Scotland Acquires Orkney and Shetland

1468

King James III received the Northern Isles as dowry from the King of Denmark, who could not afford his daughter's agreed bride-price. The islands, Norse-speaking and Norse-lawed, passed quietly to Scottish sovereignty. Their landscape and place-names still carry Viking rather than Gaelic history. The islands retained Norse law and the Norn language for two centuries, and their place-names still carry Viking rather than Gaelic roots.