Early Christian and Viking Scotland

The earliest recorded saint in Early Christian Scotland is St Ninian, or Nynia, who was a bishop in Galloway in around AD 500. His shrine at Whithorn in Wigtownshire was a place of pilgrimage until medieval times and many major archaeological discoveries have been made there over the years. St Nynia by John and Winifred MacQueen is a good account of his life and legacy. Wild Men and Holy Places by Daphne Brooke paints a vivid picture of Galloway in the Dark Ages and early medieval period, concentrating on its importance as a religious centre. The Presence of the Past [OP] by John McLean is a close examination of the early Christian heritage in Galloway.

The Celtic church spread across Scotland from the Isle of Iona where St Columbia founded a monastery in AD 563. Remains of early Christian churches are scattered throughout Scotland, following the progress of the Celtic monks as they converted the pagan Gaels, Picts and Britons. In Iona [OP], Anna Ritchie assesses the excavations in Iona, for centuries the burial place of Scottish kings. She places the island in the wider context of Early Christian centres in Western Scotland, Ireland, Pictland and Northumbria, telling the story of the Celtic Church from its earliest days in Scotland to the great Christian centre of Lindisfarne. The Christian Celts by Charles Thomas, though not confined to Scotland, is a good account of the Celtic Church.

Scottish Abbeys and Priories [OP] by Richard Fawcett brings to life the history and architecture of these inspiring buildings, from the earliest monasteries to the Reformation, focussing on what can be still seen today. Pilgrimage in Medieval Scotland by Peter Yeoman looks at places of pilgrimage from local holy wells and crosses to sites such as St Andrews and Whithorn. Churches and Abbeys of Scotland is a guide to over 200 churches, chapels, cathedrals, abbeys, stone crosses and sacred sites which can be visited.

The Vikings had a much more long lasting effect on Scotland than in the rest of Britain, especially in the Northern and Western Isles. In Viking Scotland Anna Ritchie discusses the various archaeological, historical and linguistic evidence to tell the story of the Vikings in Scotland. Scandinavian Scotland [OP] by Barbara Crawford is a more academic but very approachable account of the Viking presence in Scotland, both in raiding and settlement. The Sea Road: a Viking Voyage Through Scotland By Olwyn Owen is a popular and well illustrated look at the world of Norse raiders, traders and settlers, drawing a vivid picture of a rich culture which had a powerful influence on large parts of what is now present day Scotland.