Year: 1884
Type: article
Abstract: THE OBKNEYS.-Thevaluation of some of the lands in the Hebrides being given in "pennylands," it was considered desirable to inquire into the meaning of the term; and as the Hebrides were under Norse domination, till 1266, it was supposed that a solution would be best found by an examination of the land system of the Northern Isles.The Orkneys continued to be part of the Norwegian kingdom till 1468, and even then, having been merely pledged to James III., they were still ruled by their own laws, which, as regards land tenure, were almost the opposite to those of Scotland.It is not intended to enter upon the history of the tenure of land in the Isles; it is sufficient to note that the Eental (which is also the Skatroll), of the Earldom of Orkney, commonly called Lord Sinclair's Eental, and bearing date 1497-1503,-that is within twenty-nine years of the separation from Norway,-has been preserved, and has been printed by Peterkin in his Rentals of the Earldom and Bishopric of Orkney.' 1 This Eental, cited as the Old Eental, has been partially analysed, and has formed the basis of the following investigation.The comparatively flat and fertile lands of the Orkneys were in the eighth century inhabited by Picts and Culdees. 2 The population must have been considerable, as seventy 3 Pictish towers have been enumerated in the islands; so many places of defence indicate the turbulence and insecurity of that period.Of the Culdees or Scotic Monastic Societies, although we have no direct account, we can form a distinct conception by comparison of like institutions in the Hebrides, 4 and no doubt many ecclesiastical sites yet bear the names which were bestowed 1 Loc.cit., Edinburgh, 1820.
Author: F W L Thomas
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4312423392