The diverse source material for the Viking Age in the North Atlantic offers an excellent opportunity to understand the possible experience of the peoples of Shetland and the North Atlantic during the periods of conquest and settlement. Though each source has distinct challenges, the material can provide unique insights alongside frequent contentious debate. The material spans the scope of the Scandinavian diaspora and, whilst the general movement of conquest is an interesting topic on its own, the societal details and implications these single sources present produces a more potent and compelling account of movement when they are used to inform one another.

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At its most elemental, placenames are often the primary starting point from which to study the Viking Age. Indicators of important features and sites in the landscape such as farms, ‘things’ and even a few places associated with the Picts, they show the extent to which various areas were influenced or settled by the incoming Vikings and later Norse settlers. An interesting case in point when looking at long-term influence is the Western Isles where Norse names predominate in Lewis but decrease as one moves south and east (Graham-Campbell and Batey 1998: 41). In the Northern Isles, almost none of the native Gaelic or Pictish placenames exist today even though ‘petta’ and ‘papa’ variations give reference to the former community. This could be a strong indication of the differing experiences of native populations; parts of the Western Isles better able to resist or are accommodated to a greater degree than Orkney and Shetland during the period of settlement and expansion (Brink 2008; Jennings and Kruse 2005). Nonetheless, placenames do give a sense of general Viking/Norse density in these areas even if attempts at utilizing the placename elements to form a definite chronology of movement through the landscape have proved largely fruitless (Ritchie 1993: 32).

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Related to placenames, tracing language use is another key indicator of the Viking spread throughout the North Atlantic region. Whilst dominant here in the Northern Isles until the 18th century through the old Norse variant, Norn, the Western Isles again present a rather interesting contrast. Following the Treaty of Perth, which gave control of the Western Isles back to the Scots in 1266, Gaelic reclaimed its former prominence. Though many Norse geographic placenames continue to persist, of more interest is the traceable changes in surname after this time. As Gillian Fellows-Jensen points out, many of the Norse names were subsumed into what would first appear to be Gaelic family names, particularly on Lewis, Harris and Skye; MacLeod derived from Mac Ljót, MacSween from Mac Svein (1995: 29). This is contrary to the Northern Isles where, prior to a more active Scots role in the 16th century, Norse derived patronymics dominated and remain quite common today (ibid. 1995: 26).

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Though forming the basis of the written language, runes found outside of Scandinavia are relatively few and most post-date the Viking Age. Numbering perhaps as little as 33 examples, the runic inscriptions at Maeshowe in Orkney are the largest assemblage in Scotland. Although often dismissed as mere graffiti, they give some social indicators to the period in which they were carved such as a more widespread literacy by the 12th century (Ljosland 2018).  Many give humorous reference to a treasure expected to be found, others a crusade that can be tied with Earl Rognvald. Outside the important indication of participation in adventuring to the holy land, the latter might be an indication the élan for adventure is still present into the early Norse period. Interestingly, the presence of Earl Rognvald’s men and their graffiti ties in neatly with Njal’s Saga via the mention of a legendary axe that had been kept by this time for 200 years (Ritchie 1993: 126).

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The multiplicity of runestones found in large numbers throughout Scandinavia are a compelling resource for understanding social norms of the period. Predominately placed as memorials, they generally commemorate great deeds or the death of men, often those fighting abroad both before and after the Christian threshold. Yet, according to research by Anne-Sofie Gräslund and Linn Lager in Uppland, Sweden, in this area 52% of the runestones feature women either as erectors or part of the memorial (2008: 634). Crucially, Gräslund further believes it is within the runestones there may be tantalizing evidence of infanticide, particularly of female children. By examining the constitution of the families listed on runestones, she notes the preponderance of sons compared to daughters (2000: 68). However, there is an elite social status to the erected runestones so making a sweeping statement about normative practices population-wide on this basis alone would be problematic.

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Beyond the region there exists a great deal of outside material for analysing the impact of the Viking Age in the North Atlantic. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and a variety of monastic sources are a great place to begin. What they present is an oft-devastating local picture as the Vikings raid first the largely undefended monasteries and then the towns and villages themselves. Frequently derided as works with an agenda, this characterization is not wholly fair. Particularly in early secular works such as The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, there is a preference for terms such as Northmen whereas more religious texts such as the Annals of Ulster label them heathens or pagans. This is largely because, rather than an attempt to demonise them, the writers see no other way to characterize the Vikings (Dumville 2008). Additionally, such early chronicles tend to read as rote lists written by a variety of hands with very little in the way of editorializing (ibid. 2008).

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However, with later chronicles some of the criticism is well-placed. For example, The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland is a celebration of the 9th century Irish king Cerball commissioned by his heirs in the middle of the 11th century. What survives today is a copy put together in the 17th century. There are a lot of hands it had to pass through, and it surely has a point of view as evidenced by the differentiation and ranking of Vikings – Danes and then Norse followed by their Irish offspring as the lowest. This was done to put Cerball’s occasional alliances with various Viking factions in a more favourable light (Downham 2004; Dumville 2008). However, it still has much historical value in understanding shifting 9th century alliances and the politics of the 11th century.

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Some of these negative critiques are shared by the sagas as well, a quite prolific and ofttimes contentious written source of the Viking Age. Comprising a variety of forms, most written in the 12th and 13th century, the Icelandic family sagas (Íslendingasögur) are particularly useful in gaining an understanding of this period. Rich in detail, they provide a basic framework to appreciate the challenges of voyaging and the original settlement of Iceland. Though mostly revolving around a chieftain elite jockeying for power, the family sagas also give insight into the mix of mundane activity during the period and a glimpse into the lives of other members of society frequently left mute such as thralls, ordinary freemen and women. That said, even here they can be a complicated source. For example, they often deploy the trope of women instigating the actions, frequently violent, leading to the downfall of various men as a simple literary device (Sørensen 1993: 179). On the other hand, so prominent are the roles given women that the latter half of Laexdæla Saga might as well be called Gudrun’s Saga. It could be argued, though, male or female is in some ways immaterial as they are playing to type within an expected societal norm such as when defending family honour.

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Nonetheless, the question of veracity remains when considering sagas. The point of view and motivation of the usually anonymous writer can be just as problematic as the use of outside sources. Moreover, the passage of time from the original material, which may have its basis in oral tradition, poses the challenge of authentic transmission. Jesse Byock picks this up when he considers the role of nationalism in the book prose versus free prose debates during much of the 20th century in Iceland (2001). The former became firmly wed to the idea of the family sagas as a singular native literature whilst the latter saw them as a product of earlier oral transmission and thus a legitimate form of history. Taking the point one step further, Byock proved a validity to the free prose theory with the Mosfell Archaeology Project where he brought an interdisciplinary approach to the Mosfell Valley with various sagas such as the Book of Settlements (Landnámabók) and Egil’s Saga (2009).

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As an enormous and invaluable source of information, skilled archaeological investigations at sites associated with the Viking Age have markedly enriched our understanding of this period far beyond the artefactual evidence. By joining together modern techniques, sagas, placenames and a variety of disciplines to study the chieftain settlement at Hrísbrú, the Mosfell Archaeology Project has given a much deeper understanding of the people and environment of this region from the early 10th to the mid-12th century. Spanning the transition period from paganism to Christianity, placenames on the landscape such as Hulduhóll (Elfin Hill) and Kirkjuhóll (Church Knoll) with details from Egil’s Saga guided the project to a probable verification of the existence of two churches and several burials closely matching those from the saga. Moreover, the interdisciplinary approach provided a much deeper understanding of the physical environment and of those who eked a living from it including the toll of heavy labour, disease and malnutrition (Byock 1993; Byock 2009).

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This approach has been widely noticed, and it does have precedence. Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough has confirmed the overall trends of social narrative in the sagas regarding voyaging in the North Atlantic during the Viking Age through studying the geographical and meteorological conditions of the time (2012). In this vein, Astrid Ogilvie and Thomas McGovern have used climate science to corroborate the environmental challenges of Icelandic settlement and expansion referenced in the sagas and the persistent damage from original practices over the last millennium (2000). An interesting twist, as opposed to the Mosfell Archaeology Project using the sagas to find place, the discovery of L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada by Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad in 1961 led later scholars to start from place and then move on to the saga evidence. Having found the site, they endeavoured to use details from the Vinland sagas to put together a convincing sense of the various other locations it contained (Wallace 2000) and, further, the likely sailing routes and general whereabouts of other potential North American sites yet to be found (Sigurđsson 2000).

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Whereas this knitting together of various evidentiary sources of the Viking Age in the North Atlantic may thus far have reached its apogee with the Mosfell Archaeology Project, similarly inspired work continues on several sites. The interdisciplinary approach has shown the enormous potential each source can offer when brought together where singly they sometimes provide mere nuance to the history. Though each has its own unique challenges, such as the credibility of written sources or teasing out the role of placenames, they nonetheless create a more powerful view as the details inform one another. Some of these can be complicated and uncomfortable: oppressor versus the oppressed, the role of women, female children, disease, daily hardship. Yet, at the same time, they can give voice where so often silence has reigned.  

 

References

 

Barraclough, E. R. (2012) ‘Sailing the Saga Seas: Narrative, Cultural, and Geographical Perspectives in the North Atlantic Voyages of the Íslendingasögur’. Journal of the North Atlantic [online] 7 (18), 1-12. Available from <https://doi.org/10.3721/037.004.m401> [2 August 2026]

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Brink, S. (2008) ‘Naming the Land’. In The Viking World. Ed. by Brink, S. and Price, N. Abingdon: Routledge, 57-66

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Byock, J. L. (1993) ‘The Skull and Bones in Egils Saga: A Viking, A Grave, and Paget's Disease’. Viator [online] 24, 23-50. Available from <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288085739_The_Skull_and_Bones_in_Egils_Saga_A_Viking_A_Grave_and_Paget%27s_Disease> [2 August 2026]

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Byock, J. L. (2001) ‘The Sagas and the 21st Century’. In Varieties and Consequences of Literacy in Orality. Ed. by Schaefer, U. and Spielman, E. Dresden: Gunter Narr Verlag Tunbingen, 71-84

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Byock, J. L. (2009) Sagas and Archaeology in the Mosfell Valley, Iceland. Delivered at 14th International Saga Conference, Uppsala, Sweden August 9-15, 2009

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Downham, C. (2004) ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Portrayals of Vikings in the 'Fragmentary Annals of Ireland’. The Medieval Chronicle, 3, 28-40

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Dumville, D. N. (2008) ‘Vikings in Insular Chronicling’. In The Viking World. Ed. by Brink, S. and Price, N. Abingdon: Routledge, 350-367

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Fellows-Jensen, G. (1995) The Vikings and Their Victims: The Verdict of the Names. ‘The Dorothea Coke Memorial Lecture in Northern Studies’. Delivered at University College London, London 21 February 1994

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Graham-Campbell, J. and Batey, C. E. (1998) Vikings in Scotland: An Archaeological Survey. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press

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Gräslund, A. (2000) ‘Religion, Art, and Runes’. In Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Ed. by Fitzhugh, W. and Ward, E. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 55-69

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Gräslund, A. and Lager, L. (2008) ‘Runestones and the Christian Missions’. In The Viking World. Ed. by Brink, S. and Price, N. Abingdon: Routledge, 629-644

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Jennings, A. and Kruse, A. (2005) ‘An Ethnic Enigma – Norse, Pict and Gael in the Western Isles’. In Viking and Norse in the North Atlantic. Select Papers from the Proceedings of the Fourteenth Viking Congress, Tórshavn, 19-30 July 2001. Ed. by Mortensen, A., 251-63

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Ljosland, R. (2018) L3 Place names and runic inscriptions-20200922 0805-1. Lecture recording, UV411008: Vikings and Norse in the North Atlantic, delivered 22 September 2020

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Ogilvie, A. E. J. and McGovern, T. H. (2000) ‘Sagas and Science: Climate and Human Impacts in the North Atlantic’. In Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Ed. by Fitzhugh, W. and Ward, E. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 385-393

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Ritchie, A. (1993) Viking Scotland. London: B T Batsford Ltd

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Sigurđsson, G. (2000) ‘The Quest for Vinland in Saga Scholarship’. In Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Ed. by Fitzhugh, W. and Ward, E. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 232-237Wallace, B. L. (2000) ‘The Viking Settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows’. In Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Ed. by Fitzhugh, W. and Ward, E. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 208-216

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Sørensen, P. M. (1993) ‘Historical Reality and Literary Form’. In Viking Revaluations: Viking Society Centenary Symposium May 14-15, 1992. Ed. by Faulkes, A. and Perkins, R. Birmingham: Viking Society for Northern Research