South West Scotland Kings/Lords Time Line
Introduction
Gaelic language spoken in Galloway in South West Scotland was significantly influenced by the lords and kings who ruled the region during the medieval period. The Gaelic language was first spoken in Scotland between the 4th and 5th centuries (Dombrowski & Lindsay 264). It is attributed to the Ireland settlers who founded Dal Riata, which is the Gaelic Kingdom. As such, the language was, mainly spoken in Dal Riata kingdom. However, its expansion to the Pictish regions was realised in the 8th century (Carruthers & Gerard 19). The Pictish areas of Scotland spoke P and Q languages. The languages were spoken by Picts who lived in the Picts Kingdom. Pictish was viewed as Insular Celtic Language, which was allied to P- Celtic languages which were mainly spoken by Brittonic (Galloway 97). The people who speak the P-Celtic language include; Welsh, Breton, Cumbric and Cornish (Schoene-Harwood & Berthold 17).
On the other hand, the Q-Celtic language was predominantly spoken by Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic. The leadership issues in the Galloway led to the extinction of the Pictish language and the emergence of Gaelic language (McCloskey & James 347). The influence from Dal Riata to the Picts in terms of linguistics, politics and society led to the gaelicisation. This caused merging of the kingdoms, causing bilingualism at earlier stages. However, with an increase in the influence of Dal Riatan kingdom, the Picts were converted entirely into Gaelic speakers (Oliver 181).
Development of Gaelic language
Gaelic language in Scotland did not survive in the entire region. However, it survived in South West Scotland, the Galloway. Why did it survive? The main reason for the survival of the Gaelic language in the Galloway Rhins was caused by its unique history (Stokes & Whitley 81). The expansion of Gaelic language after 8th century marked a crucial period in the development of Gaelic language in Galloway. By the 9th century, it is outlined that Pictish had become an extinct language (Henderson & Isabel. 120). Its replacement with the Gaelic language caused this. Between 900 and 943 century marked the reign of Caustantin Mac Aeda (McNiven & Peter 44). This led to the reference of the Kingdom of Picts as Kingdom of Alba by the outsiders. The P-Celtic and Q- speakers in the region did not cease from using their language spontaneously (Cummins 148). The Gaelicisation process is believed to have started generations earlier. As such, during the 11th century, the inhabitants occupying the Alba region had been Gaelicised, leading to the extinction of Pictish Identity (Swift & Catherine 111).
David’s Kingdom was the main reason for the development of Gaelic language in the region in 1124. Granting of Annandale to Robert de Brus influenced the spread of Gaelic language greatly. Before the granting of Annadale, the Galloway was predominantly Pictish Kingdom (Forsyth & Katherine 174). As such, the agreement between King David I and Robert de Brus led to the redefining of areas such as Ayrshire, Wigtownshire, Stewartry, and Kirkcudbright which were in the South part of Scotland (Lockwood 19). The areas were occupied by Q and P-Celtic speakers since the regions were Pictish Kingdom (MacKinnon & Jonathan 201). The cessation to the region led to renaming it to Galloway. The name Galloway originated from Gall-Ghaidheil, who was Gaelic speakers (Stokes & Whitley 174). Despite Gall- Ghaidheil speaking Gaelic, their culture was influenced by Vikings. Kingdom enhanced the spread of Gaelic language through attracting foreigners who were English speakers to speak Gaelic language (Robertson & Boyd 56). Such helped in improving the status of Gaelic language since it became the language spoken in Galloway by both the natives and non-natives.
Fergus dynasty became the king in Galloway between 1110 and 1120 (Sheehan, John & Corráin 44). He was a descendant of Norse-Gaelic. His marriage attributed his origin as the king in Galloway to the daughter of Henry I who was the king of England. Contemporary sources accord him as a patronym (Leodhas & Sorche 56). As well, his descendants are not traced further than him in the Galloway charters. However, from contemporary sources, he was an influential family in the Galloway region. His ancestry is thus speculated to “Roman de Fergus”. They were the medieval Arthurian romance found in Southern Scotland (Abulafia & David 96). As such, his origin surrounds native Gallovidian and Norse-Gaellic ancestry. Fergus had a son called Uhtred. Their first record in public domain was first witnessed during the presentation of Patrick lands to the St Kentigern church at Glasgow. King Fergus concentrated majorly in the central part of Galloway between river Fleet and Urr. However, his subsequent grants led to the expansion of their territory to the Dee Valley (MacLeod, Marsaili & Cassie Smith-Christmas 114). Through his influence, clan chiefs in Galloway supported Gaellc bards who were viewed as a unique feature in the court life (Campbell et al. 177). Later, his territory was able to expand to western Galloway. This led to the Fergus descendants association to receive the Cruggleton castle association enabling them to deal with the lands found in the vicinity. The return of Archbishop of Armagh in 1140 led to the expansion of King Fergus castle to Gallovidian coast (Forsyth & Katherine 99). As such, the lordship in the area in the mid-twelfth century was centred in Wigtown Bay. The westwards expansions resulted from alliance from Fergus. Factors such as reviving of Diocese of Whithorn in 1128 were viewed as among the factors which led to the extension of Fergus authority in Western Galloway (Swift & Katherine 118). This led to the ruling of the region as an independent under Fergus of Galloway kingdom. In 1160, Fergus kingdom, as well as his rule, came to an end. This was caused by the absorption of the Kingdom by King of Scots. The King of Scots was viewed as the feudal superior even after the absorption of Fergus kingdom in Scotland (Stratton & Thomas 79). However, the descendants of Fergus ruled Galloway as an independent state. The loyalty depicted in the Galloway was based on the Gaelic Clans and kindred. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
In 1332, Edward Balliol became the lord of Galloway. He was the great-grandson of King Fergus. The reign of Edward depended largely in his jurisdiction on the support from Edward III of England (Cowan, Edward &Henderson 167). This helped in drawing closer the traditional loyalty of Gaelic clans living in the Galloway. The Gaelic clans and speakers in South West Scotland view Edward as their special lord (Lockwood 78). However, in 1356, He lost the support leading to renouncing of the throne. This led to the administration of the Galloway by Douglas Lordship, who was Scottish speaker.
As outlined by Walter Kennedy in his poetic devices, despite that the Gaelic speakers’ reign came to an end in Galloway, the language and its culture was still practised. For instance, in the 16th century, the language was widely spoken in the Carrick district (McNiven & Peter 174). As such, the Scottish and the Gaelic language were spoken in the Galloway but based on regions. The isolated and less accessible areas of Galloway spoke Gaelic, whereas the popular and prosperous parishes in Galloway spoke Scots (Keltie & John 188). Despite its disappearance, it is depicted that Galloway was named, created and shaped by the Gaelic language. The region was named by Gall-Ghaidheil and the military power enjoyed by the various kings in the area was provided by Gaelic speakers (Keltie et al. 74). Gaelic speakers named the names of places, farms and clans existing in Galloway. Such shows the significant impact in which the Gaelic language had to the growth and development of the South-West part of Scotland.
Conclusion
The leadership significantly influenced the Gaelic language due to the invasion of Ireland in the region. The attack led to the shaping of the lordship and kingdom landscape of the Galloway. Historically, the names and actions done by the various kings and lords in the region had a significant impact on both the rise and decline in the Gaelic language. Primarily, the area was inhabited by the Pictish languages. The speakers were either Q-Celtic or P-Celtic. Pictish language was however replaced, and in some cases, it was subsumed into the Gaelic language between 8th and 9th century. The reign of Caustantin Mac Aeda led to the Gaelicisation period. The various successors also shaped the dominance of the language in the region. Despite that Gaelic language led to the extinction of the P-Celtic and Q-Celtic in the region, the literature in place outlines that, it influenced its development. For instance, it contributed to loan words and syntax of the Gaelic language. That explains the close relationship which exists between Irish and Brittonic languages.
Works cited
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