0:00:14 > 0:00:18Late summer, and under cover of darkness, a powerful armada
0:00:18 > 0:00:20is bearing down on the British mainland.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29It's one of the largest invasion forces to ever threaten our shores.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31But these aren't Spanish men-of-war.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36They're Norse longships.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39And this isn't the English Channel...
0:00:39 > 0:00:41it's the west coast of Scotland.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48The Battle of Largs in 1263 was the last time
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Norse invaders fought on our soil.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54The final bloody twist in a relationship that was centuries old.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02This is the story of the Vikings in Scotland.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06It's a story of brutal violence and pitiless warfare...
0:01:10 > 0:01:16..but it's also a story of new technology and exquisite art...
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Of how the Scotland we know today was formed,
0:01:19 > 0:01:22and how the Vikings were right at the heart of that change.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34My name is Jon Henderson.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37I'm an underwater archaeologist, and my work has taken me
0:01:37 > 0:01:42across the globe, exploring sunken cities and lost civilisations.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47That's quite a nice find... We've got the base of a bowl.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52I'm fascinated by how ancient peoples exploited the power of the sea.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56But there's one group that's always had a real, personal draw for me.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00I grew up near the seaside town of Largs.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06It's a place that isn't exactly shy about its Viking past.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13But the truth behind the battle that was fought here has largely been forgotten.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17The Norse connection in Scotland lasted longer than anywhere else in the British Isles.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21Whole swathes of the country were effectively part of Scandinavia.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24But why did the Vikings come to Scotland in the first place?
0:02:24 > 0:02:26What lay behind their astonishing success?
0:02:26 > 0:02:29And how did their grip on their Scottish territories
0:02:29 > 0:02:31come to an end in such a dramatic way?
0:02:33 > 0:02:38'To help answer these questions, I'm going to travel to the Vikings' fjord homeland...
0:02:39 > 0:02:43'..and learn some of the secrets of their boatbuilding technology.'
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Can you see the other end yet?
0:02:47 > 0:02:50'I'm going to explore mysterious Viking ruins...'
0:02:50 > 0:02:52It's a massive engineering operation.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00'..and trace the route of the final invasion fleet.'
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Because the Vikings never really went away.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06They didn't just disappear over the horizon.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11The Battle of Largs, 750 years ago, might have marked the beginning of the end
0:03:11 > 0:03:15for Norse power in Scotland, but the Viking influence remained.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Part of a new nation. Part of us.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42I'm beginning my journey into Scotland's Viking past on the Isle of Skye.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46A team of archaeologists and divers are on their way
0:03:46 > 0:03:50to one of the most extraordinary Viking sites in the whole of Britain.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52And I've been invited to join them.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57I've spent a lot of my working life on boats.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00It's often the only practical way to get to some pretty remote spots.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05To begin to understand Viking Scotland, you really have to
0:04:05 > 0:04:07change the way you think about geography.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11It's only recently we've thought of the sea as a barrier,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15but for generations, going back to the Vikings and beyond,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18it was the sea that connected communities and people.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21For the Vikings, the sea was a super highway.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27I've come here to Rubh' an Dunain to find out just how the Vikings
0:04:27 > 0:04:30came to rule Scotland's sea routes.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41Archaeologists have been visiting this secluded site for several years.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46But on this trip, they've brought a new box of technological tricks to help them explore it.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51This is a remote-controlled aerial drone.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53It's equipped with a digital camera
0:04:53 > 0:04:55and can manoeuvre high above the ground,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57taking highly detailed images.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01That's absolutely fantastic, what you've done there,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04I mean, the resolution you've managed to achieve,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06and just to get an aerial view of the whole site.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09You can really see the connection between the sea and the loch.
0:05:09 > 0:05:10It's brilliant.
0:05:10 > 0:05:16Yes, and this is a true artificial canal with built sides and cut rock.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17It's quite remarkable.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19It's a serious bit of engineering, isn't it?
0:05:19 > 0:05:22- These people were doing something important.- Yes, absolutely.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25It's certainly the oldest canal in Scotland, if not in Britain.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30But what was the purpose of this complex site?
0:05:32 > 0:05:35What exactly was going on here?
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Could the answers lie below the water?
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Originally developed for the offshore oil industry,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52this is an advanced sonar rig.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00OK. Good position. Just drop it in.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06It's a system I've used before in the Mediterranean, but this will be
0:06:06 > 0:06:10the first time it's been deployed on an archaeological site in Britain.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Almost straight away, it's identifying some intriguing targets
0:06:18 > 0:06:20where the canal enters the loch.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25So the sonar is picking out these linear features of stones
0:06:25 > 0:06:26either side of the canal.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31Nature doesn't make right angles. See, that's very elbow-shaped.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34So I see this as a possible man-made structure.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52My most recent research project has been on a sunken city in Greece.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59The conditions in this cold Scottish loch couldn't be more different.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03The visibility is very bad.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11Salt water coming in the canal, mixing with the fresh water,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13creates this strange optical effect...
0:07:13 > 0:07:15A bit like adding water to whisky.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20This murky environment might be challenging,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23but it's ideal for preserving finds.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28Boat fragments recovered from the loch have been dated to over 1,000 years ago.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33And it's not just Viking-era timber that's survived.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Just here, you can see part of a constructed wall.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43This is where the Vikings would have brought stones to construct a quay,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45for loading and unloading ships.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49It's a massive engineering operation.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57Rubh' an Dunain was clearly a site that was regularly used by ships.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02Enormous efforts went into constructing and maintaining it.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05But just what were the Vikings doing here?
0:08:05 > 0:08:07What purpose did this place serve?
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Well, I think it's been, at one stage in its career,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14a Viking raiding base where the ships have been able to come
0:08:14 > 0:08:18right in through the canal here, up into the loch, where
0:08:18 > 0:08:21they would have been safe and secure over the winter for maintenance,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25for repair and possibly, they were building ships there, as well.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29You get a sense standing here of a lost world.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32The nearest road is six kilometres away. We had to get here by boat.
0:08:32 > 0:08:38Yes, yes. Now it's a lovely deserted place but for the people who lived
0:08:38 > 0:08:41and worked here, it was the centre of their universe,
0:08:41 > 0:08:45a place from which they could sally forth, free as birds,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47to raid wherever they wanted,
0:08:47 > 0:08:52coming back here to live in safety with their ships over the winter.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Coming to this remote place has really brought home to me
0:08:58 > 0:09:01just how formidable the Vikings were.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06They were adaptable, they were tenacious
0:09:06 > 0:09:10and they had the engineering skills to match their aggressive ambitions...
0:09:11 > 0:09:15..because outposts like Rubh an' Dunain were just the beginning.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20From these scattered beachheads, the rest of Scotland
0:09:20 > 0:09:21lay within the Vikings' grasp.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33The monastery island, of Iona.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40This is where the Vikings burst into Scottish history with sudden,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42shocking, apocalyptic violence.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51In the early morning of the 24th July, 825,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54the unmistakeable shapes of Viking longships
0:09:54 > 0:09:57were spotted approaching the island.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09The few monks that remained here knew exactly what would happen next.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16The community dedicated to the cult of Saint Columba was in ruins.
0:10:17 > 0:10:23For the past 30 years, Viking war bands had raided the island time and time again,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25stealing, burning and killing.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29So much so, that it was virtually suicide to stay here.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34But suicide was something the remaining monks embraced.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37As the longships drew nearer, the leader of the surviving group,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41a man named Blathmac, prepared his followers for martyrdom.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49The violent cursed host came rushing through the open buildings,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53threatening cruel perils to the blessed men,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57and after slaying with mad savagery the rest of the brethren,
0:10:57 > 0:10:59they approached the holy father.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02But he stood firm, and spoke to the barbarians,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04in words such as these:
0:11:04 > 0:11:07"I know nothing at all of the treasure you seek,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11"where it is placed in the ground or in what hiding place it is concealed.
0:11:11 > 0:11:17"But if by Christ's permission, it were granted to me to know it,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20"never would my lips relate it to thy ears."
0:11:21 > 0:11:26Hereupon, the pious victim was torn from limb to limb.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39The account of Blathmac's torture and death has been dismissed by some
0:11:39 > 0:11:41as Christian propaganda...
0:11:42 > 0:11:45..but I think it's got the brutal ring of truth about it.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Iona had been bled dry by previous raids,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and you can almost sense the frustrated fury
0:11:50 > 0:11:53of Blathmac's killers, as they searched for elusive treasure.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00For the chroniclers, the Vikings were the ultimate other.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Their identity was unclear, their motives inexplicable.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09All along the coastline of the British Isles,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13the Vikings descended like harbingers of Doomsday.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Just who were they? Where had they come from? And what did they want?
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Fjord country, western Norway.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43It's a breath-taking landscape of high mountains,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45plunging waterfalls and deep seaways.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53Travelling in the fjords, you can't help but be blown away
0:12:53 > 0:12:57by the sheer scale and raw beauty of the Viking homeland.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05There are many theories about what exactly the word "Viking" means.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08One of the most likely is that it comes from the word "vik",
0:13:08 > 0:13:10meaning sea inlet.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12But this labyrinth of winding channels
0:13:12 > 0:13:15and hidden bays didn't just give these Viking sea-raiders a name -
0:13:15 > 0:13:17it gave them a launch pad.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22At the end of the 8th century, the Vikings exploded onto the world map.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Swedish Vikings travelled deep into Russia,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30establishing trade routes that extended to the Black Sea and beyond.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35From Denmark, Vikings raided eastern England,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38eventually carving out their own kingdom.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43But the Vikings who first descended on Scotland came from western Norway.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56Bergen, Norway's second city, and centre of fjord country.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01From here, the sea journey to Scotland is shorter than it is
0:14:01 > 0:14:03to the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08It was from these western fjords that Vikings not only raided
0:14:08 > 0:14:10the Scottish and Irish coasts,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14but went on to eventually colonise the Faros, Iceland and Greenland.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18They even gained a temporary foothold in North America.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22But geography doesn't explain everything.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27It doesn't explain why the Vikings decided to begin raiding in the first place.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Until recently, the most widely held theory on why the Vikings set out
0:14:35 > 0:14:37was land hunger.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47The steep-sided fjords contained very little farm land.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54As the population grew, it simply had nowhere to go.
0:14:57 > 0:15:03The only problem with that theory is that the Vikings who raided places like Iona weren't after land.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06The men who murdered Blathmac weren't farmers who wanted to
0:15:06 > 0:15:08settle down and till the soil.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10So what was their motive?
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Like any good detective story, you just have to follow the money.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Over the last century, the western fjords of Norway have given up
0:15:21 > 0:15:24some rare archaeological treasures
0:15:24 > 0:15:28that give a clue to why the people here first went raiding to Scotland.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34These are old silver coins. VERY old silver coins.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38In fact, this one dates from 763 AD.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41But they're not from Norway. They're not even from Europe.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45These coins come from Baghdad, which from the middle of the 8th century
0:15:45 > 0:15:48was the epicentre of a powerful and rich Islamic world.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53Baghdad merchants would pay hard cash for amber,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56furs and walrus ivory from Scandinavia.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59But the only problem was that the main trade routes for these goods
0:15:59 > 0:16:02bypassed the western fjords of Norway.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05And wanting to keep up with the Joneses, or rather,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08the Johanssons, the chieftains of western Norway
0:16:08 > 0:16:11looked for their own source of silver.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15And they soon found it, not in the bazaars of Baghdad,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17but in the monasteries of the British Isles.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32The monastery St Columba, founded on Iona, might have been
0:16:32 > 0:16:35a deliberately simple and ascetic place.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41But like all monasteries, it accumulated wealth from its important patrons.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Rich and undefended, these religious communities must have been
0:16:47 > 0:16:50irresistible targets for Viking raiders.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55The ultimate opportunity to get rich quick.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04These were brutal times in Scotland.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Raiding and warfare between different groups was common.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Violent death, a fact of life.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Perhaps in some ways, the Vikings were no worse than anybody else.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19But what made them unusual,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22was they had no qualms about attacking holy sites.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Christian chroniclers called the Vikings "heathens" and "gentiles".
0:17:31 > 0:17:35Instead of the cross, these pagan warriors wore pendants
0:17:35 > 0:17:38shaped as Thor's hammer around their necks.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Only people who worshipped the god of storms and thunder
0:17:41 > 0:17:44would dare desecrate Christ's church.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53And it wasn't just silver that brought the Vikings
0:17:53 > 0:17:55to Scotland's monasteries.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58There was another valuable commodity to be found in these scattered
0:17:58 > 0:18:00centres of worship and learning -
0:18:00 > 0:18:01human beings.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16The island of Inchmarnock, just off Bute in the Firth of Clyde.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26Today, it's uninhabited, but at the time of the first Viking raids,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29this place was home to a small monastic community.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Nothing remains of the original buildings.
0:18:43 > 0:18:49But recently, evocative traces of everyday monastic life on Inchmarnock have come to light.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Like all monasteries, Inchmarnock wasn't just about prayer,
0:18:58 > 0:19:00it was about education.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Young novices aged anywhere between seven and 16 would have studied on this island,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07laboriously learning how to write Latin and Gaelic.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11But instead of paper or parchment, they would have used this stuff,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14slate. And there's a lot of slate on Inchmarnock.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17The whole island is made of the stuff.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20I'm improvising with an old nail, but the students would have used
0:19:20 > 0:19:24a metal stylus to scratch the slate pieces.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Actually, not that easy.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34But it was more than their ABCs that these young boys carved.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38A couple of years ago, archaeologists working on Inchmarnock
0:19:38 > 0:19:40uncovered two pieces of old slate.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43When they were joined together, they revealed an astonishing scene.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48And one that must have been part of the everyday world of the boy who carved it.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52The centuries haven't been kind to this picture, so we've had it
0:19:52 > 0:19:56blown up and enhanced digitally, so we can see better what's going on.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59A man has been roped by the neck
0:19:59 > 0:20:02and he's being dragged by an armoured warrior towards a longship.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05In front of them, are the partial outlines of two other warriors
0:20:05 > 0:20:08wearing chainmail and carrying spears.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12What this childish doodle reveals is key to understanding why
0:20:12 > 0:20:14the Vikings came to Scotland.
0:20:15 > 0:20:16Slavery.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24The Vikings didn't invent slavery in Scotland,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27but they did turn it into a professional industry.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Before the arrival of the Vikings, slavery was common amongst
0:20:33 > 0:20:36the different people who lived in Scotland.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43But slaves tended to be the by-product of war, not its object.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47The Vikings changed all that.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51For them, capturing slaves and selling them on was a lucrative trade,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54and one which they developed on a mass scale.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Slavery, not silver or land, was the real engine of early Viking Scotland.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15And Scotland's monasteries weren't the only targets for Viking slavers.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Guarding the entrance to the River Clyde,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30is the vast and imposing shape of Dumbarton Rock.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37In the 9th century, this was the centre of the kingdom of Strathclyde.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43You can see why the Strathclyders chose Dumbarton Rock as their capital.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Its steep sides rise more than 70 metres from sea level.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50It must have seemed impregnable, except that it wasn't.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59In 870, Vikings arrived here and surrounded the fortress.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03The siege lasted for four months.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Eventually, the water supply ran out
0:22:07 > 0:22:10and the stronghold was forced to surrender.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17The Vikings had hit the jackpot.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20So many captives had been taken here on Dumbarton Rock
0:22:20 > 0:22:26and the surrounding countryside, that the Vikings needed 200 ships just to transport them all.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Most ended up at the great slave market in Dublin.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Others were sold on to merchants around the Irish Sea.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Some may even have ended up as far afield as Spain or North Africa.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41And what made all of this possible was the Vikings' secret weapon.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44A new and terrifying invention - the longship.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Nothing says Viking as much as the longship.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00It's become a potent image of myth and legend.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10But here at a yard in southwest Norway, a group of experimental
0:23:10 > 0:23:15archaeologists are investigating the reality behind the longship.
0:23:15 > 0:23:16And they're doing it the hard way,
0:23:16 > 0:23:21building a boat from scratch using only Viking-era tools and methods.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23What they're discovering
0:23:23 > 0:23:26is just how devastatingly effective the vessel was.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32The Viking longship of Scandinavia was the stealth weapon of its day.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34It was low, it was fast, it was manoeuvrable.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37You can row this ship more or less silently.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41It shows a very low profile, a very low silhouette on the water.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43So these were the nuclear submarines,
0:23:43 > 0:23:45if you like, of the early historic period.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Yeah, the connection is not too far-fetched.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50It was a major step forward weapon-wise, military-wise, technically-wise.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54- What have you learnt in this project?- Oh, wow!
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Well, firstly, enormous respect for the craftsmanship that the Vikings put down.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02What we're doing here is copying bit by bit
0:24:02 > 0:24:07a 1,200-year construction, down to the last details.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11And to the see the quality of the hull and the quality
0:24:11 > 0:24:14of the construction, how the hull planks fit like a symphony
0:24:14 > 0:24:19that turns into the trademark high prow, it's beyond magical, actually.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29The secret of the longship's success lies in its refined hull construction.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33It's clinker built, using overlapping planks to create the form
0:24:33 > 0:24:36rather than relying on a heavy internal frame.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39This makes the boat light and flexible,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43able to survive the steep waves of the North Sea and Atlantic...
0:24:43 > 0:24:46- Can you see the other end yet? - I can see the end, yes.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Though maybe not my hammering technique!
0:24:54 > 0:24:56And now it will be much harder.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59THEY LAUGH
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Oh, dear God! Don't laugh quite so loudly!
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Today is a big day at the yard.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11They're fitting the elaborately carved figurehead.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Instead of the more familiar dragon's head,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16this is a coiling snake design.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23The researchers have discovered that the high carved prow was often
0:25:23 > 0:25:27stowed on deck during sea voyages, and was only hoisted
0:25:27 > 0:25:30immediately before a raid, to intimidate the enemy.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37I love ships and boats, and as an underwater archaeologist,
0:25:37 > 0:25:41I'm used to finding pieces of wreckage and the odd bit of timber underwater.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46But to see an entire ancient ship like this take shape before my eyes is quite a privilege.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50You get a real sense of not only the workmanship that's gone into this,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53but also what the ship means as a symbol, what it would have said.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56If you saw one of these coming towards you,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59and they'd raised their dragon prow, you knew you were in trouble.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08The all-conquering technology of the dragon ship
0:26:08 > 0:26:12brought new territories within easy reach of the Vikings.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Amongst their first targets, the Northern Isles of Scotland.
0:26:20 > 0:26:26By longship, Shetland was just two days' sail away from the western fjords of Norway.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Orkney only a little further.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34By the 850s,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37the islands had been completely overrun by Viking raiders.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41But Orkney was much more than an armed camp.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Geographically, politically and culturally,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51it was right at the centre of the Norse world.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54And it gave rise to a new breed of Viking...
0:26:54 > 0:26:57part raider...
0:26:57 > 0:26:58part farmer.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12In the famous Orkneyinga Saga,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15there's a fantastic description of one of these Vikings.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19A larger-than-life character called Svein Asliefarson.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25"This was how Svein used to live. Winter he would spend at home,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28"where he entertained more than 80 men at his own expense.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32"In the spring, he had more than enough to occupy him,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36"with a great deal of seed to sow, which he saw to carefully himself.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38"Then when that job was done,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41"he would go off plundering in the Hebrides and in Ireland on what he
0:27:41 > 0:27:45"called his spring trip, Then, back home just after mid-summer,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48"where he stayed till the cornfields had been reaped
0:27:48 > 0:27:51"and the grain was safely in.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53"After that, he would go off raiding again,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57"and never came back till the first month of winter was ended.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59"This, he called his autumn trip".
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Viking colonisation changed every aspect of life in the Northern Isles.
0:28:10 > 0:28:15Some of those changes were enduring. This is the Orkney Yole.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19The workhorse of the islanders, this clinker-built,
0:28:19 > 0:28:23double-ended vessel has the Viking longboat in its design DNA.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32You'd be amazed at how much the Norse influenced the Yole.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36The obvious thing is the shape of the boat.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40But also, the names have kept on.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43The bit of the wood on the bottom of the keel is the keeldright.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47The bits of the wood for rubbing up and down on the beaches
0:28:47 > 0:28:50when they were hauled ashore is the bilge-kods.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56The parts of the joints of the boats are the hunnyspots and the helwel.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59All Norwegian words that are still in use.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04It's something that's survived for over 1,000 years from the Norse traditions.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07It shows you how successful Norse boatbuilding was.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Yep, they're obviously fit for purpose
0:29:09 > 0:29:12and you'll find that out if you're in a...a coarse sea.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16The boat will look after you. You don't have to look after it.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24There are few places in Scotland where you can feel the Norse
0:29:24 > 0:29:26influence as strongly as here in Orkney.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31The names of these scattered islands...
0:29:31 > 0:29:36Papa Westray, Shapinsay, Eday, Egilsay,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40reads like a verse from an ancient saga.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Sometimes, it seems as if there isn't a square centimetre of this
0:29:43 > 0:29:48beautiful place that the Vikings didn't carve their names onto.
0:29:57 > 0:30:03Even Neolithic tombs like Maeshowe bear the marks of the Norsemen.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11In my day job as an underwater archaeologist, I'm used to
0:30:11 > 0:30:15scrabbling about in the silt and sand to find buried fragments.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19But here, the archaeology is literally spelt out
0:30:19 > 0:30:21in front of your eyes.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26These markings are Norse graffiti.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29They might be hundreds of years old but really it's not much different
0:30:29 > 0:30:33from something you'd read sprayed on your local bus shelter.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37This one reads, "Haermund Hardaxe carved these runes."
0:30:37 > 0:30:41While this one boasts, "These runes were carved by the man
0:30:41 > 0:30:44"most skilled in runes in the western oceans."
0:30:46 > 0:30:49And there's more raunchy stuff as well.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52This chamber would originally have been used by the Neolithic people
0:30:52 > 0:30:55to store the bones of their ancestors.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59But the Vikings appear to have found another use. This reads,
0:30:59 > 0:31:01"Thorni..."
0:31:01 > 0:31:05Well, "Thorni bedded while Helgi carved."
0:31:14 > 0:31:18The Norse graffiti at Maeshowe is great fun.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21But I think these scratches spell out more than just
0:31:21 > 0:31:24smutty messages or outlandish nicknames.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29I think they spell out an attitude.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37These people had swagger, they had self-belief.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39They had the kind of confidence
0:31:39 > 0:31:42that only generations of success can bring.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50The sporadic Viking raids at the end of the 8th century
0:31:50 > 0:31:53had developed into an unstoppable onslaught.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58No-one seemed capable of turning back the Norse tide.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07In 839 AD, the Vikings crushed the Picts on the east coast.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09Less than ten years later,
0:32:09 > 0:32:12they conquered the Gaels on the west coast.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19All across Scotland, old kingdoms were crumbling.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22Populations were on the move.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28But out of the ashes of the Viking conquest
0:32:28 > 0:32:30new alliances were being formed.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34Gaelic refugees flooding eastward found sanctuary
0:32:34 > 0:32:37in the remnants of the Pictish kingdom.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42On mainland Scotland, a new culture emerged. A new nation was born.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47It was called Alba and if you can trace the origins
0:32:47 > 0:32:51of modern Scotland anywhere, it's to this fugitive kingdom.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55A kingdom united in opposition to, and in fear of, the Vikings.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59But Alba wasn't the only kingdom being born.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Across the mountains, the Norse were carving out
0:33:02 > 0:33:04a new and powerful land.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13To the Gaelic speakers of Alba it was Innse Gall,
0:33:13 > 0:33:15the land of the foreigners.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19This sprawling territory stretched from the northern tip
0:33:19 > 0:33:23of the Hebrides, through Argyll, the Clyde islands,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26Kintyre to the Isle of Man beyond.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35It sat right on the middle of the crucial sea routes,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38at a time when to rule the water, was to rule the world.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45The future of these islands and these people,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48which way they faced, would determine the fate of Scotland.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57The Vikings and their descendants had put down roots.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04By 1000 AD the Hebrides were as Norse-speaking as Orkney.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09But at the same time, a sea change was underway
0:34:09 > 0:34:13that would fundamentally affect Viking identity.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21The island of Iona is dotted with ancient grave slabs
0:34:21 > 0:34:23and stone crosses.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Amongst them is a fragment of an inscription that speaks volumes.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32It's written in runes
0:34:32 > 0:34:36and it's been carved on the edge of a stone with a Celtic Cross on it.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38And it looks like it's been smashed.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41You might think that a marauding Viking has come in
0:34:41 > 0:34:44and vandalised this symbol of Christianity,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48and then to add insult to injury, he's carved his name on it.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50But nothing could be further from the truth.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53This isn't casual graffiti like we've seen at Maeshowe.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55This is something quite different.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59The runes are incomplete but we can read,
0:34:59 > 0:35:05"Kali the son of Olvir has laid this stone over his brother Fugl."
0:35:05 > 0:35:08So it was a Norseman who commissioned this stone.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12He'd seen the Celtic Cross design and wanted it for his brother.
0:35:12 > 0:35:17He'd then arranged for his brother to be buried on the island of Iona.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21The very island that had been ravaged by his ancestors.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23The Vikings had become Christians.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25And now Iona was their sacred ground.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35It was an astonishing transformation.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Before the arrival of the Vikings, Iona had been
0:35:40 > 0:35:43at the epicentre of Christianity in northern Britain.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50The Vikings had destroyed all that.
0:35:53 > 0:35:59But now, under the protection of its Norse rulers, Iona had risen again.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01A place of pilgrimage and sanctuary.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07The spiritual heart of Innse Gall.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11The Vikings had stopped being Vikings.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14They were Christians now, not pagans.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17They were settlers now, not just hit-and-run raiders.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20And although the Norse-speaking peoples of Innse Gall
0:36:20 > 0:36:23had deep roots in the Scandinavian world,
0:36:23 > 0:36:26they were very much their own people with their own identity.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33This was a wealthy, sophisticated, connected culture.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37And from it came one of the most famous treasures of medieval Europe.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41The Lewis Chessmen.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46So these amazing pieces were actually found
0:36:46 > 0:36:49on a beach in Lewis and the argument was that it was just
0:36:49 > 0:36:51a merchant passing through from somewhere else.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56That is what a lot of people have believed ever since the discovery,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58that these are such wonderful pieces,
0:36:58 > 0:37:01Lewis is such a remote part of the world,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03that clearly they don't belong.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07But that begs the question, where is Lewis remote from?
0:37:07 > 0:37:11Because Lewis was actually fairly central
0:37:11 > 0:37:13in the extended Scandinavian world.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17It was on the main trade routes that would take you from Greenland
0:37:17 > 0:37:20where a lot of the walrus ivory to make these was coming from,
0:37:20 > 0:37:21back through Iceland,
0:37:21 > 0:37:25over to the west coast of Norway which is a fairly likely place for
0:37:25 > 0:37:31these to be manufactured, and then down to Dublin and further afield.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34So Lewis was fairly centrally positioned.
0:37:34 > 0:37:40And on top of that, we do have evidence for important people,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44people of high status, living in Lewis.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47So it's not too difficult to imagine that there was somebody
0:37:47 > 0:37:50with money, resources and status
0:37:50 > 0:37:54to have splendid gaming pieces like the ones in front of us.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57Well, I think probably like many people, one of my favourites
0:37:57 > 0:38:00is this little guy here biting his shield.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04I agree with you in that, you know. It really is fantastic, isn't it?
0:38:04 > 0:38:07It's a reference to a cult in the Scandinavian world,
0:38:07 > 0:38:09the cult of the berserkers.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Guys who were so psyched up before they went into battle
0:38:12 > 0:38:16that they had to bite the shields in order to hold themselves back.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19So what kind of force do you think the islands could have
0:38:19 > 0:38:20mustered at this period?
0:38:20 > 0:38:24If we're talking about all the islands, all the way from Lewis
0:38:24 > 0:38:30right down to and including the Isle of Man, 10,000-plus.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32And the ships to put them in.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36And as you can imagine, 10,000 guys like this,
0:38:36 > 0:38:38that was a very considerable power.
0:38:43 > 0:38:48For centuries, the military and naval might of Innse Gall
0:38:48 > 0:38:52had given its inhabitants a kind of independence.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56Neither Norwegian nor Scottish, the Hebrideans straddled identities and
0:38:56 > 0:39:01allegiances, maintaining a foot in both camps while belonging to none.
0:39:02 > 0:39:07But as the 13th century dawned, that was no longer possible.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10Now, it was time to choose sides.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19When the Vikings first began raiding across the North Sea
0:39:19 > 0:39:22there was no king of Norway, and no king of Scotland.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29400 years later, both countries had been united
0:39:29 > 0:39:32under powerful and ambitious kings.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37Haakon the 4th of Norway and Alexander the 2nd of Scotland,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40were born within a few years of each other.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43They came to the throne around the same time.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45And they were both absolutely determined
0:39:45 > 0:39:47to expand their authority.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54The problem was that both men regarded Innse Gall
0:39:54 > 0:39:58as lying within their sphere of influence.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01And nowhere did the political fault line run deeper
0:40:01 > 0:40:05than amongst the islands of the Firth of Clyde.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09At the beginning of the 13th century,
0:40:09 > 0:40:11this was frontier territory.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13The mainland was Scottish.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17But the islands of Bute and Cumbrae just over there were Norse.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19It was a war just waiting to happen.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27The struggle to control the Clyde islands
0:40:27 > 0:40:30spiralled into a battle over the whole of Innse Gall.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35Over the next decades, forces loyal to Alexander and Haakon
0:40:35 > 0:40:39fought a vicious running battle in the islands.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41But Alexander's obsession with winning the Hebrides
0:40:41 > 0:40:43was to prove fatal.
0:40:46 > 0:40:51In 1249, Alexander sailed up the west coast with a powerful fleet.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57It was the last journey he would ever make.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02King Alexander dreamed a dream, and thought three men came to him
0:41:02 > 0:41:06and enquired whether he meant to invade the Hebrides.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11Alexander answered that he certainly proposed to subject the islands.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14The spirits bade him go back and told him that
0:41:14 > 0:41:18no other measure would turn out to his advantage.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22The king related his dream and many advised him to return.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25But the king would not, and a little after,
0:41:25 > 0:41:29he was seized with a disorder, and died.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40In Norway, King Haakon could now turn his attention to
0:41:40 > 0:41:42some of the other Norse colonies.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49In 1261, the Norse community in Greenland acknowledged him as king.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53The following year, the independent-minded colony of Iceland
0:41:53 > 0:41:55also submitted.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01The Norwegian kingdom was now at the height of its power.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15This is Haakon's Hall in Bergen.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20When it was completed in 1261 it was one the largest
0:42:20 > 0:42:23and most imposing buildings in the whole of Norway.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29For Haakon, the completion of this architectural wonder must
0:42:29 > 0:42:32have felt like the crowning glory in a career which had seen
0:42:32 > 0:42:37the Norwegian kingdom grow larger and more powerful than ever before.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39He must have felt supremely confident.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43But this was also the exact moment that a new king of Scotland
0:42:43 > 0:42:46made his move on the Norse territories in the Hebrides.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Like father, like son.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59Alexander the 3rd wasn't content with diplomacy.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05The 21-year-old king backed up his claim on Innse Gall
0:43:05 > 0:43:07with a brutal show of force.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13Ordering armed raids deep into Norse-speaking areas.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20This wasn't just a land grab.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22This was ethnic cleansing.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28They burned villages, and churches,
0:43:28 > 0:43:32and they killed great numbers both of men and women.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36The Scots had even taken the small children and raising them
0:43:36 > 0:43:40on the points of their spears shook them, till they fell down to
0:43:40 > 0:43:45their hands, when they threw them away, lifeless, on the ground.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59This was an outrage which Haakon couldn't ignore.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05In the spring of 1263,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08a large fleet left the Norwegian coast.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11At its head was the flagship of King Haakon himself.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19Haakon was a battle-hardened veteran.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21But at the age of 59, he was already an old man
0:44:21 > 0:44:23by the standards of his day.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27His son Magnus had voiced concerns about him taking personal command
0:44:27 > 0:44:31of the fleet, but for Haakon, this was unfinished business.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34The chance to crush Scottish ambitions in the Hebrides
0:44:34 > 0:44:35once and for all.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43Haakon had enormous military resources he could call on.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48He didn't hesitate to send out the order.
0:44:51 > 0:44:56In Orkney, his already powerful fleet was joined by local forces.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00It must have seemed an invincible armada.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04But already, there were ominous signs.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09While King Haakon lay in Ronaldsvo,
0:45:09 > 0:45:13a great darkness drew over the sun, so that only a little ring
0:45:13 > 0:45:18was bright round the sun, and it continued so for some hours.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24In the Middle Ages, everybody knew that solar eclipses
0:45:24 > 0:45:26were powerful omens.
0:45:26 > 0:45:31But did this particular sign in the sky spell disaster for the Scots?
0:45:31 > 0:45:34Or was it Haakon's expedition that was doomed to failure?
0:45:44 > 0:45:48Haakon led his fleet down through the Hebrides.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52Island by island, territory by territory, he demanded,
0:45:52 > 0:45:56and received, the allegiance of the lords of Innse Gall.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02Troops and vessels swelled Haakon's invasion fleet.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08By the time he reached the disputed territories of the Firth of Clyde
0:46:08 > 0:46:14he had 120 ships and up to 20,000 men under his command.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18It was a force that rivalled the Spanish Armada
0:46:18 > 0:46:20over 300 years later.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24But if Alexander, King of the Scots,
0:46:24 > 0:46:29was daunted by Haakon's show of force, he showed no sign.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32It was a reversal of the usual stereotypes.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35The young man, patient and wily.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39The old man, hot-headed and given to impulse.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48Alexander, based down the coast in Ayr, settled in for a waiting game.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51He knew he stood no chance of defeating Haakon at sea.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54But if he could just stall long enough then the autumn weather
0:46:54 > 0:46:57might do what his own naval forces couldn't.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05Haakon sent envoys to demand that Alexander withdraw his claim.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09Alexander spun out the negotiations.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15Furious, Haakon decided to ratchet up the pressure
0:47:15 > 0:47:20and sent part of his fleet to attack along Loch Long and Loch Lomond.
0:47:20 > 0:47:25Meanwhile, he moved his main force inshore, near Largs.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32He was now just a stone's throw away from the mainland itself.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Still Alexander held his nerve.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41Then, on the 1st of October, the weather broke.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50The storm was so sudden and so powerful that survivors
0:47:50 > 0:47:54could only imagine that it had been conjured up by sorcery.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07Haakon's fleet was scattered with several ships driven ashore,
0:48:07 > 0:48:09right under the noses of the local militia.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19The next morning, Haakon managed to get ashore with 1,000 men
0:48:19 > 0:48:21to salvage the ships and their cargo.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23That was when the Scots pounced.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35Haakon's bodyguard got the king back to the safety of the fleet.
0:48:38 > 0:48:43But on the shore, the Norsemen were collapsing in disarray.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46Those on the beach imagined they were routed.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50Some, therefore, leaped into their boats and pushed off from the land.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Others jumped into the transport.
0:48:53 > 0:49:00Their companions called upon them to return, and some returned, tho' few.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02Many boats went down.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17Finally, a longship managed to get ashore to reinforce
0:49:17 > 0:49:19the beleaguered rear guard.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23The Norsemen made a stand. The Scots retreated.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26The Battle of Largs petered out into a long distance
0:49:26 > 0:49:27and sporadic shooting match.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42Neither side had won. There was no decisive victory.
0:49:42 > 0:49:46Just the usual grim reckoning of warfare.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01But if the skirmish fought on the Clyde coast
0:50:01 > 0:50:04didn't decide anything, then the aftermath would.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18Over the following days there was a window in the weather.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21Haakon's men returned to the shore to retrieve the dead
0:50:21 > 0:50:23and burn the stranded boats.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26But what would the king's next move be?
0:50:36 > 0:50:41Haakon's options were actually very limited. Winter was approaching.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44Supplies were running low. His men were getting restless.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52At a counsel of war, Haakon agreed that the fleet should disperse
0:50:52 > 0:50:55and the troops return to their scattered homes.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04He himself would overwinter in the Norse stronghold of Orkney.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08In the spring, he would reassemble his forces
0:51:08 > 0:51:10and wreak bloody revenge on Alexander.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Publically, Haakon was impatient for a rematch.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21But privately, he was perhaps relieved
0:51:21 > 0:51:23to reach the safe haven of Orkney.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36Haakon was nearly 60 years old.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39He had been king for 46 years.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42Quite simply, he was exhausted.
0:51:46 > 0:51:51The king was tired. He was sick.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57He probably knew he was dying.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05Here, at the cathedral in Kirkwall,
0:52:05 > 0:52:08Haakon visited the shrine of St Magnus.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15It was the pious action of a man who knew the end was near.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29An obsession with the Hebrides had already destroyed a Scottish king,
0:52:29 > 0:52:31Alexander the 2nd.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34Now it claimed the life of a Norwegian one.
0:52:34 > 0:52:39On the 16th of December 1263, Haakon the 4th died.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46Haakon was buried here in St Magnus Cathedral.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48Then in the early spring,
0:52:48 > 0:52:53his body was disinterred, and taken back to Norway.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Haakon was the last Norwegian king
0:53:04 > 0:53:06to mount a military assault on Scotland.
0:53:12 > 0:53:17His son, Magnus Lawmender, wasn't interested in continuing the fight.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23Magnus had his own problems at home to deal with.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26Better peace with honour, than a draining foreign war.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29Better cash on the table than blood on the ground.
0:53:33 > 0:53:37For nearly five centuries, longships had set sail from
0:53:37 > 0:53:42the western coast of Norway to raid, trade and colonise in Scotland.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47Kingdom had been pitted against kingdom.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50People against people.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57It was a history of slaughter and slavery.
0:53:57 > 0:54:02But also of rich cultural exchange and artistic marvels.
0:54:04 > 0:54:09In the end though, all that was nothing compared to cold, hard cash.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13Innse Gall was up for sale.
0:54:23 > 0:54:28In 1266, Magnus accepted an offer of 4,000 marks from Alexander,
0:54:28 > 0:54:33and renounced Norway's claim on the islands for ever.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43The Norse Age was coming to an end.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46And for the descendants of the Vikings in the Hebrides
0:54:46 > 0:54:48things were beginning to change too.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52Although the Battle of Largs had not affected their culture or identity,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55it was to Scotland, not to Norway,
0:54:55 > 0:54:57that they now looked for royal protection.
0:54:57 > 0:55:01The long, slow process of becoming Scots had begun.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18Over the next few centuries, Innse Gall, the land of the foreigners,
0:55:18 > 0:55:21would become the heartland of a new Gaelic power.
0:55:25 > 0:55:29But it was a power that owed everything to its Norse ancestors.
0:55:29 > 0:55:34An archipelago bound together by the sea and the ships that sailed on it.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44The Viking crews that once launched hit-and-run raids from bases
0:55:44 > 0:55:48like Rubh' an Dunain in Skye were part of a long and epic history.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56Of course, there was enormous brutality and destruction,
0:55:56 > 0:55:57you can't just wish it away.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04But in places like these, you get a glimpse of something else.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13Today, Scottish islands like Skye
0:56:13 > 0:56:15might sit on the outer rim of Europe,
0:56:15 > 0:56:17but in the age of the Norsemen,
0:56:17 > 0:56:20they were right at the centre of things.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22They were at the centre of a network of contacts
0:56:22 > 0:56:25that were beginning to criss-cross the globe.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29The Vikings were pushing the boundaries of the known world
0:56:29 > 0:56:33and I like to think that that questing, inquisitive spirit,
0:56:33 > 0:56:37is part of what makes us, as an island people, who we are today.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd