The Lordship of the Isles

The Lordship of the Isles excelled in being a spectacularly unique state. Although the language of the ruling classes was Gaelic, it did not have much in common with even the Highlands clans or the Irish kingdoms.

But what was society like in this truly unique state?

The Demographics of the Isles

Highland, Irish, Manx, Norse, Scottish, and even Pictish society had an influence on daily life in the Lordship of the Isles. The speech in the former was the tongue of the northern and eastern Lordship, and the ruling classes. The Irish Gaelic language was still spoken in the south and on Islay, and in the Lordship's capital. Even today the Gaelic dialects of Islay, Tiree, and other islands off the coast of Argyll have a distinctive Irish flavour.

Norse minorities still existed, and some may even have been pagan. They may or may not have been Gaelicised, but undoubtedly many elements of Norse life were alluring to the Gael. The clansmen had Norse furniture, most likely, and wood was carved with Norse decorations. The true power of the Lordship, the Hebridean galley, was an adapted Norse design.

Lowlanders played their part. The Lordship of the Isles would sell cattle in the south, and the Lowlanders and Englishmen would sell their merchandise in the Lordship of the Isles.

The Picts, although no longer an existing culture in their own right, had gifted their styles of artwork and construction to the Lordship. Even the inauguration ceremony of a Lord of the Isles resembled Pictish tradition.

There are no records of conflict between the races in the Lordship of the Isles, possibly due to the multi-ethnic origins of the leaders. Although the Lordship of the Isles was, like any other Celtic state in history, traditionalist and conservative, it seems that all races that made up part of the population were of equal status.

It is likely that the Norse made up about forty per cent of the total population of the Isles, with most of them being Gaelicised or with some Gaelic heritage. It seems that the Gaels themselves had another forty per cent, based on names which have survived since the Lordship's fall.

This means that twenty per cent of the population was combined of Irish, Manx, Scottish, and possibly Welsh or English ethnic groups (the latter based only on the fact that for a Lord of the Isles' request to be considered by an English king must have been because of an English population that also needed considering, remembering that at the time most of England and Scotland saw the Gaels in the Highlands and Ireland as barbarians...).

Where Were the Ethnic Groups?

The Norse, who still spoke their own language and kept their own culture, would have been largely on Skye and in the Outer Hebrides. Other Norse communities would have existed across the Lordship of the Isles, but likely would have been Gaelicised. However, this does not change the fact that Gaelic today has many Norse loanwords - and the irony that in the Highlands the names of places are in a Germanic language whilst the population is Celtic (the situation in the Lowlands being the opposite).

The Highland Gaelic population would have existed alongside the Norse in the Inner Hebrides, and on the mainland. The ruling classes, although they had connections to the Irish kings and Norse chiefs, would have been largely Highland Gaelic, so the Highland Gaelic culture would have been practised to varying degrees all across the Lordship of the Isles. In Islay, however, where Irish influence was immense, the Highland Gaelic population would have spoken in Irish Gaelic in public, and possibly in private.

As an ethnic group, the Irish were not too numerous in the Lordship of the Isles. The Manx may very well have outnumbered them, especially in earlier centuries. But their language could be heard across the Inner Hebrides, especially in the south, and their clothing, slightly different from Highland clothing and Clan Donald attire, was no doubt also common.

Whether Irish communities existed like some Norse communities may have done is doubted, but cannot be ruled out.

Lowland minorities would be families or single merchants anywhere besides Kintyre or Islay, and they wielded neither much power nor much wealth in a society where power was bequeathed by tradition and solemn oath and there was no real currency besides cattle, which practised a barter economy.

Handfasting

Handfasting was a practice where, if a marriage was arranged, a husband and wife would live with each other for a year and a day. If there was no child or no pregnancy, or if the marriage was a failure, by this time then the two were free to handfast elsewhere.

Handfasting and fostering (adopting the son of someone either more or less powerful than yourself, which acted like 'marrying off' sons) created new possibilities for tanistry, and also helped to keep the Lord of the Isles related to his vassal chiefs and tacksmen, as well as the Lowlands of Scotland and Irish kings.

It ended with the result that most Lowland and English nobility today have one claim or another to the throne of Ulster, and to have Niall of the Nine Hostages (who would give his name to Clan MacNeill) as an ancestor.

The Role of Men and Women

Admittedly, women weren't given the same rights as men in a society where clansman and chief were like brothers and even servants were treated as one of the family.

However, as far as medieval and early modern states go, the Lordship of the Isles was no harsh on women, either. Both genders had their roles.

Men were not necessarily taught the ways of war. Only the sons of chiefs and tacksmen would be trained militarily. However, men were expected to have skill with the bow and their weapon of preference, and most would acquire it through hunting.

Hunting was one of the main 'duties' of a clansman, although was something of an informal necessity. Anyone who was physically capable of keeping up with the stag, boar, rabbits, and wolves that were on the menu was eligible for a hunt, which would usually be gathered and led by the local tacksman. It was common practice to hunt with dogs - the birth of the proverb 'hold your dog on its leash until the deer's legs are broken.'

Hunting was not done for sport, even amongst the chiefs and tacksmen (who sometimes may have organised hunts both for food and diplomatic reasons). The Lordship of the Isles may have had their fertile flat steppe of the Hebrides and vast herds of cattle, but much of what they made they sold for cotton, spices, silk, and even walrus ivory for ornaments. The clansmen relied on wild animals for most of their diet.

Men were, of course, expected to provide for their families. It was their job to gather the resources which the women were to work with, be it food, wool for a plaid and blanket (actually the same item), or anything else.

In times of war, the clansmen would be called to arms by the fiery cross - this was a burning wooden cross draped in a sanguine cloth, which was taken by hereditary runners from place to place in the Lordship. Armies could be mustered in less than a day, and it was the responsibility of any male (usually from eighteen or so to the age of sixty) to take up arms (they'd all own weapons).

A woman's life was based around the home and the shore. They were responsible for keeping the home warm (being neat wasn't so much of a priority), and colouring the family's clothing. They would also help with fishing and collecting things such as muscles, and looking after the cattle in war or when the men were hunting.

One of their most important roles was making the plaid - the fashion in the Lordship of the Isles and the Highlands, except more often worn with a leine in the Lordship, that could also act as a bedroll.

They had the same protection from crime as men, however, and although it was even less likely for a women to inherit property due to the patriarchal nature of the society's ruling classes (the chief was the father of the clan) and tanistry (where women and unsuitable heirs could be avoided), there was nothing really forbidding them. Overall, society was a lot more equal to women in the Isles than almost anywhere else in the medieval era.

Education

Hardly anything at all is known of education in the Isles, apart from the fact that it was in Gaelic and that it definately existed (for it to be forced into co-existence with Lowland education in the 17th century, Highland education must have already been established).

It was nothing like the Lowland education, however, which was far ahead of even England and remains so to this day. It was likely based around history and genealogy to a bizarre extent, with children being taught the oral tradition of the clan...even the clansmen would have had to follow the example of their ancestors, it was not just reserved for the Lord of the Isles himself.

It is likely that basic martial skills would have been taught to the sons of chiefs and tacksmen, as well as skills in games such as chess, shinty, and Gaelic football. Other skills such as public speaking and politics would have probably been taught at home, a theory supported by the fact that every Lord of the Isles seems to have had roughly the same ideology and foreign policy. This is pure speculation, however.

Girls generally were either no educated, or educated at home, probably in making plaids and other clothing, as well as fishing.

Please remember, though, that skills which may seem to have been taught may in fact have been learned just as a language can be. Although education in the Lordship of the Isles definately existed, it is not known whether it actually had a purpose.

Chiefs and Tacksmen and Clansmen

The relationship between a chief and a tacksman was not one of noble and vassal.

A tacksman was a man who rented land by paying cattle to his chief, or by fostering the chief's son, or by getting a son fostered, or by the practice of handfasting. The rented land was known as a tack.

The tacksman was responsible for the welfare of the clansmen and their families who lived on the land. Any local disputes were resolved by him, and he had the authority to call raids raise an armed force to defend himself and his tack.

The clansman, of course, was the 'brother' of the tacksman, and there was not much social difference between the two. The class system as known in feudal countries did not exist in the Highlands and Islands, and I have known many people tell me that this mutual respect still exists in the Highlands today.

The Lord of the Isles had sovereign power over his clansmen and tacksmen, but if he acted within restrictions - similar to the American Constitution. By walking, literally, in the footsteps of his ancestors, and taking a white cane, the Lord of the Isles agreed that he would rule with discretion and compassion rather than tyranny and deceit. No Lord of the Isles ever broke this pact to a great extent.