Scotland and Norway entered into a friendship which proved lasting. The Treaty of 1266 was honourable. The Norse inhabitants of Northern territory were given the option of staying, or departing with all their goods. Evidence unearthed at Freswick in Caithness seems to show that those who remained kept their own manner of life; to this day inhabitants of Thurso will disclaim any connection with the 'clans', and the huge cathedral of St Magnus at Kirkwall is a splendid monument of Norse architecture. Yet the Norse were absorbed into the realm of Scotland, to which they contributed a virile element of the population, whose virtue continues to this day.
(J. D. Mackie, A History of Scotland, 2d ed. [New York: Dorset Press, 1978], 45)
