A Family Business? Colonisation and Settlement in Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century Galloway

Citation

Oram R (1993) A Family Business? Colonisation and Settlement in Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century Galloway. Scottish Historical Review, LXXII (2), pp. 111-145. http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/shr.1993.72.2.111; https://doi.org/10.3366/shr.1993.72.2.111

Abstract
This article critiques the traditional model presented for the processes governing the introduction of 'Anglo-Norman' colonists of knightly rank into twelfth- and thirteenth-century Galloway, challenging the view that this was a process of imposition by external agencies and representative of a process of conquest. It examines the relationship of these colonial families with the native rulers of Galloway and proposes instead that a majority of the colonists represented an influx of kinsmen connected with these rulers through marriage bonds. The integration of these incoming families into the regional power structure is explored and a fresh assessment offered of the traditional notion that they overwhelmed and displaced native lords as social leaders in Galloway.

Keywords
Galloway; colonisation; knights; mottes; integration; conquest

Journal
Scottish Historical Review: Volume LXXII, Issue 2

People

Professor Richard Oram

Professor, History