Introduction

This evening, I am posting information on the Battle of Largs which took place on October 2nd 1263. Adversaries were the Norse under King Haakon and the Scots under King Alexander II.

Largs (pop 11,241) is located on the west coast of Scotland, about thirty-three miles S.W. of Glasgow.

Acknowledgement: Core of information herein has been sourced from ‘Scotland, the story of a nation’ by Magnus Magnusson.

Information on the Battle of Largs

For hundreds of years prior to the battle the Norse had controlled the Western Isles, mainly the Inner and Outer Hebrides. Even today, many place names on the islands have Norse origins.

Prior to the battle King Haakon had assembled a large fleet with aim of reinforcing his authority over the islands.

Unfortunately for the Norse a huge gale struck on the night of September 30th. This caused havoc for Haakon’s main fleet resulting in loose merchant ships and three longships to be stranded on the shore at Largs.

The battle was not a conventional ‘set piece’ but a series of skirmishes centred on the beached ships. The land based Scots army engaged in looting of the beached merchantmen and also skirmishing with the beached Norse.There was much ‘toing and froing’ with the Norse sending in reinforcements and the Scots retreating and vice versa.

Reports suggest that the Norse had a force of 800-900 on the shore. Against this the Scots’ had 500 knights on horseback and a host of foot soldiers.

The overall outcome was inconclusive. The Norse were actually left in charge of the beach so, technically, were not defeated. However, the Norse lost the campaign in that Haakon failed to secure the islands against Scottish encroachment.

Haakon’s battered fleet retreated to Orkney (Northern Isles) where he died in January, 1264.

Political settlement

In 1266 Haakon’s successor, Magnus (‘the Law Reformer’) successfully negotiated the Treaty of Perth.Under this treaty the Norse ceded the Hebrides (Western Isles) and Isle of Man in exchange for cash payments. These comprised initial sum of 4000 merks of refined silver plus 100 merks to be paid annually in perpetuity. The 4000 merks was paid immediately but the Scots seem to have reneged on the subsequent payments.

Largs Viking heritage

Visitors can connect with the region’s Viking heritage at the Vikingar! Visitor Centre. There is also a Viking Festival held each year during late August/early September.

More information

For more information on important Scottish battles, islands and sightseeing please refer Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4.