BattlefieldsOrkney Norse Conquest of Pictish Inhabitants c.800
Early Medieval

Orkney Norse Conquest of Pictish Inhabitants c.800

800
Scotland
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Forces
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Pictish Orkney clans
VS
Victor
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Norse settler-warriors from western Norway
Outcome
Pictish population of Orkney displaced or assimilated; Norse settlers established permanent farms and the political structure of the future earldom.
The Battle

History & Significance

Norse settlers overwhelmed the Pictish inhabitants of Orkney beginning c.800, creating one of the first permanent Scandinavian colonies in the British Isles. The Pictish population was absorbed or displaced, and the Norse earldom of Orkney was established as the foundation of two centuries of Norse dominance in northern Scotland.

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