airigh farms in stewartry

8/9/2019 Airigh Farms in Stewartry

1/14

Airigh study 1

Airigh farm names in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright.

Introduction

In an article written for the Galloway News in 1983, Gaelic poet William Neil estimated that 80%

of Galloway's farm names are Gaelic in origin.1 From preliminary analysis of 1500 farm names

recorded between 1623 and 1700 in the Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court Deeds this would seem a good

estimate. Of the remaining 20%, the majority are Scots with very few which can be identified as

farms from the Northumbrian or earlier Brittonic periods. Until recently the huge number of Gaelic

farm and place names could be explained by the settlement of gaelic speakers from Ireland in the

Rhinns of Galloway from around 500 AD (indicated by the Gaelic place name elementsliabh).

Gaelic then spread east so that Gaelic had already become the main language of Galloway beforeOld English speaking Northumbrians arrived in the later seventh century.

It is now thought that the language change occurred swiftly and dramatically after the collapse of

Northumbrian power and influence in the late ninth century. Northumbrian power had been

disrupted by the Vikings. The Viking armies which attacked Northumbria spoke Old Norse, which

was similar to the Old English of the Northumbrians. However the people who brought Gaelic to

Galloway were part of a new culture which was mixture of Gaelic and Norse cultures. This newculture emerged after the Viking raiders who had moved down the west coast of Scotland and into

Ireland became settlers, farms and traders with Gaelic speaking wives and hence Gaelic speaking

children. The earlier bands of Vikings may also have included young Gaelic speaking men attracted

to the 'warrior- lifestyle'. Even if the language of the ruling elite was Old Norse, Gaelic was the

everyday language of this group or rather groups who dominated the lands around the Irish Sea

and the west coast of Scotland.

Historical records for Galloway and south-west Scotland in the ninth and tenth centuries are

lacking, but by the eleventh century there were at least two Norse-Gaelic kingdoms in the region.

On his death in 1034, Suibne mac Cinaeda was described in contemporary Irish records as king of

the Gall-Ghaidheil. The territory Suibne ruled over was probably centred on the Firth of Clyde and

did not extend into Galloway. Echmarcach, who died in on pilgrimage to Rome in 1065 (having

ruled since 1031), was described as rex inna renn, king of the Rhinns (of Galloway), a territory

which included the Machars of Wigtownshire and the Isle of Man.2 If the Stewartry of

1 Galloway News/ Dumfries and Galloway Standard Farming Review February 1983

2 For the detailed discussion of this background, see Clancy T: 'The Gall-Ghaidheil and Galloway',Journal of Scottish

Name Studies Vol. 2 (2008)


2/14

Airigh study 2

Kirkcudbright had a similar Norse-Gaelic ruler at this time, his name is not known. If there was

such a ruler, he may have been the forebear of Fergus of Galloway.3 The evidence for this

suggestion is based on a cluster of Scandinavian place names around Kirkcudbright (see map 2

below) and a possible Viking grave found near St. Cuthbert's graveyard in Kirkcudbright. Another

possible Viking grave was found on Blackerne farm (near Castle Douglas) in 1756.4

Somewhat confusingly then, the strongest evidence for Viking influence in the Stewartry of

Kirkcudbright are Gaelic place and farm names. But if Gaelic had become became the main

language by the tenth century, does this mean that most of the Stewartry's farms are over 1000 years

old? This is unlikely. The late seventeenth century population of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright has

been estimated from Hearth Tax records5 as being between 15 000 and 16 000 [with a similar

number for Wigtownshire and 33 000 for Dumfriesshire] with most of the population living on the

1500 farms recorded from the same period. [Kirkcudbright was the only settlement in the Stewartry

which could be described as a town and had a population of 300 in 1690]. Seven hundred years

earlier the population must have been much smaller and so there would not have been enough

people to occupy the 1200 or so farms with Gaelic names. Most of the Gaelic named farms must

have been established gradually over the period (about 500 years) that Gaelic remained the main

language. Also, some farms with Gaelic names may have been established by Scots speakers

naming the farm from an existing Gaelic place name. It would therefore be very difficult to trace the

pattern of ninth to eleventh century settlement of the Stewartry using Gaelic farm names alone.

However, there is one Gaelic farm/ place name which can be used to identify early Norse -Gaelic

settlement. In his discussion of the Norse-Gaelic origins of the medieval lordship (originally

kingdom) of Galloway established by Fergus, Richard Oram draws attention to the place name

element airigh, which

represents the adoption of a Gaelic Irish or Hebridean term by non-Gaelic settlers, and with

it the adoption of the dairy-based pastoral economy of the Gaelic west. It has widespread

distribution throughout Galloway, Mann and the English Lake District, where the common

link has been identified as Norse and Norse Gaelic settlement after c.900 as part of the

diaspora of colonists attendant on the expulsion of the Scandinavians from Dublin.6

3 Oram R : The Lordship of Galloway, (Edinburgh, 2000) Chapters 1 and 24 http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/64632/details/blackerne/accessed 17 March 2010

5 Adamson D: 'The Hearth Tax for Dumfriesshire', Transactions DGNHAS3rd Series, Vol. 47

6 Oram R : The Lordship of Galloway, (Edinburgh, 2000) p.247- 250
http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/64632/details/blackerne/http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/64632/details/blackerne/


3/14

Airigh study 3

Map. 1 Distribution ofairigh place names as shown by Oram in The Lordship of Galloway.

The exact location of the airigh place names is difficult to establish from the above map, but it is

possible to identify three farm names in Stewartry of Kirkcudbright which contain the place nameelement airigh.

1. In Balmaghie parish there is Airie farm NX 63 69, the abandoned (since circa 1850) Upper

Airie farm NX 61 69 and Airie Hill NX 62 68 (291m) which is flanked to the west and east

by two Airie Burns. Two kilometres to the south east of Airie farm is the settlement of

Slogarie NX 64 68 and Slogarie Hill NX 63 67 (256m). Slogarie has been identified by

Simon Taylor as a sliabh place name.7

2. In the neighbouring Kells parish, there is another Airie farm NX 61 78, an Airie Lane

(watercourse) also NX 61 78 and the Rig of Airie NX 60 78 as well as the possibly related

Sheil Hill NX 60 79 and Arie Bennan hill NX 58 77.

3. In Kelton parish, there is Airieland farm and Airieland Burn NX 75 57 (shown as Airyland

Gill on Ainslie's map of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright in 1797), Aireland Moor and

Summer Hill, both NX 76 65.

4. Finally, in Rerrick parish there is an Airyhill cottage NX 78 47 (possibly former croft) on

Barlocco farm.

7 Taylor S.: 'Sliabh in Scottish Place-names: its meaning and chronology',Journal of Scottish Name Studies Vol.1

(2007) p.126


4/14

Airigh study 4

Of these airigh farms, when Airie in Balmaghie and Aireland in Kelton are studied in more detail,

some interesting possibilities emerge which may cast light on Norse-Gaelic settlement patterns in

the Stewartry.

1. Aireland and Arkland

Map 2 Scandinavian settlement names from Andrew McCulloch Galloway a land apart.

(A more detailed list8 is attached as an appendix).

Airieland lies between 10 Gelston and 11Milnthird on the above map and thus within the densest

cluster of Scandinavian place names in Galloway. Since 24 Arkland in Girthon parish is included as

a Scandinavian farm name, then Low Arkland NX 72 58, High and Over Arkland NX 73 57 in

Kelton parish should also be added to the list. Arkland is also a possible more Norse than Gaelic,

from the Cumbrian ergformofairigh) variation of Airieland.9 If Airieland and Arkland were

originally one unit, then the original airigh land stretched from Screel Hill NX 77 55 (344m) down

to the river Dee in a strip roughly 2km wide by 6km long. Almorness (7 on above map) represents a

similar block of land, roughly 7km long by 1km wide. However, as recorded in 1376 and again in8 From Brooke D: 'The Northumbrian Settlements in Galloway and Carrick',PSAS Vol.121 (1991)9 Collingwood W. Scandinavian Britain (London, 1908) p. 223 and Johnson J.Place Names of England and Wales

(London, 1915) p. 109 Arkholme and Arklid


5/14

Airigh study 5

1456, Almorness remained as single block of land, although it had been divided into several farms

by the mid -seventeenth century.

Map 3. Roy's Survey of 1755 showing 'Harkland', Lochlain (Auchlane), the Lochdougans and

Airyland and the 'old kirk' of Kirkcormack beside river Dee. [From National Library of Scotland's

online maps]

If Airieland/ Arkland was originally a similar block of territory to Almorness, by 1456 it had

already been broken up. Represented by the present- day farms of Louchdougan NX 74 56 and

Lochdougan Dairy NX 73 57 mid-way between Airieland and Arkland, the farms of

Myddyllochdougane, Neddeyrlochdougane and Ovirlochdougane were amongst those forfeit to theScottish crown by the 9th earl of Douglas as lord of Galloway in 1456. Two adjacent farms -Slagnaw

(Sleugnaw in 1456) NX 74 58 and Dildawn (Dandawn in 1456) NX 73 59 were also forfeit

although Auchlane NX 74 58 (mapped as Lachlein by Pont/Bleau and Roy, above) was not.


6/14

Airigh study 6

Map 4. from OS six inch map of Kirkcudbrightshire Sheet 45.[From National Library of Scotland's

online maps.] Note: The separation or division of Over Arkland from High Arkland took place in

on 8 April 1680.10

To the south there are other Scandinavian place names which Gillian-Fellows Jensen has suggested

have Danish rather than Norwegian origins.11 In particular, the -byplace names Bombie NX 71 50

and Gribdae (Gretby in 1356) NX 73 50 and one -thveit, Galtway (Galtweied1156-70). Galtway is

a former parish (church site NX 70 48) and a farm (NX 70 47, Galtway Hill NX 70 48). Scandin-

avian influence can also be traced in the farm names Milnthird (Myddilthride in 1458) NX 72 52

and Netherthird (Netherthridin 1475) NX 71 55.12 Richard Oram has suggested that the original

core of Fergus of Galloway's territory was in this lower Dee valley area, centred on Kirkcudbright.13

Arkland was in the former parish of Kirkcormack (chapel site NX 716 574) and Airieland in that of

Gelston (chapel site NX 778 573), both incorporated into Kelton parish in the seventeenth cenury..

At Kirkmirran NX 800 550, close to Gelston kirk, a chapel site was excavated by Chris Crowe in

1985. Although the chapel building was dated to the thirteenth century, Irish style metal work from

the ninth or tenth centuries was found beneath the chapel, suggesting a ninth century origin for the

Kirkmirran site.14No similar archaeological investigation has been carried out at the Kirkcormack

site, but it would presumably also have a ninth century origin. Just to the south-east of the study

10 Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court Deeds 1675-1700 (Edinburgh, 1950) Entry 422

11 Fellowes-Jensen G (ed.) :Denmark and Scotland: the cultural and environmental resources of small nations

(Copenhagen, 2001) p. 126/712 Brooke D: 'The Northumbrian Settlements in Galloway and Carrick',PSAS Vol.121 (1991) p..32113 Oram R :The Lordship of Galloway (Edinbrgh 2000) p. 56

14 Crowe C: 'An excavation at Kirkmirran Dalbeattie 1985', Transactions DGNHAS3rd series Vol. 61 (1986) p.60 - 62.


7/14

Airigh study 7

area, in what would have been Galtway (now part of Kirkcudbright) parish is Kirkbride farm NX

743 542, giving another potential early chapel site. Slightly further away in Buittle parish is

Kirkennan NX 82 58 and Kilkerran cottage NX 82 57. The main church of Buittle NX `80 59 was

originally dedicated to St. Comanell.

The name of the old church has almost disappeared; it only survives in the name of a well

within a bow-shot of the ruinsSan Comell. It springs in a field called the "Meikle

Kirkland," which was no doubt once the property of the church. San, of course, is Saint, and

Comell is an evident corruption of Colmanell. The position of the well indicates that St.

Colmanell stood near probably where the old ruin stands.15

The dedications of these kirks may indicate an origin in Kintyre and southern Argyll for the Gaelicsettlers of this area of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, but as Thomas Clancy (drawing on work by

Fiona Edmonds) notes, connections can equally be made with Dublin and Leinster.

The Gall-Ghaidheil were not the only Norse-dominated Gaelic-speaking group to have been

colonising the south-west. The expansion of Gaelic into the region may thus have occurred

from a variety of different points of origin, and we may expect to see Irish, as well as

Kintyre/ Argyll influence on the region and its toponymy.16

A possible (rather technical) example of Irish influence in the study area is Bengairn (NX 77 54,

391m, adjacent to Screel Hill NX 78 55, 344m and Bentudor NX 75 54, 274m). Assuming an

original Beinn na(n)gCairn the place name Bengairn shows a ktogshift or eclipsis. This, and

other examples from Galloway place names which show an eclipsis of b- to m-, implie strong Irish

influence on Galloway Gaelic and 'may suggest that the Gaelic settlement of Galloway was later

than in other parts of Scotland'.17 It should also be noted that there are two possibleslaibhplace

names in the study area Slagnaw (Sleugnaw) farm mentioned above and Slaeharbrie (Slaeharbrae

Hill) NX 74 56 shown on Map 4 above.

15 http://www.buittle-and-kelton-churches.org.uk/buittleHistory/tarbet.aspaccessed 8 March 201016 Clancy T: 'The Gall-Ghaidheil and Galloway',Journal of Scottish Name Studies Vol2. (2008) p. 44/517 O Maolalaigh R: 'Place-names as a Resource for the Historical Linguist' in Taylor S (ed) The Uses of Place- Names

(Edinburgh, 1998) p.28/9.
http://www.buittle-and-kelton-churches.org.uk/buittleHistory/tarbet.asphttp://www.buittle-and-kelton-churches.org.uk/buittleHistory/tarbet.asp


8/14

Airigh study 8

2. Airie in Balmaghie and Grobdale.

Plate 1. Airie Hill from Grobdale. Grobdale of Girthon farm on left, Grobdale of Balmaghie farm on

right.

Aireland and the Arkland farms are now in Kelton parish. The old church of Kelton was dedicated

to the Northumbrian saint (and former king) Oswald, who died as a 'martyr' fighting the pagan

Penda at the battle of Maserfield in 642. The site of Oswald's church overlooks Carlingwark loch

and lies just beneath Kelton Hill. There is a crannog site on Carlingwark loch and the Carlingwark

Cauldron hoard was found close to the crannog site in 1866.18 The Carlingwark hoard contained a

mix of Roman and native metalwork, including scythe blade fragments. There is a sequence of

Roman forts and marching camps at Glenlochar NX 73 64, two miles from Carlingwark loch.

Andrew Breeze has suggested that this Roman fort complex (rather than Threave castle island or

Carlingwark loch) was probably theLocatreve, Locatrebe of the Ravenna Cosmography.19 In his

discussion of the Romanization of Galloway, Allan Wilson suggests that centres of Brittonic power

like the Kelton/ Carlingwark/ Threave area were used by the Romans to facilitate conquest.20

18 http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_087/87_001_050.pdf accessed 5 March 201019 Breeze A. :'Brittonic place-Names from south-West Scotland part 2' Transactions DGNHAS3rd series Vol. 75 (2001)

p. 152/3.

20 Wilson A: 'The Novantae and Romanization in Galloway' ,Transactions DGNHAS,3rd Series Vol. 75 p.81/2
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_087/87_001_050.pdfhttp://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_087/87_001_050.pdf


9/14

Airigh study 9

Although early evidence is lacking, the Dee/Ken river system is navigable from Threave castle

island for 15 miles up stream to the north end of loch Ken. Daphne Brooke has suggested (echoing

Allan Wilson) that the Northumbrians took over an existing Brittonic 'tribal' territory centred on

Kelton, but extending northwards to take in Balmaghie parish21 (in addition to similar territories

around the Dee estuary/ Kirkcudbright, the Glenkens and the mouth of the Fleet.) Essentially,

Brooke argues that Northumbrian influence extended over most of the lowland zone of the

Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. With collapse of Northumbrian power in the late ninth century, these

lands (the most fertile) were open to takeover.

If the Scandinavian place name evidence from around Kirkcudbright can be relied on, and taking

into account Thomas Clancy's suggestion above, then the Gaelic-Norse settlement of the Stewartry

may have been distinct from those of Wigtownshire and the Firth of Clyde region. To speculate,

such settlements may have extended up the Dee/Ken river system beyond the limits of Daphne

Brooke's Northumbrian 'shires' into the upland zone of the Stewartry. The airigh farms of Airie in

Kells and Airie in Balmaghie may provide evidence for this process. What is tantalising about these

upland airigh settlements, in particular Airie in Balmaghie22, is that archaeological evidence for the

process of settlement may survive.

21 Brooke D: 'The Northumbrian Settlements in Galloway and Carrick',PSAS Vol.121 (1991) p.303/4.

22 http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/68838/details/airie/accessed 11 March 2010
http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/68838/details/airie/http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/68838/details/airie/


10/14

Airigh study 10

Map 5. Airie in Balmaghie and Grobdale. From John Thompson's map of the Stewartry 1820. [NLS

online maps]

In particular, at Stroan Hill23 (1 km from Airie farm) and Laughenghie Hill24 (3 km from Airie farm)

there are pre-Improvement settlements which were abandoned in the late seventeenth / early

nineteenth century. The abandonment was associated with the consolidation of upland

landownership into a few very large estates based on extensive sheep-farming. While most of these

sheep farms were converted to forestry in the mid to late twentieth century, an area south from loch

Stroan, including Airie farm and Grobdale was not. Since 1985, the area has been part of the 2308

hectare Laughenghie and Airie Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest. The area has also been very

thoroughly surveyed by RCAHMS as the map of the Stroan settlement below shows.

23 http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/68819/details/stroan/accessed 10 March 2010

24 http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/68858/details/laughenghie/accessed 10 March 2010
http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/68819/details/stroan/http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/68858/details/laughenghie/http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/68819/details/stroan/http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/68858/details/laughenghie/


11/14

Airigh study 11

Map 6. RCAHMS survey of the Stroan settlement.25

These surveys were carried out by Piers Dixon of RCAHMS in 1990. In his discussion of the

Stroan evidence, Dixon observes that

There are also small plots of lazy-bed rig within the site, which are not immediately evident

from the plan and may be seen at other townships in the area (e.g. Laughenghie near by, as

well as High Eldrick in Wigtownshire)...more extensive patches of lazy-beds are to be found

at Laughenghie and elsewhere in the south-west (e.g. Auchensoul in Ayrshire).26

Lazy-beds are calledfeannagan in Gaelic. Herbert Maxwell suggested that Barwinnock NX 38 43

in Glasserton parish Wigtownshire and Barwhinnock NX 65 54 in Twynholm parish in the

25 In Foster S and Smout T: The History of Soils and Field Systems (Edinburgh, 1994) p. 4826 Dixon P : 'Field Systems, rig and other cultivation remains' in Foster S and Smout T: The History of Soils and Field

Systems (Edinburgh, 1994) p. 46 Auchensoul is in Barr parish, South Ayrshire NX 267 938


12/14

Airigh study 12

Stewartry both contain this place name element (but notes thatfeannagis also Gaelic for crow).27

Maxwell found early seventeenth century (1616,1620) records for Barwinnock in Glasserton so if

there were lazy-beds at Barwinnock, these could not have been used for the cultivation of potatoes

as they were later in the north-west Highlands, since potatoes were not cultivated in Galloway until

the early eighteenth century. Outwith the north-west Highlands, lazy-beds are also found in Argyll

as well as south Ayrshire and Galloway. As well as lazy-beds, the 'classic Galloway type' of rig-

system can also be found in Argyll.

The rig-systems that can be found throughout Argyll include examples that would be at

home in southern Ayrshire or Galloway. On Bute, for example, at Bicker's Houses, there

is a farmstead surrounded by blocks of both curvilinear and straight rig, the latter, at least,

within geometrically defined enclosures formed by turf banks. This system compares wellwith the southern Ayrshire evidence, although elsewhere on the island, at Kelspoke Castle,

there is a much more varied array of rigs. Even here, however, where there are some rela-

tively broad rigs overlain by plots of short straight rigs, there is at least one plot of rigs that

appears to be pinched in towards one end in the manner of the classic Galloway type.

Indeed, northwards throughout Argyll this type of tapering plot can be found, examples

being identified in the collection of vertical aerial photographs on Kintyre near Saddell, on

the Craignish peninsular, and around Kilmichael Glassery. On the island of Lismore too, rigs

with this distinctive feature at one end of a plot have been photographed at Achadun.28

The references to Bute and Kintyre above are interesting since Thomas Clancy (following on from

Andrew Jennings study of evidence from Kintyre) has suggested that Bute was one of the places

settled by the Gall-Ghaidheil and that Ormidale NS 003 817 at the mouth of Glenadruel 'provides a

nice toponymic parallel with the -dalrnames discussed by Jennings for Kintyre'.29 In this context,

could the Grobdale of Girthon/ Balmaghie be on original -dalrplace name rather than a later Scots

one? And if it is, could it be contemporary with the airigh of Airie in Balmaghie? Unfortunately,

without archaeological investigation in the area, even a rough dating for the settlements cannot be

established.

Summary and Conclusion

As part of the wave of improvement stimulated by the Scottish Enlightenment, several attempts

were made to diversify the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright's economy in the later eighteenth century.

Cotton mills and other industrial developments along with planned towns and villages were created.

Despite these attempts, the Stewartry's economy remained predominately agricultural. However, the

combination of these developments with the rationalisation of the Stewartry's agricultural economy

27 Maxwell H : The Place Names of Galloway (Glasgow, 1930) p. 3428 http://www.startrust.org.uk/RIG%20AND%20FURROW-AF.PDF accessed 10 March 2010

29 Clancy T: 'The Gall-Ghaidheil and Galloway',Journal of Scottish Name Studies Vol2. (2008) p. 31
http://www.startrust.org.uk/RIG%20AND%20FURROW-AF.PDFhttp://www.startrust.org.uk/RIG%20AND%20FURROW-AF.PDF


13/14

Airigh study 13

had a profound effect on the pattern of settlement in the Stewartry. They began a population shift

from the pre-Improvement ferm-touns and crofts to the new towns and villages which continued

through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Although the particular progress of these changes as

they affected the Stewartry may not have been studied in detail, the wider effects of the process of

late-eighteenth/ early- nineteenth century ' Improvement' have been and so are well known to

historians and the general public.

In contrast, the origins and subsequent developments of the farming system which was swept away

by improving landowners are obscure apart from an outline of the evolution of farming practice

provided by Alexander Fenton30 which needs to be updated to include more recent studies.31 One of

the interesting but difficult to answer questions is raised by the Gaelic farm names. Was the major

ninth/ tenth century language change to Gaelic matched by a similar major change in farming

practice and land use? This questions contains several other questions within it. In the context of the

Stewartry, some of these are as follows.

Firstly what was the immediately prior (at the end of the Northumbrian period) pattern of land use

and population distribution?

Daphne Brooke's hypothesis was that direct Northumbrian influence was confined to areas of higher

quality land in the lowland zone. These areas were of land capable of supporting arable farming,

had been cultivated since at least the Roman era and were important centres of Brittonic power. The

sequence of Roman forts and marching camps at Glenlochar were built to control one such centre.

The majority of the Stewartry's pre ninth century population are likely to have lived in the lowland

zone. However, since large parts of the lowland zone would have been bog and marsh or prone to

frequent flooding if near rivers or lochs, the lowland population during the Northumbrian era is

unlikely to have grown much beyond that of the Brittonic era.

Brooke also suggested that the Northumbrian settlement did not extend into the upland zone of the

Stewartry which remained Brittonic but which was linked to the lowland zone through a

combination of tributes and trade. Farming in the upland zone would have been based on cattle,

sheep, horses and goats. Population density would have been low.

30 Fenton A : 'Plough and Spade in Dumfries and Galloway', Transactions DGNHAS 3rd series Vol. 4531 e.g. Gregory R.A : 'Prehistoric Landscapes in Dumfries and Galloway' Parts 1 and 2 , Transactions DGNHAS 3rd

series, Vols. 74 and 76, Coles D: 'In a quiet watered land, the Cree Valley: Neolithic Chambered Cairns and Early

Farmers', Transactions DGNHAS 3rd Series, Vol.79


14/14

Airigh study 14

Finally, as Northumbrian power waned, the peaceful conditions which had prevailed would have

been lost. Since slave-raiding was a feature of viking culture and since the Stewartry is unlikely to

have supported very much in the way of a Northumbrian warrior elite, the impact of even a few

minor viking raids on the economy of the lowland Stewartry would have been very damaging and

difficult to recover from. Additionally, the Brittonic speaking labour force of the lowland arable

farms may well have responded to any such raids by seeking refuge in the upland zone. However, it

would have been difficult for the upland zone to support any such increase in population.

Secondly was the language shift to Gaelic the result of extensive settlement by incomers? Or did

the indigenous population adopt Gaelic at the expense of Brittonic and Old English?

If the, as suggested above, the collapse of Northumbrian power in the Stewartry led to a collapse of

the lowland farming system and placed extra pressure on the upland farming system, the indigenous

population of Stewartry is likely to have been reduced. Therefore even a relatively small influx of

Gaelic speaking settlers could have either absorbed or further isolated the non-Gaelic speaking

population. Norse-Gaelic culture was dynamic and expansionist. In contrast, the Brittonic culture of

the Stewartry had been isolated and weakened over several generations by Northumbrian influence,

even though Old English speakers would have been a minority.

airigh farms in stewartry

Documents