And The Men Who Sailed In Them

Of the men who were priveliged to sail in both Viking longship and Hebridean birlinn, one cannot give due praise in better words than those of the ancient bards, who paid high tribute to their physical strength, courage, endurance, and selfless consecration to the service of their masters. Their own lives they trusted to the flawless skill of the shipwrights, whose craftmanship they often tested to the very limit, against the raw power of the ocean. Countless maritime exploits, long ocean voyages and even shipwrecks were carefully recorded in the Viking sagas; stories of heroic deeds by individuals and by whole crews, every detail chronicled in the prose sagas or the poetic commemorations of the 'skalds'. They were often elaborated on to a degree according to the standing of the persons involved, but yet remaining historical fact, exactly as and when it took place. The same could be said of the Hebridean bards, who faithfully lauded their Lord's and chieftains exploits on land and sea; most lavish in their praise, but preserving for posterity, in verse, an accurate record of notable events as they happened. In the 'Blessing of Clan Ranald's Birlinn' and the explicit account of their 'shake-down' voyage to Carrickfergus in Ireland, we have the very best description of the birlinn, and the men who sailed in them. It is well worth recounting the whole of this poem along with its English translation; but first, a brief glance at some of the countless nautical escapades and events which happened during those remarkable years of classic seafaring. Some are 'legendary' in that their source and content is uncertain, but yet, in their telling there is an element of truth borne out by evidence of a profound knowledge not only of the Atlantic seaboard and its numerous islands, but of absolutely everything nautical.

Such is the legendary account of the tairsearan fairge, or the ocean-rangers. they were the 'ocean constabulary' of the Lords of the Isles: Clann 'ic Mhanuis. the Sons or Descendennts of Magnus, sometimes referred to as Clann 'ic Odrum nan Ron, Sons of Odar of the Seals. Descended from the Norse, renowned for their stature and prowess, and living on the Isle of Ha'sgeir - which today remains only as an isolated group of barren rocks, seeming incapable of sustaining human life, about eight miles W.N.W. of Griminish Point on North Uist - their duties, as commissioned by the King of Norway, to patrol the ocean eadar mi-riaghailt, gu cuarsgag an aigeal ( between the unruliness, to the serpent of the deep): that is, they had jurisdiction over all maritime affairs, above and below the waves, extending even to the very unusual. In the days of the Lordship of the Isles Clann 'ic Mhanuis were granted the bounty of the ocean in return for their services; whales, dolphins, and basking sharks from sloc mor rocabarraidh, the great trench to west of Rockall. Their longships or 'scolp' as they were called, transported them safely through the ocean's most fearsome cauldrons - the Coire Brug (the erupting cauldron) or the Pentland Firth; the Coire Leathann (the expansive cauldron) between the Faeroes and Orkney; and the Coire Aog (the mouldy or deathly cauldron) between the Faeroes and the Hebrides. Close to Griminish Point there is a small bay called Scolpaig, or Scolpvik, in the Old Norse. This is the nearest landing-place to Ha'sgeir, and with a name which provides us with a positive link to the tairsearan fairge.

Extensive areas of land around the Heisgeir group of islands (The Monach Isles) are known to have disappeared during an earthquake and hurricane around 1542. It is probable that Ha'sgeir could have lost its lands at the same time, if they were of similar structure to the sand banks and dunes of Heisgeir and neighbouring North Uist. Heisgeir na Manach once supported a monastery, situated where the lighthouse was later built in 1864, actually using much of the stonework from the monastery in its construction. It is told that a party of young nuns on iast or holiday from the attached nunnery, were drowned when their birlinn was overwhelmed in a storm. The nuns were in the habit of enjoying a fior-iath ( a sea-cruise) on their allowance of three days off after the completion of seasonal tasks.

Heisgeir was noted for its mariners, who regularly ventured as far afield as Roc-Sail or Rockall, (the highest, and now the only part of the legendary Rocabarraidh) to hunt for whales and basking sharks which fed in the deep Rockall Trench. Their vessels, the long-luirist, which could be either sailed or rowed, also towed seoig or rafts behind them to transport whale meat, blubber and shark-livers back to the trying vats of the tigh-muis at Croic harbour on Heisgeir for rendering down into oil. A daunting task, even in modern diesel powered boats, to venture so far west into the Atlantic in open boats and to return safely with a profitable catch; but this was taken in their stride by the heroes of Heisgeir.

A notable event in Scottish history was the second marriage of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, to Margaret Stewart, a daughter of Robert the Bruce, in 1350. One hundred and eight longships and birlinn loaded with kinsfolk and clansmen, chiefs and chieftains, sailed from throughout the length of the west coast of Scotland, and all the islands, to attend this splendid wedding; a thrilling specatacle that attracted many sightseers to what was probably the largest ever peaceful gathering of birlinn to have been seen throughout their entire history.

On other occasions, bloodshed was the norm and piracy was considered a legitimate sport - see the account of William Dubh's raid on Orkney in chapter four.

Not only 'young gentlemen' as in the Orkney raid, but also the fairest of maidens had a hand in drama at sea. It is said that the Dunvegan lands were won from Skye when Macdonald of the Isles, who had given his daughter in marriage to Macleod of Harris, was crossing the Minch to visit his son-in-law and grandchild. There was a thick fog over the sea and MacDonald's birlinn was in collision with another vessel and got so badly damaged it quickly sank. It transpired that the other birlinn belonged to Macleod of Harris and seemingly was at sea under the command of Macdonald's dughter, who then continued to Skye to take possession of Dunvegan for Harris, after her own father's drowning.

Prosperity was often won with blood; and when the ownership of Hiort (St Kilda) was contested, Macdonald of Uist challenged Macleod of Harris to a race with their respective birlinn and the first to touch the shore would take possession of this group of islands. In a close race, with both crews exerting themselves at the oars to the point of exhaustion, Macdonald's birlinn was about a boat-length ahead when approaching Village Bay in St Kilda. With no hope for Macleod's oarsmen of making up on this distance, and now conveniently under the lee of Oiseval, a young crewman, Coll Macleod, left his rowing position and went to the prow of the birlinn where he drew his claymore and with one hefty stroke, severed his hand. With a blood-curdling yell of triumph, he threw the hand, streaming blood, towards the rocky shore - to win the race, and St Kilda, for the Macleods of Harris.

Extracted from Birlinn - Longships of the Hebrides by John MacAulay, published by White Horse Press, with the kind permission of the author and the publisher. John MacAulay's book is now, unfortunately, out of print but it is hoped a new edition may soon be produced.