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The most developed of Matthew Paris's 13th century maps of Britain. The work is organised around a central north–south itinerary from Dover to Newcastle. The crenellations of both the Antonine Wall and Hadrian's Wall can be seen in the drawing but it lacks detail for Scotland as a whole.

The cartography of Scotland is the history of surveying and creation of maps of Scotland. The earliest known depiction of the country in map form is that of Ptolemy dated to the second century AD. Surviving maps from the medieval era provide very little additional information and it is not until the mid-16th century that maps of Scotland show genuine improvement.

Ptolemy

Main article: Geography (Ptolemy)

Ptolemy's map of Insulae Albian et Hibernia (i.e. Great Britain and Ireland) as reproduced in Blaeu's 1654 Atlas Novus.

There are early written references to the geography of Scotland. For example, Pytheas of Massilia visited Britain – probably sometime between 322 and 285 BC – and described it as triangular in shape, with a northern tip called Orcas. This may have referred to Dunnet Head on mainland Scotland, from which Orkney is visible. Tacitus wrote of his his father-in-law Agricola's expedition into what is now Scotland in the first century and both Pomponius Mela and Pliny the Elder had previously referred to the islands surrounding Scotland.

However, the earliest known map that has survived into the modern era is that of the Hellenistic geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus better known as Ptolemy (90–168) who produced a detailed eight-volume record, the Geographike Hyphegesis known as the Geography. In the third part of the Geography, Ptolemy gives instructions on how to create maps both of the whole inhabited world (oikoumenē) and of the Roman provinces, including the necessary topographic lists, and captions for the maps. His oikoumenē spanned 180 degrees of longitude from the Blessed Islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the middle of China, and about 80 degrees of latitude from Shetland to anti-Meroe (east coast of Africa).

Ptolemy's depiction of Scotland shows the country "turned on its side" so that the west coast is shown at the top and the east coast is in the southern position. The outlying islands of the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland are simply scattered around what appears to be the north coast and there are few other details. Individual Hebridean islands are listed under Ireland. Islay is Ptolemy's Epidion, Malaios is Mull and his Scetis is presumed to be Skye. Some settlements and Roman forts are mentioned on the mainland and a large forest is drawn at the centre. The outline of the east coast has an approxmation to reality (albeit shown to the south) but the other coastlines are evidently guesswork. Breeze (2002) quotes J.J. Tierney who believed that Ptolemy's information about Scotland "was extremely poor" and certainly the paucity of information included about Scotland, particularly north of the Great Glen, is in contrast to the relative detail afforded for the island of Ireland. Nonetheless, this misshapen outline, which was created before Scotland even existed as a polity, stood largely uncorrected for about fourteen centuries.

Medieval period

The 14th century Gough Map - north lies to the left.

There is very little evidence of new maps of Scotland or of Scottish map-making until the mid-sixteenth century. The country figures in surviving examples of various early Christian world maps and in portolan charts but where it is shown it is "indistinct and always marginal". An example is the Anglo-Saxon or Cotton map - an 11th century Mappa mundi. Scotland appears as an imprecise mainland with scattered islands. Similarly, Scotland has a "barely recognizable" shape and very little detail in a 13th century Matthew Paris map of Britain. Scotland is similarly lacking in comparison to England in the 1360 Gough Map of Great Britain. It is possible that the map was created to aid Edward I of England's military adventures in Scotland and almost nothing is shown for the area north of the Moray Firth. John Hardyng's 1457 map of Scotland is highly stylised and probably created with the aim of persuading Henry VI of England to invade.

16th century

Scotia Regnum by Mercator, published in 1595

In 1595 a map of Scotia Regnum appeared in Gerardus Mercator’s Atlas at a scale of circa 25 miles to the inch. This became the basis of maps of Scotland until the mid-sixteen century. However, it was able to draw on various earlier works.

John Elder created a map of Scotland, now lost, for the English crown in 1543. George Lily created a map of the British Isles that was published in Rome in 1546. The map is based in part on the Gough Map and includes improvements to the shape of the Scottish coastline. In 1566 Scotland appeared on a map attributed to the Veronese map-maker Paolo Forlani and is in turn based partly on Lily’s earlier work. English cartographer Laurence Nowell created a map at roughly the same time with about 600 place names identified.

A 1559 engraving of Lily’s Insulae Britannia

Frenchman Nicolas de Nicolay’s chart of 1583 was in part based on a circumnavigation of the country in the 1540s and the work of hydrographer Alexander Lindsay. This charter formed part of a rutter and the circumnavigation on which it was partly based was commissioned (in contrast to several of the above) by James V as a means of consolidating Scottish state authority rather than undermining it.

Mercator’s 1595 map was thus able to make use of the Nicolay and Nowell maps, although by then Timothy Pont had already commenced his influential work that would inform Scottish map-making in the following century.

At this time various town plans of Scottish settlements also began to appear such as Edinburgh (Braun and Hogenberg, 1582) and St Andrews (Geddie, 1580).

17th century

Blaeu's 1654 map of Orkney and Shetland based on Pont's survey.

Pont (c. 1565 – c. 1615) was a Scottish minister, cartographer and topographer. He was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland and his maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in detail from an actual survey. He made a complete survey of all the shires and islands of the kingdom, visiting remote districts and making drawings on the spot. A contemporary described how Pont "personally surveyed...and added such cursory observations on the monuments of antiquity...as were proper for the furnishing out of future descriptions." He died having almost completed his task and James VI gave instructions that the maps should be purchased from Pont's heirs and prepared for publication, but on account of the disorders of the time they were nearly forgotten. Sir John Scot of Scotstarvet prevailed on Robert Gordon of Straloch to undertake their revision with a view to publication. The task of revision was completed by Gordon's son, James Gordon, and they were published in Joan Blaeu's Atlas Novus, vol. v. Amsterdam, 1654 in 78 maps on 38 sheets. This work has been described as "one of Scotland's - and early modern Europe's - greatest cartographic treasures".

Nonetheless, although the maps provide considerable detail in some areas - there are 9,500 named places - some areas are treated cursorily. Sutherland for example is described as "extreem wildernes". Furthermore, as was common at the time, Pont's work was an excerise in chorography, that is he was aiming to provide a sense of the character of place rather than precise measurement.

Location of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles at the end of the 11th century

19th Century

The One Inch OS map for 1798-1878 has few details. To the west of ‘Seanabaily’ lie Eilean Leathann, Garbh-Eilean and Eilean a’ Ghiorr. At that time they were tidal islands although in the 20th century they became bridged. Nearby is marked the ‘North Ford’ or Oitir Mhor that connected Benbecula to North Uist at low tides. A branch of this ford leads south of Seana Bhaile and joins a track on Grimsay, east of Garrydu. The map suggests that no dry access was available at low tide to the peninsulas of North Uist that lie to the north.

As for the island itself the only features are Garrydu – a small settlement opposite Grimsay (the Gaelic An Gearraidh Dubh means ‘the black fertile land’) - Loch Nighe in the northwest and five other buildings or settlements plus the elevation of Cnoc Mòr. One of these is located east of Garrydu and in a kind of small enclosure showing some difference from the land use or type on the rest of the island – although it is not clear what this indicates. None of the surrounding islets or skerries are named.

1915

The Six Inch OS map for 1888-1915 has more detail. The island is still called Seanabaily. New identified features are the Ard Ghaineamhach peninsula on the west, Rudha Clachain to the south near Garrydu, Lower Grimsay on the flat land to the east of the island and Fraoch-eilean is the name of enclosure identified in the earlier map. Rudha Laimhrig nan Capull is the name given to the settled area in the north. Various field or property boundaries are also drawn elsewhere on the island. Several surrounding islets are names including Eilean a’ Bhàigh-ghlais, Eilean nan Saighead and Eilean Rointch in the east.

Garrydu is now marked as a single building with at least two more at nearby Rudha Clachain. Four buildings over the short gap to Grimsay are now also called Garrydu. It should be remembered that although today land transport is the main way of getting around at this time no roads of any kind are marked on Seana Bhaile. Given the very narrow gap between Seana Bhaile and Grimsay and that travel by boat would have been ubiquitous it is quite possible that ‘Garrydu’, including Rudha Clachain (peninsula of the township) and the small settlements on either side of the drying sands, would have been thought of as one hamlet rather than two.

Finally there would seem to be an inner enclosure of cultivated land at Fraoch-eilean surrounded by an area of rough grazing or moorland. Note however that there is no suggestion of any kind of a genuine island to which the name Fraoch-eilean refers.

1930s and 40s

The one inch OS map of 1919-30 has no new details. The 1:10,000 map of 1949-74 includes the following differences.

The island is now called ‘Seannabhaile’. Rudha Clachain and Rudha Laimhrig nan Capull are now correctly spelled as ‘Rubha’ rather than Rudha. Garrydu is now Gearradubh (which spelling has the same meaning to the above) and is shown as exclusively existing on the Grimsay side. Lower Grimsay is now Más Grimsay (the Gaelic name of similar meaning). A few more details of buildings etc. are also shown, but no roads.

Current maps

The most recent online 1:25,000 OS maps show various roads and tracks. The only other named features on the island are Ard Ghaineamhach at west, Cnoc Mor and Loch Nighe. Más Grimsay is now shown on the sea and looks like it is the name for the islet of Eilean a’ Bhaigh-ghlais. Also shown is Fraoch-eilean in a slightly smaller font immediately above Seana Bhaile. This latter name is in the same font size as that of Gearradubh/Gearraidh Dubh and Fraoch-Eilean is the same font size as Eilean Rointch. It is thus not at all apparent which of these names refers to the island and which to some kind of settlement on it. If Fraoch-eilean is intended to mean a settlement it is not obvious why it is singled out as no other houses or clusters of houses are named. This includes Gearraidh Dubh which is shown once again as lying only on Grimsay.

See also

• Geography of Scotland in the Middle Ages
• Geography of Scotland in the early modern era
• Scottish island names

References

Notes

Citations

General references

• Ballin Smith, Beverley; Banks, Iain, eds. (2002). In the Shadow of the Brochs. The Iron Age in Scotland. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2517-X.
• Chambers, Robert (1875). Biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen. Glasgow: Blackie & Son.
• Fleet, Christopher; Wilkes, Margaret; Withers, Charles W.J. (2012). Scotland:Mapping the Nation (first ed.). Edinburgh: Birlinn in association with the National Library of Scotland.
• Isaksen, L. (2011). "Lines, damned lines and statistics: Unearthing structure in Ptolemy's Geographia" (PDF). E-Perimetron. 6 (4): 254–260.

• Ordnance Survey. OS Maps Online (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure.

• Shirley, R.W. (1991). Early Printed Maps of the British Isles, 1477–1650 (2nd ed.). East Grinstead: Antique Atlas. pp. 20–22. ISBN 0951491423.
• Watson, William J. (1926). The History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland (2005 reprint by Birlinn ed.). Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons.
• Youngson, Peter (2001). Jura: Island of Deer. Edinburgh: Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-136-4.

• Anderson, Joseph (ed.) (1873) The Orkneyinga Saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. Edmonston and Douglas. The Internet Archive. Retrieved 26 August 2013.

• Ballin Smith, Beverley; Taylor, Simon; and Williams, Gareth (2007) West over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300. Leiden. Brill. ISBN 97890-04-15893-1
• Broderick, George (2013) "Some Island Names in the Former 'Kingdom of the Isles': a reappraisal." The Journal of Scottish Name Studies. 7.

• Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
• Hunter, James (2000) Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Edinburgh. Mainstream. ISBN 1-84018-376-4
• Hudson, Benjamin T. (October 1998) "The Scottish Chronicle". Scottish Historical Review. 77. Issue 204
• Jennings, Andrew and Kruse, Arne "One Coast-Three Peoples: Names and Ethnicity in the Scottish West during the Early Viking period" in Woolf, Alex (ed.) (2009) Scandinavian Scotland – Twenty Years After. St Andrews. St Andrews University Press. ISBN 978-0-9512573-7-1

• Monro, Sir Donald (1549) A Description Of The Western Isles of Scotland. Appin Regiment/Appin Historical Society. Retrieved 3 March 2007. First published in by William Auld, Edinburgh 1774.
• Murray, W. H. (1966) The Hebrides. London. Heinemann.
• Murray, W.H. (1973) The Islands of Western Scotland. London. Eyre Methuen. SBN 413303802

• Omand, Donald (ed.) (2003) The Orkney Book. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-254-9
• Omand, Donald (ed.) (2006) The Argyll Book. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-480-0

• Thompson, Francis (1968) Harris and Lewis, Outer Hebrides. Newton Abbot. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4260-6
• Thomson, William P.L. (2008) The New History of Orkney. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 978-1-84158-696-0
• Watson, W. J. (2004) The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-323-5. First published 1926.

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