The Sea Kings: The Late Norse Kingdoms of Man and the Isles c.1066–1275

R. Andrew McDonald examines the late Norse kingdoms of Man and the Isles between c.1066 and 1275, after the conventional end of the Viking Age but within a political world still deeply shaped by Norse settlement and maritime connections. The Hebrides and Isle of Man are placed between competing Scottish, Norwegian and Irish spheres of influence.

The kings of Man and the Hebrides ruled across sea routes rather than a single continuous territory. McDonald traces the rise and disappearance of these dynasties through their contacts with neighbouring rulers, then considers the societies, churches and buildings left within their islands. Warfare matters here, but so do seafaring, lordship and the evidence for how these maritime kingdoms worked in peacetime.