Birlinn

A Birlinn comprised a class of small galleys with 12 to 18 oars, used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle Ages. Variants in English and Lowland Scots include "berlin" and "birling". It probably derives ultimately from the Norse byrðingr, i.e. a ship of burden and the Birlinn is ultimately a Norse-Gaelic variant on the Norse longship, based on a design by Somerled which bested the Norse longships with enhanced agility and streamlining and allowed him to defeat the Kingdom of Mann in the middle of the 12th century.

History

The birlinns were designed by Somerled in the middle of the 12th century. Oral legends tell us of how he kept a fleet of longships near Langavulin, and modified them. A notable improvement was the use of the rudder. This hints, however, that these early fleets were similar to Norse longships, unlike the later birlinns.

They are most associated with the Lordship of the Isles, a Gaelic state which ruled much of western and northern Scotland, and held territories across the Irish Sea world. By 1411, as part of the campaign which led to the Battle of Harlaw, it is known that Domhnall, Lord of the Isles was able to transport ten thousand soldiers, and doubtless hundreds of camp followers and many tonnes of supplies of food and equipment, on a single fleet that must have numbered several thousand.

They gave the largely independent Lords of the Isles a navy - something which the Scots lacked and the English had not paid much attention to - which meant that they were far enough from Scottish politics to maintain their own laws, language, religion, customs, and education system.

Role of the Birlinn

The birlinns were not just used to transport troops, like the Norse longships. They were warships and cargo ships, and were relied upon across the Irish Sea for communication and trade.

Formidable opponents, they often had hereditary crews with vast experience with the craft, and they became famous for being very adept at moving across rough or shallow waters. It is thought that they, like Norse longships, could also be dragged across land for a considerable distance.

Birlinns are known to have traversed much of the length of the Irish Sea, and to have reached Shetland. Oral history frequently refers to voyages to Rockall, Brittany, northern Norway, Iceland, and, rarely, even Greenland. It has been suggested that the birlinns were theoretically capable of reaching America, although whether they did or not is subject to debate as no solid evidence exists, and oral stories, as believeable as they may be, are few and far between.

They appear in Scottish heraldry as the "lymphad" (a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic long fada, meaning "long ship" - confusingly long is actually the word for "ship", and fada means "long" in English)

Birlinn Chlann Raonaill (the Birlinn of Clan Ranald), by Alasdair MacMhaighstir Alasdair is one of the notable literary representations of the birlinn.

External links

• Clan Sinclair
• Birlinn.org
• Stormy seas ahead in boat battle
• GalGael.org- using the Birlinn to rebuild community in Scotland
• Mallaig Galleys

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