i8 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



conquest of the Hebrides followed. From Arran to Lewis 

 the whole of the islands fell under his power, and his 

 conquests may have extended to the Orkneys and Shet- 

 lands. He is described by Torfseus, the Norwegian his- 

 torian, as " King of the Nordereys," from which we are to 

 understand either the Orkney and Shetland groups, or the 

 northern islands of the Hebrides. It is not easy to dis- 

 cover whether the name " Nordereys," or North Islands, 

 was originally applied to the Orkneys and Shetlands, and 

 the word " Sudreys " (Sudreyyar\ or South Islands, to the 

 whole of the Hebrides. Torfaeus makes a clear distinction 

 between Orkney, the North Isles, and the Western Isles, 

 and refers in a certain passage to the " North Isles such as 

 Lewis." The truth seems to be that the name "Nordereys" 

 was applied originally to the Orkney and Shetland 

 Islands, and later, to the Northern Hebrides ; while the 

 name " Sudreys " was, by the Sagas, used to denote the 

 whole of the Hebrides. As we shall see later, a division 

 of the Hebrides took place in the twelfth century, and from 

 that period there can be no doubt that the designation 

 " Nordereys," or North Isles, was generally applied to the 

 northern section of the Hebrides, including the Long 

 Island, Skye, and the other islands which were in- 

 cluded in the northern division ; while the " Sudreys," or 

 South Isles, embraced the section lying to the south of 

 Ardn?murchan. We shall adopt this distinction for the 

 sake of convenience. But to return to the conquest of the 

 Hebrides by Godred Crovan. 



That conquest was no half-hearted affair : it was 

 thorough. The governorship of the Northern Hebrides 

 was entrusted to his eldest son, Lagman, who had his 

 seat in the Long Island, for he is called by the Sagas 

 11 Ivistar Gramr," or Prince of Uist. He was Godred's 

 lawman, and it is probable that the name by which he is 

 known to history was his official title, not his personal 

 name. The Scots of the West appear to have harassed 

 Godred's territories, for he was obliged to equip a fleet for 

 the purpose of chastising them. So thoroughly cowed 



