A Family Business? Colonisation and Settlement in twelfth- and thirteenth-century Galloway

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.