BattlefieldsPictish Resistance in Orkney c.790
Early Medieval

Pictish Resistance in Orkney c.790

790
Scotland
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Forces
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Norse settler-warriors from western Norway
VS
Victor
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Pictish Orkney clans
Outcome
Initial Pictish resistance overcome; Norse settlers established farms and displaced Pictish inhabitants; Pictish Orkney culture extinguished within a generation of Norse arrival.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Pictish inhabitants of Orkney mounted resistance to initial Norse raiding and settlement attempts before being overwhelmed in the early ninth century. The Picts of Orkney had their own distinct culture and trading connections with the mainland and initially resisted Norse encroachment. The collapse of Pictish resistance in Orkney was complete enough that no Pictish language traces survive.

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