kms by on average 22kms wide, with a mountainous long axis, split by a central valley, with plains to the north and south. The east and west coasts are rugged, with high cliffs, but with sheltered bays on the east coast especially.
The only really safe anchorage on the west coast is at St. Patrick's island, Peel. The south and north coasts are gentler, less steep with sandy bays and both ring plains of good fertile land, attractive to occupation since the mesolithic period. Some two thirds of the island is composed of soft Manx slate beds but areas of red sandstone and limestone also occur.
We have referred now several times to Norwegian activities in the Irish Sea in the last decade of the eighth century, as described in written records. By inference we would expect Norse exploration of Man in this period. In the past some scholars have even read a direct reference to Man in the description in the Irish Annals of the sacking of Inis Patraic, 798, but this is now generally accepted to be an attack on an islet of the same name, St. Patrick’s Isle, in Dublin Bay.
So, we have very few written references to Man in the pre- Viking and Viking Ages, so we are heavily reliant upon archaeological and place name sources - the comparison is with Scotland rather than Ireland or England, with regard to the written sources. Collectively the material from Man suggests very strong Scandinavian influence upon the island in this period, but it still leaves us unable to give clear answers to such questions as when did the first Vikings explore and land on Man? or what was the nature of their earliest activities or what happened to the Manx people?
General background may be relevant here. Because of its geographical position Man has always been open to influences, interference and domination from its neighbours. This can be traced through pre-history into the pre-Viking Age. Bearing in mind that there was no Roman occupation of the island, the correct terminology here would be the Manx Iron Age through to about AD 400 - 500 and thereafter the Manx early Christian or early medieval period. Peter Gelling, an archaeologist who worked on several of the Manx sites, suggested that the closest affinities of the Manx Iron Age were with south-west Scotland. Irish influence is clear on sculptured stones on the island from the 8th and 9th centuries, when perhaps an Irish dynasty ruled in Man and if Anglo-Saxon sources are to be believed the Anglo-Saxon kings of Northumbria dominated Man in the 7th century. A number of Anglo-Saxon rune stones are known from the island, though later in date than this. Norse rulers in Man are mentioned in the 9th and 10th centuries; the Norse earls of Orkney ruled here in the late 10th and 11th centuries and from at least 1066 independent Norse kings of Man ruled the island and later part of the western Isles of Scotland, until the island was ceded to the kingdom of Scotland in 1266.
Two hillforts of unknown date exist at Cronk Sumark, a dramatic position overlooking the northern plain, some of the richest farm land in Man and at Castleward, Braddan, on the north-western outskirts of Douglas.
Note the two summit enclosures or 'citadels', A and B , and the lower enclosures at C and D. These citadel type strongholds with enclosures at lower level are typical of high status sites in Wales and Scotland in the early medieval period. We have mentioned Dumbarton Rock, Dunadd and Dundurn in Scotland e.g. previously. By analogy, therefore, Cronk Sumark and Castle Ward might be of the same period.
Neither has been excavated but vitrified material has been picked up from both sites and each is in the form of a citadel, with a small fortified platform at the highest point ( two square platforms in the case of Cronk Sumark) with other defences further down the slope. The form of the defences suggest analogies with early medieval fortified sites of high status in Scotland and Wales, such as Dunadd or Dinas Emrys, and therefore perhaps the seats of leaders in that period. Neither site is, however, dated and without excavation it is impossible to be certain of their date or function.
More than 20 small promontory forts are known on the headlands of Man, particularly on the east and south coasts. Most are less than .25 hectare in area and have been described as single family holdings. Only four have been excavated. The German archaeologist Gerhard Bersu first made the suggestion that these represent a period of ness taking by the Vikings - that is the seizure of existing forts and headlands as centres from which to raid. If true, then these might represent an early phase of Norse activity, using Man as a base from which to raid in the Irish Sea area. Certainly the Orkneyinga Saga depicts Man as a raiding base.
The excavations suggest the promontory forts originated in the Manx Iron Age, though only one site - Close ny Chollagh has yielded unequivocal evidence of construction and occupation, probably within the bracket 100BC - AD100, when four circular houses were occupied within the fort. It may be significant that three of the sites have shown two phases of rampart construction, which Gelling maintains were widely separated in time, though not dateable. None has yielded typical Viking material.
Close ny Chollagh, Cronk ny Merriu and Cass ny Hawin all have a single building visible, rectangular, of stone, turf and soil construction, with raised central hearths and raised benches or bench visible.
Such features sound familiar when compared with the Scottish evidence, but such houses continued to be constructed over a long period into the later middle ages.
Pottery from Cass ny Hawin has been dated from the 13th century and all could be holdings of the 13th - 14th century. Cronk ny Merriu's defences appear to have been in a ruined state at the time of re-occupation. We cannot use these sites to prove Norse seizure of raiding bases in an initial phase of Viking activity.
Note the thick walls lined with roughly coursed stones either side, the remains of side benches and the central row of posts, which supported the weight of the roof. Note also the cross passage, with doorways to north-west and south-east cutting off a small 'utility area' at the end of the house. Some of these are features which you will recognise from Viking Age houses in Scotland, but note the apparent absence of a central raised hearth.
The site at Vowlam, on Ramsey Bay on the east coast excavated by Bersu himself, is different. Here a series of timber buildings are superimposed one upon the other. A number of hearths were noticed in the excavation and the shape and size of the buildings are reminiscent of Type One houses from Dublin of the tenth century. Unfortunately no dating evidence was recovered from Vowlam.
Here, a series of at least six timber buildings, partly superimposed on each other were constructed. They were rectangular, with rounded corners with a hearth in the main axis, with pairs of internal posts taking the weight of the roof and forming aisles. The walls consisted of upright posts set in trenches forming the frame or light walls, possibly of wattle construction. The door was in the end wall. Rebuildings stuck to the same plan and construction, though sizes varied. They averaged 9m length.
Vowlam is above a sandy beach, which is not true of all the promontory sites, though some are adjacent to suitable landing places. Unfortunately no dating evidence was forthcoming, but the buildings do seem to have close affinities with the Dublin town houses and, given the analogy, might fit better into the 10th or even 11th centuries, which again does not help with an initial postulated raiding phase of the first half of the ninth century.
More excavation is needed, and for example more investigation of the one site which does have a ness name ending - the langness promontory on the east coast with its series of ditches and ramparts of unknown date.
Other settlement sites include the Braaid, which lies at a height of some 140m near the bottom of a north-west facing slope, in a position prone to flooding from a nearby stream, not the happiest position for a farmstead and not on prime land.
Indeed when first excavated in 1935/7 it was suggested as a pre-historic stone circle with two stone alignments nearby.
Further investigation suggests that the circle is an Iron Age house, perhaps of two phases with an earth bank surrounded by an outer stone kerb later replaced by drystone walling. Adjacent are two rectangular buildings tentatively ascribed to the Viking Age, not by finds, but by analogy with their plan and construction. If the circular building was out of use by the time the site was occupied by Norse, why was it not robbed of stone? Perhaps its use was contemporary with the rectangular buildings, either perhaps a native family continuing to use it or conversion to an animal pen.
One building has slightly curved sides and is constructed of huge boulders facing the walls inside and out with turf between. There are no signs of gable end walls, which may have been of timber, a type of construction known in Viking Age Iceland and Norway. However, no post holes were found, though faint traces of a turf line were picked up. Nor was there any evidence of internal posts supporting the roof, despite the massive width of the building, over 9m, although these could have been on sleeper beams or flat stones which left no trace. It is about 21m long with no clear raised benches on the long walls, though there are faint traces on the east side. At some later stage it too was used as an animal pen. The other rectangular building has been suggested as a byre, though at some point in its use it had a central hearth, which suggests domestic use.
Are we right to see the Braaid site as the taking over of an existing or prior existing Manx farmstead by Norse? On the evidence available to us we can hardly claim that this farmstead is a product of an early phase of Norse colonisation on Man. Even to claim a date for the site within the 9th - 11th centuries would be stretching the evidence.
Excavation of the site at Doarlish Cashen in the uplands close to the south-west coast on marginal land some 210m above sea level revealed three structures one a dwelling, some 7m x 3m only with stone-faced turf walls and entrances in the long sides, edging stones or turf benches and a depression in the north west corner suggested for a barrel. The second structure is a suggested corn drying kiln and the third perhaps an animal pen. No dating material emerged from the site, although it is probably best seen, from features alone, in the 9th - 13th century bracket. If the site is seen as marginal, with a corn drying kiln to process the arable crop, then are these Scandinavians squeezed out by population growth or by colonisation on a large scale, or do such characteristics have to equate with farmers of Scandinavian descent rather than Manx? Both sites Braaid and Doarlish Cashen are only available because they are failed sites, to the extent that these sites do not continue in use to modern times. Are they therefore typical?
Over two hundred earth mounds are known from the Manx uplands usually interpreted as shielings or occupation sites on summer pasture. Invariably the sites are associated with the name element eary, suggested as a Manx shieling name. Again in the past the evidence has been used to suggest native farmers pushed out into marginal land by a Scandinavian colonisation, which took the best land and estates. The view is hardly sustainable as G. Fellows Jensen has pointed out, on two counts: eary is almost certainly a local Manx version of airigh, an element known from the Scottish Western Isles, adopted into Norse and apparently applied by them. This perhaps accounts for the lack of traditional shieling Norse names on Man such as setr/saetr. Did the Norse introduce shielings into Man? If so we may be looking at Scandinavian farming families moving onto the island - a colonisation process. However, we should tread warily as the only site excavated and published has yielded 12th century material.
Gelling’s excavation at Kiondroghad revealed a circular earthwork 25m diameter with hearths and burnt areas. Iron working was done on site and spindle whorls and whetstones are known. The excavator believed there were two phases of occupation - one in 7- 8th and another in the 9th centuries. It shows specialist sites could be supported on Man with the implication of someone in control of them.
Questions for you to think about
- What attracted the Vikings to Man?
- How strong is the evidence for Viking re-use of Manx promontory forts?
- Why was Man attractive to outside interference and influences?
Quiz
Now click here to try a quiz which tests your knowledge of this unit.
Further Reading
Broderick, G. (trans.) 1991 Chronicles of the Kings of Man and the Isles)