ABSTRACT
Caithness, the most northeasterly province of mainland Scotland, was more heavily settled by Vikings than any other part of the mainland. The Old Norse name Katanes (“The headland of the tribe of Cats”) incorporates the name of one of the seven provinces of the Picts, which originally covered the area north of the Oykell River (Dornoch Firth). The name “Caithness” may have been applied first by the Norse to Duncansby Head, but was extended in its application to the northern half of the former Pictish province as Scandinavian settlement spread south. The southern half of the province came to be called “Sutherland” (Sudrland), and even in the later Middle Ages Sutherland and Caithness were referred to as “the two provinces of the Caithness-men.” Both the earldom and bishopric of Caithness covered the entire area north of the Oykell River, although the earls lost control of Sutherland in the 13th century.
