From asset in war to asset in diplomacy: Orkney in the medieval realm of Norway

• Main Author: Ian Peter Grohse
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Prince Edward Island 2013-11-01
• Series: Island Studies Journal
• Subjects: diplomacy; islands; medieval; Norway; Orkney; warfare
• Online Access: http://www.islandstudies.ca/sites/islandstudies.ca/files/ISJ-8-2-2013-Grohse_0.pdf

The island province of Orkney played a crucial role in Norway’s overseas expansion during the Early- and High-Middle Ages. Located just offshore from mainland Scotland, it provided a resort for westward-sailing fleets as well as a convenient springboard for military forays into Britain and down the Irish Sea. The establishment of a Norwegian-Scottish peace and the demarcation of fixed political boundaries in 1266 led to a revision of Orkney’s role in the Norwegian realm. From that point until the its pledging to the Scottish Crown in 1468, Norway depended on Orkney as a hub for diplomacy and foreign relations. This paper looks at how Orkney figured in Norwegian royal strategies in the west and presents key examples which show its transition from a tool of war to a forum for peace.