These islands have a long history of occupation (dating back to theMesolithic period), and the culture of the inhabitants has been successively influenced by the cultures ofCeltic-speaking,Norse-speaking, andEnglish-speaking peoples. This diversity is reflected in the various names given to the islands, which are derived from the different languages that have been spoken there at various points in their history.
The Hebrides are where much ofScottish Gaelic literature andGaelic music has historically originated. Today, the economy of the islands is dependent oncrofting, fishing,tourism, the oil industry, andrenewable energy. The Hebrides have less biodiversity than mainland Scotland, but a significant number of seals and seabirds.
The islands have a combined area of 7,285 km2 (2,813 sq mi), and, as of 2011[update], a combined population of around 45,000.[1]
A complication is that there are various descriptions of the scope of the Hebrides. TheCollins Encyclopedia of Scotland describes the Inner Hebrides as lying "east of the Minch". This definition would encompass all offshore islands, including those that lie in the sea lochs, such asEilean Bàn andEilean Donan, which might not ordinarily be described as "Hebridean". However, no formal definition exists.[5][6]
In the past, the Outer Hebrides were often referred to as theLong Isle (Scottish Gaelic:An t-Eilean Fada). Today, they are also sometimes known as theWestern Isles, although this phrase can also be used to refer to the Hebrides in general.[Note 2]
The Hebrides have a cool, temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerlylatitude, due to the influence of theGulf Stream. In the Outer Hebrides, the average temperature is 6 °C (44 °F) in January and 14 °C (57 °F) in the summer. The average annual rainfall in Lewis is 1,100 mm (43 in), and there are between 1,100 and 1,200 hours of sunshineper annum (13%). The summer days are relatively long, and May through August is the driest period.[8]
The earliest surviving written references to the islands were made circa 77 AD byPliny the Elder in hisNatural History: He states that there are 30Hebudes, and makes a separate reference toDumna, whichWatson (1926) concluded refers unequivocally to the Outer Hebrides. About 80 years after Pliny the Elder, in 140–150 AD,Ptolemy (drawing on accounts of the naval expeditions ofAgricola) writes that there are fiveEbudes (possibly meaning the Inner Hebrides) andDumna.[9][10][11] Later texts in classicalLatin, by writers such asSolinus, use the formsHebudes andHæbudes.[12]
The nameEbudes (used by Ptolemy) may be pre-Celtic.[11] Ptolemy calls Islay "Epidion",[13] and the use of the letter "p" suggests aBrythonic or Pictish tribal name,Epidii,[14] because the root is not Gaelic.[15]Woolf (2012) has suggested thatEbudes may be "an Irish attempt to reproduce the wordEpidii phonetically, rather than by translating it", and that the tribe's name may come from the rootepos, meaning "horse".[16] Watson (1926) also notes a possible relationship betweenEbudes and the ancient IrishUlaid tribal nameIbdaig, and also the personal name of a kingIubdán (recorded in theSilva Gadelica).[11]
The names of other individual islands reflect their complex linguistic history. The majority are Norse or Gaelic, but the roots of several other names for Hebrides islands may have a pre-Celtic origin.[11]Adomnán, a 7th-century abbot of Iona, records Colonsay asColosus and Tiree asEthica, and both of these may be pre-Celtic names.[17] Theetymology of Skye is complex and may also include a pre-Celtic root.[15] Lewis isLjoðhús in Old Norse. Various suggestions have been made as to possible meanings of the name in Norse (for example, "song house"),[18] but the name is not of Gaelic origin, and the Norse provenance is questionable.[15]
The earliest comprehensive written list of Hebridean island names was compiled byDonald Monro in 1549. This list also provides the earliest written reference to the names of some of the islands.
The derivations of all the inhabited islands of the Hebrides and some of the larger uninhabited ones are listed below.
Lewis and Harris is the largest island in Scotland and the third largest of theBritish Isles, after Great Britain and Ireland.[19] It incorporates Lewis in the north and Harris in the south, both of which are frequently referred to as individual islands, although they are joined by a land border. The island does not have a single common name in either English or Gaelic and is referred to as "Lewis and Harris", "Lewis with Harris", "Harris with Lewis" etc. For this reason it is treated as two separate islands below.[20] The derivation of Lewis may be pre-Celtic (see above) and the origin of Harris is no less problematic. In theRavenna Cosmography,Erimon may refer to Harris[21] (or possibly the Outer Hebrides as a whole). This word may derive from theAncient Greek:ἐρῆμος (erimos "desert".[22] The origin ofUist (Old Norse:Ívist) is similarly unclear.[15]
Ptolemy'sAdru. InOld Norse (and inmodern Icelandic), aHérað is a type of administrative district.[30] Alternatives are the Norsehaerri, meaning "hills" and Gaelicna h-airdibh meaning "the heights".[29]
There are various examples of earlier names for Inner Hebridean islands that were Gaelic, but these names have since been completely replaced. For example, Adomnán recordsSainea,Elena,Ommon andOideacha in the Inner Hebrides. These names presumably passed out of usage in the Norse era, and the locations of the islands they refer to are not clear.[34] As an example of the complexity:Rona may originally have had a Celtic name, then later a similar-sounding Norse name, and then still later a name that was essentially Gaelic again, but with a Norse "øy" or "ey" ending.[35] (SeeRona, below.)
Eas is "waterfall" in Gaelic anddale is the Norse for "valley".[42] However the combination seems inappropriate for this small island. Also known asEllenabeich – "island of the birches"[43]
Dhu Heartach Lighthouse, During Construction bySam Bough (1822–1878)
The names of uninhabited islands follow the same general patterns as the inhabited islands. (See the list, below, of the ten largest islands in the Hebrides and their outliers.)
Theetymology of the name "St Kilda", a small archipelago west of the Outer Hebrides, and the name of its main island, "Hirta," is very complex. Nosaint is known by the name of Kilda, so various other theories have been proposed for the word's origin, which dates from the late 16th century.[81] Haswell-Smith (2004) notes that the full name "St Kilda" first appears on a Dutch map dated 1666, and that it may derive from the Norse phrasesunt kelda ("sweet wellwater") or from a mistaken Dutch assumption that the springTobar Childa was dedicated to a saint. (Tobar Childa is atautological placename, consisting of theGaelic andNorse words forwell, i.e., "well well").[82] Similarly unclear is the origin of the Gaelic for "Hirta",Hiort,Hirt, orIrt[83] a name for the island that long pre-dates the name "St Kilda". Watson (1926) suggests that it may derive from the Old Irish wordhirt ("death"), possibly a reference to the often lethally dangerous surrounding sea.[84] Maclean (1977) notes that anIcelandic saga about an early 13th-century voyage to Ireland refers to "the islands ofHirtir", which means "stags" in Norse, and suggests that the outline of the island of Hirta resembles the shape of astag, speculating that therefore the name "Hirta" may be a reference to the island's shape.[85]
The etymology of the names of small islands may be no less complex and elusive. In relation toDubh Artach,Robert Louis Stevenson believed that "black and dismal" was one translation of the name, noting that "as usual, in Gaelic, it is not the only one."[86]
The Hebrides were settled during theMesolithic era around 6500 BC or earlier, after the climatic conditions improved enough to sustain human settlement. Occupation at a site onRùm is dated to 8590 ±95 uncorrected radiocarbon yearsBP, which is amongst the oldest evidence of occupation in Scotland.[97][98] There are many examples of structures from theNeolithic period, the finest example being thestanding stones at Callanish, dating to the 3rd millennium BC.[99]Cladh Hallan, aBronze Age settlement on South Uist is the only site in the UK where prehistoricmummies have been found.[100][101]
In 55 BC, the Greek historianDiodorus Siculus wrote that there was an island calledHyperborea (which means "beyond the North Wind"), where a round temple stood from which the moon appeared only a little distance above the earth every 19 years. This may have been a reference to the stone circle at Callanish.[102]
A traveller called Demetrius of Tarsus related toPlutarch the tale of an expedition to the west coast of Scotland in or shortly before 83 AD. He stated it was a gloomy journey amongst uninhabited islands, but he had visited one which was the retreat of holy men. He mentioned neither thedruids nor the name of the island.[103]
The first written records of native life begin in the 6th century AD, when the founding of the kingdom ofDál Riata took place.[104] This encompassed roughly what is nowArgyll and Bute andLochaber in Scotland andCounty Antrim in Ireland.[105] The figure ofColumba looms large in any history of Dál Riata, and his founding of a monastery onIona ensured that the kingdom would be of great importance in the spread of Christianity in northern Britain. However, Iona was far from unique.Lismore in the territory of the Cenél Loairn, was sufficiently important for the death of its abbots to be recorded with some frequency and many smaller sites, such as onEigg,Hinba, andTiree, are known from the annals.[106]
North of Dál Riata, the Inner and Outer Hebrides were nominally underPictish control, although the historical record is sparse. Hunter (2000) states that in relation to KingBridei I of the Picts in the sixth century: "As for Shetland, Orkney, Skye and the Western Isles, their inhabitants, most of whom appear to have been Pictish in culture and speech at this time, are likely to have regarded Bridei as a fairly distant presence."[107]
Viking raids began on Scottish shores towards the end of the 8th century, and the Hebrides came under Norse control and settlement during the ensuing decades, especially following the success ofHarald Fairhair at theBattle ofHafrsfjord in 872.[108][109] In the Western IslesKetill Flatnose may have been the dominant figure of the mid 9th century, by which time he had amassed a substantial island realm and made a variety of alliances with otherNorse leaders. These princelings nominally owed allegiance to the Norwegian crown, although in practice the latter's control was fairly limited.[110] Norse control of the Hebrides was formalised in 1098 whenEdgar of Scotland formally signed the islands over toMagnus III of Norway.[111] The Scottish acceptance of Magnus III as King of the Isles came after the Norwegian king had conqueredOrkney, the Hebrides and theIsle of Man in a swift campaign earlier the same year, directed against the local Norwegian leaders of the various island petty kingdoms. By capturing the islands Magnus imposed a more direct royal control, although at a price. Hisskald Bjorn Cripplehand recorded that in Lewis "fire played high in the heaven" as "flame spouted from the houses" and that in the Uists "the king dyed his sword red in blood".[111][Note 5]
The Hebrides were now part of theKingdom of the Isles, whose rulers were themselves vassals of the Kings of Norway. This situation lasted until the partitioning of the Western Isles in 1156, at which time the Outer Hebrides remained under Norwegian control while the Inner Hebrides broke out underSomerled, theNorse-Gael kinsman of the Manx royal house.[113]
Following the ill-fated1263 expedition ofHaakon IV of Norway, the Outer Hebrides and the Isle of Man were yielded to the Kingdom of Scotland as a result of the 1266Treaty of Perth.[114] Although their contribution to the islands can still be found in personal and place names, the archaeological record of the Norse period is very limited. The best known find is theLewis chessmen, which date from the mid 12th century.[115]
As the Norse era drew to a close, the Norse-speaking princes were gradually replaced by Gaelic-speakingclan chiefs including theMacLeods of Lewis and Harris,Clan Donald andMacNeil of Barra.[112][116][Note 6] This transition did little to relieve the islands of internecine strife although by the early 14th century the MacDonaldLords of the Isles, based on Islay, were in theory these chiefs' feudal superiors and managed to exert some control.[120]
The Lords of the Isles ruled the Inner Hebrides as well as part of the Western Highlands as subjects of the King of Scots untilJohn MacDonald, fourth Lord of the Isles, squandered the family's powerful position. A rebellion by his nephew,Alexander of Lochalsh provoked an exasperatedJames IV to forfeit the family's lands in 1493.[121]
In 1598, KingJames VI authorised some"Gentleman Adventurers" from Fife to civilise the "most barbarous Isle of Lewis".[122] Initially successful, the colonists were driven out by local forces commanded by Murdoch and Neil MacLeod, who based their forces onBearasaigh inLoch Ròg. The colonists tried again in 1605 with the same result, but a third attempt in 1607 was more successful and in due courseStornoway became aBurgh of Barony.[122][123] By this time, Lewis was held by the Mackenzies ofKintail (later theEarls of Seaforth), who pursued a more enlightened approach, investing infishing in particular. The Seaforths' royalist inclinations led to Lewis becoming garrisoned during theWars of the Three Kingdoms byCromwell's troops, who destroyed the old castle in Stornoway.[124]
With the implementation of theTreaty of Union in 1707, the Hebrides became part of the newKingdom of Great Britain, but the clans' loyalties to a distant monarch were not strong. A considerable number of islesmen "came out" in support of the JacobiteEarl of Mar in the1715 and again in the1745 rising including Macleod ofDunvegan andMacLea of Lismore.[126][127] The aftermath of the decisiveBattle of Culloden, which effectively ended Jacobite hopes of a Stuart restoration, was widely felt.[128] The British government's strategy was to estrange the clan chiefs from their kinsmen and turn their descendants into English-speaking landlords whose main concern was the revenues their estates brought rather than the welfare of those who lived on them.[129] This may have brought peace to the islands, but over the following century the clan system was broken up and islands of the Hebrides became a series of landed estates.[129][130]
The early 19th century was a time of improvement and population growth. Roads and quays were built; theslate industry became a significant employer onEasdale and surrounding islands; and the construction of theCrinan andCaledonian canals and other engineering works such asClachan Bridge improved transport and access.[131] However, in the mid-19th century, the inhabitants of many parts of the Hebrides were devastated by theClearances, which destroyed communities throughout theHighlands and Islands as the human populations were evicted and replaced with sheep farms.[132] The position was exacerbated by the failure of the islands'kelp industry that thrived from the 18th century until the end of theNapoleonic Wars in 1815[133][134] and large scale emigration became endemic.[135]
AsIain Mac Fhearchair, a Gaelic poet fromSouth Uist, wrote for his countrymen who were obliged to leave the Hebrides in the late 18th century, emigration was the only alternative to "sinking into slavery" as the Gaels had been unfairly dispossessed by rapacious landlords.[136] In the 1880s, the "Battle of the Braes" involved a demonstration against unfair land regulation and eviction, stimulating the calling of theNapier Commission. Disturbances continued until the passing of the 1886Crofters' Act.[137]
Geographic distribution of Gaelic speakers in Scotland (2011)
The residents of the Hebrides have spoken a variety of different languages during the long period of human occupation.
It is assumed thatPictish must once have predominated in the northern Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides.[107][138] TheScottish Gaelic language arrived fromIreland due to the growing influence of the kingdom ofDál Riata from the 6th century AD onwards, and became the dominant language of the southern Hebrides at that time.[139][140] For a few centuries, the military might of theGall-Ghàidheil meant that Old Norse was prevalent in the Hebrides. North ofArdnamurchan, the place names that existed prior to the 9th century have been all but obliterated.[140] The Old Norse name for the Hebrides during theViking occupation wasSuðreyjar, which means "Southern Isles"; in contrast to theNorðreyjar, or "Northern Isles" of Orkney andShetland.[141]
South ofArdnamurchan, Gaelic place names are more common,[140] and after the 13th century, Gaelic became the main language of the entire Hebridean archipelago. Due toScots andEnglish being favoured in government and the educational system, the Hebrides have been in a state ofdiglossia since at least the 17th century. TheHighland Clearances of the 19th century accelerated thelanguage shift away from Scottish Gaelic, as did increased migration and the continuing lower status ofGaelic speakers.[142] Nevertheless, as late as the end of the 19th century, there were significant populations of monolingual Gaelic speakers, and the Hebrides still contain the highest percentages of Gaelic speakers in Scotland. This is especially true of the Outer Hebrides, where a slim majority speak the language.[142][143] The Scottish Gaelic college,Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, is based on Skye and Islay.[144]
Ironically, given the status of the Western Isles as the last Gaelic-speaking stronghold in Scotland, the Gaelic language name for the islands –Innse Gall – means "isles of the foreigners"; from the time when they were under Norse colonisation.[145]
For those who remained, new economic opportunities emerged through the export of cattle, commercial fishing and tourism.[146] Nonetheless, emigration and military service became the choice of many[147] and the archipelago's populations continued to dwindle throughout the late 19th century and for much of the 20th century.[148][149] Lengthy periods of continuous occupation notwithstanding, many of the smaller islands were abandoned.[150]
There were, however, continuing gradual economic improvements, among the most visible of which was the replacement of the traditional thatchedblackhouse with accommodation of a more modern design[151] and with the assistance ofHighlands and Islands Enterprise many of the islands' populations have begun to increase after decades of decline.[1] The discovery of substantial deposits ofNorth Sea oil in 1965 and therenewables sector have contributed to a degree of economic stability in recent decades. For example, theArnish yard has had a chequered history but has been a significant employer in both the oil and renewables industries.[152]
The widespread immigration of mainlanders, particularly non-Gaelic speakers, has been a subject of controversy.[153][154]
Agriculture practised by crofters remained popular in the 21st century in the Hebrides; crofters own a small property but often share a large common grazing area. Various types of funding are available to crofters to help supplement their incomes, including the "Basic Payment Scheme, the suckler beef support scheme, the upland sheep support scheme and the Less Favoured Area support scheme". One reliable source discussed the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme (CAGS) in March 2020:[155]
the scheme "pays up to £25,000 per claim in any two-year period, covering 80% of investment costs for those who are under 41 and have had their croft less than five years. Older, more established crofters can get 60% grants".
Many contemporary Gaelic musicians have roots in the Hebrides, including vocalist and multi-instrumentalistJulie Fowlis (North Uist),[156]Catherine-Ann MacPhee (Barra),Kathleen MacInnes of the bandCapercaillie (South Uist), andIshbel MacAskill (Lewis). All of these singers have composed their own music in Scottish Gaelic, with much of their repertoire stemming from Hebridean vocal traditions, such aspuirt à beul ("mouth music", similar to Irishlilting) andòrain luaidh (waulking songs). This tradition includes many songs composed by little-known or anonymous poets, well-before the 1800s, such as "Fear a' bhàta", "Ailein duinn", "Hùg air a' bhonaid mhòir" and "Alasdair mhic Cholla Ghasda". Several ofRunrig's songs are inspired by the archipelago; Calum andRuaraidh Dòmhnallach were raised on North Uist[157] and Donnie Munro on Skye.[158]
The Gaelic poetAlasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair spent much of his life in the Hebrides and often referred to them in his poetry, including inAn Airce andBirlinn Chlann Raghnaill.[159] The best known Gaelic poet of her era,Màiri Mhòr nan Òran (Mary MacPherson, 1821–98), embodied the spirit of the land agitation of the 1870s and 1880s. This, and her powerful evocation of the Hebrides—she was from Skye—has made her among the most enduring Gaelic poets.[160]Allan MacDonald (1859–1905), who spent his adult life onEriskay andSouth Uist, composed hymns and verse in honour of the Blessed Virgin, the Christ Child, and the Eucharist. In his secular poetry, MacDonald praised the beauty of Eriskay and its people. In hisverse drama,Parlamaid nan Cailleach (The Old Wives' Parliament), he lampooned the gossiping of his female parishioners and local marriage customs.[161]
The 2012 exploration adventure gameDear Esther by developerThe Chinese Room is set on an unnamed island in the Hebrides.
The Hebrides are featured in the 2021 video gameBattlefield 2042 as the setting of the multiplayer map Redacted, which was introduced into the game in October 2023.[171]
Hedgehogs are not native to the Outer Hebrides—they were introduced in the 1970s to reduce garden pests—and their spread poses a threat to the eggs of ground nesting wading birds. In 2003, Scottish Natural Heritage undertook culls of hedgehogs in the area although these were halted in 2007 due to protests. Trapped animals were relocated to the mainland.[196][197]
^Rollinson (1997) states that the oldest rocks in Europe have been found "near Gruinard Bay" on the Scottish mainland. Gillen (2003) p. 44 indicates the oldest rocks in Europe are found "in the Northwest Highlands and Outer Hebrides". McKirdy, Alan Gordon, John & Crofts, Roger (2007)Land of Mountain and Flood: The Geology and Landforms of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn. p. 93 state of theLewisian gneiss bedrock of much of the Outer Hebrides that "these rocks are amongst the oldest to be found anywhere on the planet". Other (non-geologist) sources sometimes claim that the rocks of Lewis and Harris are "the oldest in Britain", meaning that they are the oldest deposits of large bedrock. As Rollinson makes clear, Lewis and Harris is not the location of the oldest small outcrop.
^Murray (1973) notes that "Western Isles" has tended to mean "Outer Hebrides" since the creation of theNa h-Eileanan an Iar or Western Isles parliamentary constituency in 1918. Murray also notes that "Gneiss Islands" – a reference to the underlying geology – is another name used to refer to theOuter Hebrides, but that its use is "confined to books".[7]
^There are two inhabited islands called "Grimsay" orGriomasaigh that are joined to Benbecula by a road causeway, one to the north atgrid referenceNF855572 and one to the south east atgrid referenceNF831473.
^Thompson (1968) provides a more literal translation: "Fire played in the fig-trees of Liodhus; it mounted up to heaven. Far and wide the people were driven to flight. The fire gushed out of the houses".[112]
^The transitional relationships between Norse and Gaelic-speaking rulers are complex. TheGall-Ghàidhels who dominated much of the Irish Sea region and western Scotland at this time were of joint Gaelic and Scandinavian origin. When Somerled wrested the southern Inner Hebrides fromGodred the Black in 1156, this was the beginnings of a break with nominal Norse rule in the Hebrides. Godred remained the ruler of Mann and the Outer Hebrides, but two years later Somerled's invasion of the former caused him to flee to Norway. Norse control was further weakened in the ensuring century, but the Hebrides were not formally ceded by Norway until 1266.[117][118] The transitions from one language to another are also complex. For example, many Scandinavian sources from this period of time typically refer to individuals as having a Scandinavian first name and a Gaelic by-name.[119]
^ Encyclopædia Britannica (1978) states: "Hebrides – group of islands of the west coast of Scotland extending in an arc between 55.35 and 58.30 N and 5.26 and 8.40 W." These coordinates includeGigha,St Kilda and everything up toCape Wrath – although notNorth Rona.
^abcdefghGammeltoft, Peder "Scandinavian Naming-Systems in the Hebrides – A Way of Understanding how the Scandinavians were in Contact with Gaels and Picts?" in Ballin Smithet al (2007) p. 487.
^Munro, D. (1818)Description of the Western Isles of Scotland called Hybrides, by Mr. Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles, who travelled through most of them in the year 1549. Miscellanea Scotica, 2. Quoted in Murray (1966) p. 146.
^Newton, Michael Steven. The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic: All the Scottish Gaelic You Need to Curse, Swear, Drink, Smoke and Fool around. Sydney, Nova Scotia: Cape Breton UP, 2014.
^Gammeltoft, Peder "Scandinavian Naming-Systems in the Hebrides: A Way of Understanding how the Scandinavians were in Contact with Gaels and Picts?" in Ballin Smithet al (2007) p. 480.
^J. MacDonald, "Gaelic literature" in M. Lynch, ed.,The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001),ISBN0-19-211696-7, pp. 255–7.
^School of Scottish Studies. (1967) University of Edinburgh.11–12 p. 109.
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