Chiefs, farmers, Vikings and runaway lovers
Who may have lived in and around the brochs, and the stories told about them later.
Who lived in a broch?
The owners of brochs were often wealthy people with contacts far away. Historic Environment Scotland: Carn Liath, history and stories The Broch of Gurness was probably home to the chief family of the community. Historic Environment Scotland: Broch of Gurness, history and stories
Dun Troddan’s ground floor may once have held livestock, with people living on the upper floors. Historic Environment Scotland: Glenelg Brochs, history and stories
People at Gurness ate cod, whale and seal. Historic Environment Scotland: Broch of Gurness, history and stories
At Clickimin, near Lerwick, a stone carved with a pair of feet may be linked to kingship ceremonies. Historic Environment Scotland: Clickimin Broch
The eloping couple
Historic Environment Scotland’s Mousa page says an eloping couple sheltered there after being shipwrecked on the way to Iceland in AD 900. Historic Environment Scotland: Mousa Broch
The Statement of Significance says the couple were shipwrecked on Mousa on their way to Dublin, spent the winter in the broch, and later reached Iceland. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
Egil’s Saga was written down around AD 1230. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
An earl’s siege
The Orkneyinga Saga tells how, in AD 1153, Erlend took Margaret, the mother of Earl Harold, to Mousa. Historic Environment Scotland: Mousa Broch, history and stories
In AD 1153, Earl Harold besieged Mousa but found it “an unhandy place to get at”, in Historic Environment Scotland’s wording. Historic Environment Scotland: Mousa Broch, history and stories The Statement of Significance quotes another translation: “an awkward place to get at”. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
In the end the two sides made peace without violence, and Erlend and Margaret were allowed to marry. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
The Orkneyinga Saga was written down around AD 1200. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
Translations of the saga use different words: see when sources disagree.
Vikings
Vikings from Norway settled at Jarlshof in the 800s. Historic Environment Scotland: Jarlshof, history and stories
In the 9th century a Viking woman was buried at Gurness with a sickle blade and a pair of “tortoise” brooches. Historic Environment Scotland: Broch of Gurness, history and stories
“Borg” is the Old Norse word for a fort. Historic Environment Scotland: Jarlshof, history and stories In the sagas Mousa is called Moseyarborg, which means “the fort of the mossy island”. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
Shetland passed from Norway to Scotland in 1469. Historic Environment Scotland: Jarlshof, history and stories
Writers and visitors
Walter Scott visited Shetland in 1814 and later set his novel The Pirate (1822) partly there. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018) Walter Scott named Jarlshof (“earl’s house”) in his novel The Pirate; its proper name is Sumburgh. Historic Environment Scotland: Jarlshof, history and stories
Sir Henry Dryden drew Mousa twice in the 1850s and came back in 1866. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
Dun Carloway has also been a pottery kiln, a shelter for the Morrisons of Ness in the 1500s (according to tradition) and a family home as late as the 1870s. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Carloway, history and stories
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