87-680: The Norsemen (or Norse people ) were a North Germanic linguistic group of the Early Middle Ages , during which they spoke the Old Norse language . The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the predecessor of the modern Germanic languages of Scandinavia . During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a large-scale expansion in all directions, giving rise to
174-576: A medieval context Norsemen , were a Germanic linguistic group originating from the Scandinavian Peninsula . They are identified by their cultural similarities, common ancestry and common use of the Proto-Norse language from around 200 AD, a language that around 800 AD became the Old Norse language, which in turn later became the North Germanic languages of today. The North Germanic peoples are thought to have emerged as
261-880: A branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish , Manx and Scottish Gaelic . Gaelic language and culture originated in Ireland , extending to Dál Riata in western Scotland . In antiquity, the Gaels traded with the Roman Empire and also raided Roman Britain . In the Middle Ages, Gaelic culture became dominant throughout the rest of Scotland and the Isle of Man . There was also some Gaelic settlement in Wales , as well as cultural influence through Celtic Christianity . In
348-597: A centralization of power. Numerous strongholds were also being built, indicating a need to defend against attacks. Deposits of weapons in bogs from this period suggest the presence of a warrior aristocracy. The Gutes of Gotland are in later Old Norse literature considered indistinguishable from the Goths, who in the 3rd and 4th centuries wrested control of the Pontic Steppe from the Iranian nomads . The Goths were
435-462: A common identity, it is uncertain if they had a common ethnonym . Their common identity was rather expressed through the geographical and linguistic Old Norse terms Norðrlǫnd 'northern lands' and dǫnsk tunga 'Danish tongue'. Most early Scandinavians would however primarily identify themselves with their region of origin. However, the Old Norse term Nordmenn , usually applied for Norwegians,
522-519: A common origin. Because of the large number of Germanic tribes that traced their origin to Scandinavia, the region became known by Early Medieval historians as the Factory of Nations ( Latin : Officina Gentium ) or Womb of Nations ( Latin : Vagina Nationum ). The early Germanic tribes that migrated from Scandinavia became speakers of East Germanic dialects. Though these tribes were probably indistinguishable from later North Germanic tribes at
609-508: A distinct people in what is now southern Sweden in the early centuries AD. Several North Germanic tribes are mentioned by classical writers in antiquity, in particular the Swedes , Danes , Geats , Gutes and Rugii . During the subsequent Viking Age , seafaring North Germanic adventurers, commonly referred to as Vikings , raided and settled territories throughout Europe and beyond, founding several important political entities and exploring
696-757: A large proportion of the Gaelic-speaking population now lives in the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland, and Dublin , Cork as well as Counties Donegal and Galway in Ireland. There are about 2,000 Scottish Gaelic speakers in Canada ( Canadian Gaelic dialect), although many are elderly and concentrated in Nova Scotia and more specifically Cape Breton Island . According to the U.S. Census in 2000, there are more than 25,000 Irish-speakers in
783-579: A leader; in wider sense a company, number of persons; a warrior (late and rare)' ). Using the Munster-based Eóganachta as an example, members of this clann claim patrilineal descent from Éogan Mór . It is further divided into major kindreds, such as the Eóganacht Chaisil , Glendamnach , Áine , Locha Léin and Raithlind. These kindreds themselves contain septs that have passed down as Irish Gaelic surnames , for example
870-436: A patrilineal kinship group is referred to as a clann or, in Ireland, a fine. Both in technical use signify a dynastic grouping descended from a common ancestor, much larger than a personal family, which may also consist of various kindreds and septs . ( Fine is not to be confused with the term fian , a 'band of roving men whose principal occupations were hunting and war, also a troop of professional fighting-men under
957-711: A pre-existing maritime province united by the sea and isolated from the rest of Scotland by the Scottish Highlands or Druim Alban , however, this is disputed. The genetical exchange includes passage of the M222 genotype within Scotland. From the 5th to 10th centuries, early Scotland was home not only to the Gaels of Dál Riata but also the Picts , the Britons , Angles and lastly the Vikings . The Romans began to use
SECTION 10
#17327660474301044-631: A testimony to this connection. Archaeological evidence suggest that a warrior elite continued to dominate North Germanic society into the Early Middle Ages . The royal dynasty of the Swedes, the Yngling , was founded in the 5th century. Based at Gamla Uppsala , the Ynglings would come to dominate much of Scandinavia. The importance of this dynasty for the North Germanic peoples is attested by
1131-576: Is red hair , with 10% of Irish and at least 13% of Scots having red hair, much larger numbers being carriers of variants of the MC1R gene , and which is possibly related to an adaptation to the cloudy conditions of the regional climate. In countries where Gaels live, census records documenting population statistics exist. The following chart shows the number of speakers of the Gaelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, or Manx). The question of ethnic identity
1218-466: Is characterized by the appearance of new lineages such as haplogroup R1a and haplogroup R1b . The Proto-Germanic language is ultimately thought to have emerged from the Battle Axe culture, possibly through its superimposition upon the earlier megalithic cultures of the area. The Germanic tribal societies of Scandinavia were thereafter surprisingly stable for thousands of years. Scandinavia
1305-512: Is considered the only area in Europe where the Bronze Age was significantly delayed for a whole region. The period was nevertheless characterized by the independent development of new technologies, with the peoples of southern Scandinavia developing a culture with its own characteristics, indicating the emergence of a common cultural heritage. When bronze was finally introduced, its importance
1392-479: Is controversial. From the Old Norse language, the term norrœnir menn ( northern men ), has given rise to the English name Norsemen , which is sometimes used for the pre-Christian North Germanic peoples. In scholarship, however, the term Norsemen generally refers only to early Norwegians. The North Germanic peoples were known by many names by those they encountered. They were known as Ascomanni (Ashmen) by
1479-651: Is mentioned as a goddess in the Lebor Gabála Érenn as a daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann . Along with her sisters Banba and Fódla , she is said to have made a deal with the Milesians to name the island after her. The ancient Greeks , in particular Ptolemy in his second century Geographia , possibly based on earlier sources, located a group known as the Iverni ( Greek : Ιουερνοι ) in
1566-472: Is slightly more complex, but included below are those who identify as ethnic Irish , Manx or Scottish . It should be taken into account that not all are of Gaelic descent, especially in the case of Scotland, due to the nature of the Lowlands . It also depends on the self-reported response of the individual and so is a rough guide rather than an exact science. The two comparatively "major" Gaelic nations in
1653-606: The Leabhar na nGenealach . Examples can be taken from the Uí Néill (i.e. – O'Neill, O'Donnell, Gallagher, etc.), who are associated with R-M222 and the Dál gCais (i.e. – O'Brien, McMahon, Kennedy, etc.) who are associated with R-L226. With regard to Gaelic genetic genealogy studies, these developments in subclades have aided people in finding their original clan group in the case of a non-paternity event , with Family Tree DNA having
1740-675: The Schottenkloster founded by Irish Gaels in Germanic lands. The Gaels of northern Britain referred to themselves as Albannaich in their own tongue and their realm as the Kingdom of Alba (founded as a successor kingdom to Dál Riata and Pictland). Germanic groups tended to refer to the Gaels as Scottas and so when Anglo-Saxon influence grew at court with Duncan II , the Latin Rex Scottorum began to be used and
1827-567: The 60th latitude and Lake Mälaren . They also came from the island of Gotland , Sweden. The border between the Norsemen and more southerly Germanic tribes, the Danevirke , today is located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of the Danish–German border. The southernmost living Vikings lived no further north than Newcastle upon Tyne , and travelled to Britain more from the east than from
SECTION 20
#17327660474301914-656: The Corded Ware culture , which was itself an offshoot of the Yamnaya culture , emerged in southern Scandinavia in the early 3rd millennium BC. Modern-day Scandinavians have been found to carry more ancestry from the Yamnaya culture than any other population in Europe. While previous inhabitants of Scandinavia have been found to be mostly carriers of haplogroup I , the emergence of the Battle Axe culture in Scandinavia
2001-639: The Danes , Icelanders , Faroe Islanders , Norwegians , and Swedes , who are now generally referred to as " Scandinavians " rather than Norsemen. The word Norseman first appears in English during the early 19th century: the earliest attestation given in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is from Walter Scott 's 1817 Harold the Dauntless . The word was coined using
2088-781: The East Slavic lands formed the names of the countries of Russia and Belarus . The Slavs and the Byzantines also called them Varangians ( Old Norse : Væringjar , meaning "sworn men"), and the Scandinavian bodyguards of the Byzantine emperors were known as the Varangian Guard . Modern Scandinavian languages have a common word for Norsemen: the word nordbo ( Swedish : nordborna , Danish : nordboerne , Norwegian : nordboerne , or nordbuane in
2175-631: The Germans , and Dene (Danes) or heathens by the Anglo-Saxons. The Old Frankish word Nortmann 'Northman' was Latinised as Normanni and then entered Old French as Normands , whence the name of the Normans and of Normandy , which was conquered from the Franks by Vikings in the 10th century. The Old Irish terms Finngall 'white foreigner' and Dubgall 'black foreigner' were used by
2262-576: The Irish for Norwegian and Danish Vikings, respectively. Dubliners called them Ostmen (East-people), and the name Oxmanstown (an area in central Dublin; the name is still current) comes from one of their settlements; they were also known as Lochlannaig 'lake-people'. The Slavs , Finns , Muslims , Byzantines and other peoples of the east knew them as the Rus' or Rhōs , probably derived from various uses of rōþs- , i.e. "related to rowing", or from
2349-558: The Jutes and Angles, settling Britain , becoming known as the Anglo-Saxons. The Old English story Beowulf is a testimony to this connection. Meanwhile, Norway was inhabited by a large number of North Germanic tribes and divided into a score of petty kingdoms . Among the early North Germanic peoples, kinship ties played an important role in social organization. Society was divided into three classes , chieftains, free men and slaves ( thralls ). Free men were those who owned and farmed
2436-618: The Rugii , Goths , Gepids , Vandals , Burgundians and others. The Rugii might have originated in Western Norway ( Rogaland ). The migrations of most of these tribes is thought to have occurred around 200 BC, though the Vandals might have migrated earlier. According to the historian Procopius , these tribes were distinguished by their height, fair complexion, physical attractiveness and common cultural characteristics, suggesting
2523-558: The Scottish Highlands and Galloway . In the early 17th century, the last Gaelic kingdoms in Ireland fell under English control . James VI and I sought to subdue the Gaels and wipe out their culture; first in the Scottish Highlands via repressive laws such as the Statutes of Iona , and then in Ireland by colonizing Gaelic land with English and Scots-speaking Protestant settlers. In the following centuries Gaelic language
2610-723: The Viking Age , small numbers of Vikings raided and settled in Gaelic lands, becoming the Norse-Gaels . In the 9th century, Dál Riata and Pictland merged to form the Gaelic Kingdom of Alba . Meanwhile, Gaelic Ireland was made up of several kingdoms , with a High King often claiming lordship over them. In the 12th century, Anglo-Normans conquered parts of Ireland, while parts of Scotland became Normanized . However, Gaelic culture remained strong throughout Ireland,
2697-489: The Viking Age . In English-language scholarship since the 19th century, Norse seafaring traders, settlers and warriors have commonly been referred to as Vikings . Historians of Anglo-Saxon England distinguish between Norse Vikings (Norsemen) from Norway, who mainly invaded and occupied the islands north and north-west of Britain, as well as Ireland and western Britain, and Danish Vikings, who principally invaded and occupied eastern Britain. Modern descendants of Norsemen include
Norsemen - Misplaced Pages Continue
2784-490: The afterlife . Though the economy was primarily based on farming and trade, the North Germanic tribes practiced a warrior culture similar to related Germanic peoples and the ancient Celts . Warfare was generally carried out in small war bands, whose cohesiveness generally relied upon the loyalty between warriors and their chiefs. Loyalty was considered a virtue of utmost importance in early North Germanic society. A fabled elite group of ferocious North Germanic warriors were
2871-613: The belted plaid and kilt . They also have distinctive music , dance, festivals , and sports . Gaelic culture continues to be a major component of Irish , Scottish and Manx culture . Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European Throughout
2958-422: The berserkers . The North Germanic tribes of these period also excelled at shipbuilding and maritime warfare . The North Germanic tribes practiced Norse paganism , a branch of Germanic paganism , which ultimately stems from Proto-Indo-European religion . Religion was typically practiced at hallowed outdoor sites, but there is also reference to temples , where sacrifices were held. The best known of these
3045-580: The definite plural ) is used for both ancient and modern people living in the Nordic countries and speaking one of the North Germanic languages . The British conception of the Vikings' origins was inaccurate. Those who plundered Britain lived in what is today Denmark, Scania , the western coast of Sweden and Norway (up to almost the 70th parallel ) and along the Swedish Baltic coast up to around
3132-443: The neolithic . A chieftain typically had his seat of power in a mead hall , where lavish feasts for his followers were held. Merchants frequently operated through joint financial ventures , and some legal disputes were solved through single combat . Men of prominence were generally buried along with their most prized possessions, including horses , chariots , ships , slaves and weapons, which were supposed to follow them into
3219-749: The East Germanic tribes pushed many other Germanic and Iranian peoples towards the Roman Empire, spawning the Marcomannic Wars in the 2nd century AD. Another East Germanic tribe were the Herules , who according to 6th century historian Jordanes were driven from modern-day Denmark by the Danes , who were an offshoot of the Swedes. The migration of the Herules is thought to have occurred around 250 AD. The Danes would eventually settle all of Denmark, with many its former inhabitants, including
3306-569: The Eóganacht Chaisil includes O'Callaghan, MacCarthy, O'Sullivan and others. The Irish Gaels can be grouped into the following major historical groups; Connachta (including Uí Néill , Clan Colla , Uí Maine , etc.), Dál gCais , Eóganachta , Érainn (including Dál Riata , Dál Fiatach , etc.), Laigin and Ulaid (including Dál nAraidi ). In the Highlands, the various Gaelic-originated clans tended to claim descent from one of
3393-503: The Germans, Lochlanach (Norse) by the Gaels and Dene (Danes) by the Anglo-Saxons. The Gaelic terms Finn-Gall (Norwegian Viking or Norwegian), Dubh-Gall (Danish Viking or Danish) and Gall Goidel (foreign Gaelic) were used for the people of Norse descent in Ireland and Scotland, who assimilated into the Gaelic culture. Dubliners called them Ostmen, or East-people, and the name Oxmanstown (an area in central Dublin;
3480-542: The Irish Gaels, their culture did not survive the conquests and colonisations by the English between 1534 and 1692 (see History of Ireland (1536–1691) , Tudor conquest of Ireland , Plantations of Ireland , Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , Williamite War in Ireland . As a result of the Gaelic revival , there has been renewed interest in Irish genealogy ; the Irish Government recognised Gaelic Chiefs of
3567-789: The Irish groups, particularly those from Ulster . The Dál Riata (i.e. – MacGregor, MacDuff, MacLaren, etc.) claimed descent from Síl Conairi , for instance. Some arrivals in the High Middle Ages (i.e. – MacNeill, Buchanan, Munro, etc.) claimed to be of the Uí Néill. As part of their self-justification; taking over power from the Norse-Gael MacLeod in the Hebrides; the MacDonalds claimed to be from Clan Colla. For
Norsemen - Misplaced Pages Continue
3654-489: The Name since the 1940s. The Finte na hÉireann (Clans of Ireland) was founded in 1989 to gather together clan associations; individual clan associations operate throughout the world and produce journals for their septs. The Highland clans held out until the 18th century Jacobite risings . During the Victorian-era, symbolic tartans, crests and badges were retroactively applied to clans. Clan associations built up over time and Na Fineachan Gàidhealach (The Highland Clans)
3741-414: The Norsemen, for a long time in bonds of captivity to the heathens". In modern scholarship, Vikings is a common term for attacking Norsemen, especially in connection with raids and monastic plundering by Norsemen in the British Isles , but it was not used in this sense at the time. In Old Norse and Old English, the word simply meant 'pirate'. The Norse were also known as Ascomanni , ashmen , by
3828-511: The North Atlantic as far as North America . Groups that arose from this expansion include the Normans , the Norse–Gaels and the Rus' people . The North Germanic peoples of the Viking Age went by various names among the cultures they encountered, but are generally referred to as Norsemen . With the end of the Viking Age in the 11th century, the North Germanic peoples were converted from their native Norse paganism to Christianity, while their previously tribal societies were centralized into
3915-399: The Old Irish form of the name was borrowed from an Archaic Welsh form Guoidel , meaning "forest people", "wild men" or, later, "warriors". Guoidel is recorded as a personal name in the Book of Llandaff . The root of the name is cognate at the Proto-Celtic level with Old Irish fíad 'wild', and Féni , derived ultimately from Proto-Indo-European * weidh-n-jo- . This latter word is
4002-420: The Roman alphabet. Irish mythology and Brehon law were preserved and recorded by medieval Irish monasteries. Gaelic monasteries were renowned centres of learning and played a key role in developing Insular art ; Gaelic missionaries and scholars were highly influential in western Europe. In the Middle Ages, most Gaels lived in roundhouses and ringforts . The Gaels had their own style of dress, which became
4089-450: The Roman historian Tacitus mentions the Swedes (Suiones) as being governed by powerful rulers and excelling at seafaring. From a very early time, Germanic tribes are thought to have interacted with and possibly settled in the Baltic states , in which they would leave a profound influence, particularly on the ancient Estonians . During the Iron Age various Germanic tribes migrated from Scandinavia to East - Central Europe . This included
4176-478: The Swedes and the Danes, who were an offshoot of the Swedes. Another North Germanic tribe were the Ranii , whose king Rodulf left Scandinavia for Ostrogothic Italy and became a companion of Theoderic the Great . Each of these countries was like a mighty hive, which, by the vigour of propagation and health of climate, growing too full of people, threw out some new swarm at certain periods of time, that took wing, and sought out some new abode, expelling or subduing
4263-454: The United States, with the majority found in urban areas with large Irish-American communities such as Boston , New York City and Chicago. As the Western Roman Empire began to collapse, the Irish (along with the Anglo-Saxons) were one of the peoples able to take advantage in Great Britain from the 4th century onwards. The proto-Eóganachta Uí Liatháin and the Déisi Muman of Dyfed both established colonies in today's Wales . Further to
4350-487: The Western fringes of Europe). Informally, archetypal forenames such as Tadhg or Dòmhnall are sometimes used for Gaels. The word "Gaelic" is first recorded in print in the English language in the 1770s, replacing the earlier word Gathelik which is attested as far back as 1596. Gael , defined as a "member of the Gaelic race", is first attested in print in 1810. In English, the more antiquarian term Goidels came to be used by some due to Edward Lhuyd 's work on
4437-460: The adjective norse , which was borrowed into English from Dutch during the 16th century with the sense 'Norwegian', and which by Scott's time had acquired the sense "of or relating to Scandinavia or its language, esp[ecially] in ancient or medieval times". As with modern use of the word viking , therefore, the word norseman has no particular basis in medieval usage. The term Norseman does echo terms meaning 'Northman', applied to Norse-speakers by
SECTION 50
#17327660474304524-401: The ancestors and believed in an Otherworld . Their four yearly festivals – Samhain , Imbolc , Beltane and Lughnasa – continued to be celebrated into modern times. The Gaels have a strong oral tradition , traditionally maintained by shanachies . Inscription in the ogham alphabet began in the 4th century. The Gaels' conversion to Christianity accompanied the introduction of writing in
4611-449: The area of Roslagen in east-central Sweden , where most of the Vikings who visited the Slavic lands originated. The Arabs of Spain also knew them as al-Majus (fire-worshippers), although they used this term rather for the Basques . After the Rus' established Kievan Rus' and gradually merged with the Slavic population, the North Germanic people in the east become known as Varangians ( ON : Væringjar , meaning "sworn men"), after
4698-477: The arrival of proto-Celtic language, possibly ancestral to Gaelic languages , may have occurred around this time. Several genetic traits found at maximum or very high frequencies in the modern populations of Gaelic ancestry were also observed in the Bronze Age period. These traits include a hereditary disease known as HFE hereditary haemochromatosis , Y-DNA Haplogroup R-M269 , lactase persistence and blue eyes . Another trait very common in Gaelic populations
4785-410: The bodyguards of the Byzantine known as the Varangian Guard . In modern scholarship, the terms Scandinavians and Norsemen are common synonyms for North Germanic peoples. As such, Scandinavians is generally applied to modern North Germanic peoples, while Norsemen is sometimes applied to pagan pre-modern North Germanic peoples. The Battle Axe culture , a local variant of
4872-402: The centuries, Gaels and Gaelic-speakers have been known by a number of names. The most consistent of these have been Gael , Irish and Scots . In Latin , the Gaels were called Scoti , but this later came to mean only the Gaels of Scotland . Other terms, such as Milesian , are not as often used. An Old Norse name for the Gaels was Vestmenn (meaning "Westmen", due to inhabiting
4959-421: The chief god in the North Germanic pantheon . Runes , the Germanic form of writing, was associated with Odin and magic . The thunder god Thor was popular with the North Germanic common people. By the 3rd century there seems to have been a disruption of trade, possibly due to attacks from tribes in periphery. In the 4th and 5th centuries, larger settlements were established in southern Scandinavia, indicating
5046-520: The export of slaves and amber to the Roman Empire , receiving prestige goods in return. This is attested by artifacts of gold and silver that have been found at rich burials from the period. North Germanic tribes, chiefly Swedes , were probably engaged as middlemen in the slave trade along the Baltic coast between Balts and Slavs and the Roman Empire. The North Germanic tribes at the time were skilled metal and leather workers, which supplemented their trade in iron and amber . In his book Germania ,
5133-445: The fact that the later Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson begins his history of the Norse peoples, the Heimskringla , with the legends of ancient Sweden. Around 510, the Herules returned to their home in southern Sweden following centuries of migrations throughout Europe, after their kingdom had been overwhelmed by the Lombards. Their name has been connected to the word erilaz attested in Elder Futhark inscriptions and
5220-474: The land. Religious leaders, merchants, craftsmen and armed retainers of chieftains ( housecarls ) were not confined to any specific class. Women had considerable independence compared to other parts of Europe . Legislative and judicial power lay in the hands of the free men at a popular assembly known as the Thing . Their legal system was closely related to those of other Germanic peoples . Dwellings were built according to methods that had changed little since
5307-408: The largest such database at present. In 2016, a study analyzing ancient DNA found Bronze Age remains from Rathlin Island in Ireland to be most genetically similar to the modern indigenous populations of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and to a lesser degree that of England. The majority of the genomes of the insular Celts would therefore have emerged by 4,000 years ago. It was also suggested that
SECTION 60
#17327660474305394-419: The modern day, is " Irish "; this existed in the English language during the 11th century in the form of Irisce , which derived from the stem of Old English Iras , "inhabitant of Ireland", from Old Norse irar . The ultimate origin of this word is thought to be the Old Irish Ériu , which is from Old Celtic *Iveriu , likely associated with the Proto-Indo-European term *pi-wer- meaning "fertile". Ériu
5481-438: The modern era are Ireland (which had 71,968 "daily" Irish speakers and 1,873,997 people claiming "some ability of Irish", as of the 2022 census ) and Scotland (58,552 fluent "Gaelic speakers" and 92,400 with "some Gaelic language ability" in the 2001 census). Communities where the languages still are spoken natively are restricted largely to the west coast of each country and especially the Hebrides islands in Scotland. However,
5568-420: The modern kingdoms of Denmark , Norway and Sweden . Modern linguistic groups that descended from the North Germanic peoples are the Danes , Icelanders , Norwegians , Swedes , and Faroese . These groups are often collectively referred to as Scandinavians , although Icelanders and the Faroese are sometimes excluded from that definition. Although the early North Germanic peoples definitely had
5655-465: The name Hibernia . Thus the name "Hibernian" also comes from this root, although the Romans tended to call the isle Scotia , and the Gaels Scoti . Within Ireland itself, the term Éireannach (Irish), only gained its modern political significance as a primary denominator from the 17th century onwards, as in the works of Geoffrey Keating , where a Catholic alliance between the native Gaoidheal and Seanghaill ("old foreigners", of Norman descent)
5742-514: The name is still current) comes from one of their settlements; they were also known as Lochlannaigh , or Lake-people. The Slavs , the Arabs and the Byzantines knew them as the Rus' or Rhōs ( Ῥῶς ), probably derived from various uses of rōþs- , i.e. "related to rowing", or from the area of Roslagen in east-central Sweden, where most of the Northmen who visited the Eastern Slavic lands originated. Archaeologists and historians of today believe that these Scandinavian settlements in
5829-403: The north, the Érainn's Dál Riata colonised Argyll (eventually founding Alba ) and there was a significant Gaelic influence in Northumbria and the MacAngus clan arose to the Pictish kingship by the 8th century. Gaelic Christian missionaries were also active across the Frankish Empire . With the coming of the Viking Age and their slave markets, Irish were also dispersed in this way across
5916-787: The north. The Norse Scandinavians established polities and settlements in what are now Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales), Ireland, Iceland, Russia, Belarus, France, Sicily , Belgium, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Greenland , Canada, and the Faroe Islands . North Germanic peoples Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European North Germanic peoples , Nordic peoples and in
6003-418: The old inhabitants, and seating themselves in their rooms. Gaels The Gaels ( / ɡ eɪ l z / GAYLZ ; Irish : Na Gaeil [n̪ˠə ˈɡeːlʲ] ; Scottish Gaelic : Na Gàidheil [nə ˈkɛː.al] ; Manx : Ny Gaeil [nə ˈɡeːl] ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland , Scotland and the Isle of Man . They are associated with the Gaelic languages :
6090-407: The only non-nomadic people to ever acquire a dominant position on the Eurasian steppe , and their influence on the early Slavs must have been considerable. When the Huns invaded these territories, the North Germanic legends recall that the Gizur of the Geats came to the aid of the Goths in an epic conflict . Rich Eastern Roman finds made in Gotland and southern Sweden from this period are
6177-521: The origin of Fianna and Fenian . In medieval Ireland, the bardic poets who were the cultural intelligentsia of the nation, limited the use of Gaoidheal specifically to those who claimed genealogical descent from the mythical Goídel Glas . Even the Gaelicised Normans who were born in Ireland, spoke Irish and sponsored Gaelic bardic poetry, such as Gearóid Iarla , were referred to as Gall ("foreigner") by Gofraidh Fionn Ó Dálaigh , then Chief Ollam of Ireland . A common name, passed down to
6264-692: The peoples they encountered during the Middle Ages. The Old Frankish word Nortmann ("Northman") was Latinised as Normannus and was widely used in Latin texts. The Latin word Normannus then entered Old French as Normands . From this word came the name of the Normans and of Normandy , which was settled by Norsemen in the tenth century. The same word entered Hispanic languages and local varieties of Latin with forms beginning not only in n- , but in l- , such as lordomanni (apparently reflecting nasal dissimilation in local Romance languages). This form may in turn have been borrowed into Arabic:
6351-678: The prominent early Arabic source al-Mas‘ūdī identified the 844 raiders on Seville not only as Rūs but also al-lawdh’āna . The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , written in Old English , distinguishes between the pagan Norwegian Norsemen ( Norðmenn ) of Dublin and the Christian Danes ( Dene ) of the Danelaw . In 942, it records the victory of King Edmund I over the Norse kings of York: "The Danes were previously subjected by force under
6438-459: The propagation of nations, just as, on the other hand, every southern region, the nearer it is to the heat of the sun, the more it abounds in diseases and is less fitted for the bringing up of the human race. It is likely that Proto-Norse emerged as a separate Germanic dialect around the 1st century. The ethnogenesis of the North Germanic peoples is thought to have occurred in Sweden . Sweden
6525-555: The realm was known as Scotland; this process and cultural shift was put into full effect under David I , who let the Normans come to power and furthered the Lowland-Highland divide. Germanic-speakers in Scotland spoke a language called Inglis , which they started to call Scottis ( Scots ) in the 16th century, while they in turn began to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse (meaning "Irish"). In traditional Gaelic society,
6612-531: The relationship between Celtic languages . This term was further popularised in academia by John Rhys ; the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University ; due to his work Celtic Britain (1882). These names all come from the Old Irish word Goídel/Gaídel . In Early Modern Irish , it was spelled Gaoidheal (singular) and Gaoidheil/Gaoidhil (plural). In modern Irish, it is spelled Gael (singular) and Gaeil (plural). According to scholar John T. Koch ,
6699-620: The south-west of Ireland. This group has been associated with the Érainn of Irish tradition by T. F. O'Rahilly and others. The Érainn, claiming descent from a Milesian eponymous ancestor named Ailill Érann , were the hegemonic power in Ireland before the rise of the descendants of Conn of the Hundred Battles and Mug Nuadat . The Érainn included peoples such as the Corcu Loígde and Dál Riata. Ancient Roman writers, such as Caesar , Pliny and Tacitus , derived from Ivernia
6786-662: The term Scoti to describe the Gaels in Latin from the 4th century onward. At the time, the Gaels were raiding the west coast of Britain, and they took part in the Great Conspiracy ; it is thus conjectured that the term means "raider, pirate". Although the Dál Riata settled in Argyll in the 6th century, the term "Scots" did not just apply to them, but to Gaels in general. Examples can be taken from Johannes Scotus Eriugena and other figures from Hiberno-Latin culture and
6873-462: The time of their migration, the culture and language of North and East Germanic tribes would thereafter take divergent lines of development. Another Germanic tribe which claimed Scandinavian origins were the Lombards . The region of the north, in proportion as it is removed from the heat of the sun and is chilled with snow and frost, is so much the more healthful to the bodies of men and fitted for
6960-489: The title Earl . In his book Getica , the 6th century Gothic historian Jordanes presents a detailed description of the various peoples inhabiting Scandinavia ( Scandza ), a land "not only inhospitable to men but cruel even to wild beasts." Jordanes wrote that the Scandinavians were distinguished from other Germanic peoples by being of larger physical stature and more warlike. The most numerous of these tribes were
7047-720: Was founded in 2013. At the turn of the 21st century, the principles of human genetics and genetic genealogy were applied to the study of populations of Irish origin. The two other peoples who recorded higher than 85% for R1b in a 2009 study published in the scientific journal, PLOS Biology , were the Welsh and the Basques . The development of in-depth studies of DNA sequences known as STRs and SNPs have allowed geneticists to associate subclades with specific Gaelic kindred groupings (and their surnames), vindicating significant elements of Gaelic genealogy , as found in works such as
7134-526: Was proposed against the Nuaghail or Sacsanach (the ascendant Protestant New English settlers). The Scots Gaels derive from the kingdom of Dál Riata , which included parts of western Scotland and northern Ireland. It has various explanations of its origins, including a foundation myth of an invasion from Ireland. Other historians believe that the Gaels colonized parts of Western Scotland over several decades and some archaeological evidence may point to
7221-693: Was rapidly established, leading to the emergence of the Nordic Bronze Age . The Nordic Bronze Age is closely genetically related to the Beaker and Unetice cultures of Continental Europe , and even the Sintashta and Andronovo cultures of the Eurasian Steppe , with whom it also shares numerous cultural characteristics. During the Iron Age the peoples of Scandinavia were engaged in
7308-469: Was sometimes applied to all Old Norse speakers. In the early medieval period , as today, Vikings was a common term for North Germanic raiders, especially in connection with raids and monastic plundering in continental Europe and the British Isles . In modern times, the term is often applied to all North Germanic peoples of the Middle Ages, including raiders and non-raiders, although such use
7395-598: Was suppressed and mostly supplanted by English. However, it continues to be the main language in Ireland's Gaeltacht and Scotland's Outer Hebrides . The modern descendants of the Gaels have spread throughout the rest of the British Isles, the Americas and Australasia . Traditional Gaelic society was organised into clans , each with its own territory and king (or chief), elected through tanistry . The Irish were previously pagans who had many gods , venerated
7482-472: Was the Temple at Uppsala . Their art was intimately intertwined with their religion. Their stories and myths were typically inscribed on runestones or transmitted orally by skalds . According to North Germanic belief , those who died in battle gained admittance to Folkvang, Freya's Hall, and above all to Valhalla , a majestic hall presided over by Odin , ruler of Asgard according to their cosmology and
7569-652: Was the home of the earliest attestations of North Germanic culture, and the later North Germanic tribes of Norway and Denmark originated in Sweden. Archaeological evidence suggests that the North Germanic tribes at the time constituted one of five main tribal groups among the Germanic peoples, the others being North Sea Germanic tribes ( Frisians , Saxons and Angles ), Weser–Rhine Germanic tribes ( Hessians , Franks ), Elbe Germanic tribes ( Lombards , Alemanni , Bavarians ) and Oder-Vistula Germanic tribes ( Goths , Vandals , Burgundians ). The southward expansion of
#429570