Viking travel guide warns against hostile Scottish natives



Some might say not a lot has changed in 800 years or so.

A 13th-century 'travel guide' for Vikings heading to Scotland warned that the natives were dangerous, the language incomprehensible and the weather awful.

The travellers' chronicles describe Scotland, or Skotland as it was known, as worth a trip, but only for those willing to risk losing their heads.

Unwelcome: Viking tales described the Scottish natives as 'dangerous' and their language 'incomprehensible'

A new historical study gleaned the information from stories that filtered back from travelling Vikings and were written on yellowed calf vellum eight centuries ago.

The stories paint a picture of a dangerous country but claim Orkney and Shetland offer a friendlier welcome.



'Icelanders who want to practise robbery are advised to go there,' says one saga. 'But it may cost them their life.'



Another tale tells the story of Icelandic merchants who sailed into a west coast sea loch where they met 13 ships bristling with angry natives.

A Scot identified in the saga as Grjotgard, a kinsman of Melkolf (Malcolm II), king of Scotland, told them: 'You have two choices. You can go ashore and we will take all your property, or we'll attack you and kill every man we lay our hands on.'



The chronicles have been interpreted by Gisli Sigurdsson, a historian at Reykjavik University, who believes the sagas - part fiction, part fact - reveal how the ancient Norse were far from the fearless pirates of legend.



Sigurdsson said the tales were a warning to travellers that they would encounter a general foggy area, dangerous landings, hostile natives and language problems. They wrote that the people would probably attack you immediately.

Scottish Fjords: Vikings were particularly wary of the West Coast lochs

The Norsemen became particularly nervous about sailing up the west coast sea lochs which they referred to as the 'Scottish fjords'.



The Icelandic sagas, written in the 13th century but based on earlier oral stories, were often used as route guides for raiders, traders, crusaders and explorers, effectively a road map of medieval Europe and the Middle East.



They have proved remarkably accurate, even helping archaeologists to pinpoint the remains of a Norse village in Newfoundland.



Orkney is described as a handy base camp for pillaging Scotland. But the Norse had other bases too, some of which would feature high up in a modern guide for tourists.



If you are planning to raid Scotland, one saga reads, you could do worse than base yourself in Fort Skardaborg. That's today's Scarborough.