Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Climate, Weather and the Rise of the Lordship of the Isles

Citation

Oram R (2014) Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Climate, Weather and the Rise of the Lordship of the Isles. In: Oram R (ed.) The Lordship of the Isles. The Northern World, 68. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, pp. 40-61. http://www.brill.com/products/book/lordship-isles

Abstract
This chapter explores the influences of changes in the North Atlantic regional climate from the late thirteenth to fifteenth centuries and considers the impact of those changes on the economy, culture and society of the Hebrides and western mainland of Scotland.  It examines the stresses that resulted from both extreme weather events in the short term and from long-term declines in conditions and offers scenarios for cultural and societal resilience or reconfiguration in the face of those changes.

Keywords
environmental history; medieval climate; North Atlantic; Hebrides; coastal erosion; sand-blow; fishing; biomass production; cattle and livestock management; exchange mechanisms; lordly consumption; predatory culture