Seil

There is some linguistic continuity between the earliest and modern names for many of the larger islands surrounding Scotland. However, the derivations of many of these names are obscure "suggesting that they were coined very early on, some perhaps by the earliest settlers after the Ice Age." Even when names used both in the historic past and the present have some apparent meaning this may indicate a phonetic resemblance to an older name, but one that may be "so old and so linguistically and lexically opaque that we do not have any plausible referents for them." that links Seil to mainland Scotland The Ravenna Cosmography, which was compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around AD 700, mentions various Scottish island names. This document frequently used maps as a source of information and it has been possible to speculate about their modern equivalents based on assumptions about voyages made by early travellers 300–400 years prior to its creation. The island of mentioned in this list may refer to Seil. Seil is probably a pre-Gaelic name, although a case has been made for a Norse derivation. It has also been argued that Seil could be the location of Hinba, an island associated with St Columba. Reasons include the island's association with St Brendan, its location on an inshore trade route from Antrim to the north and its suitability for a substantial settlement. The (great sea bag) referred to in texts about Hinba could refer to the Seil Sound and narrows at Clachan Bridge where the "bag" captures the rapidly flowing water that floods under the bridge. Rae, equating "Hinba" with the Gaelic , notes that the adjacent mainland parish of Kilninver means "church of Inbhir" and suggests that the derivation of "Seil" may be of Scandinavian origin with similarities to the East Frisian place name or meaning a "seep or passage of water". This, he proposes, could have been a Norse interpretation of Hinba/Inbhir. However, Mac an Tàilleir notes that Kilninver or "appears to mean 'church by the river mouth', and an older form of , 'Finbar's church' appears". 's Firth of Lorn in the Blaeu Atlas of Scotland It has also been suggested that Seil may be the referred to in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, which records a victory of the Scots over a Viking force during the time of Donald II in the 9th century. The name used in the 12th century Book of Leinster is . The earliest comprehensive written list of Hebridean island names was undertaken by Donald Monro in his Description of the Western Isles of Scotland of 1549 in which Seil is listed. The modern spelling of "Seil" also appears in the 1654 Blaeu Atlas of Scotland. ==Geography==

island in the distance. Seil is separated from mainland Scotland by the Clachan Sound, which is only about at its narrowest point. located in the modern council area of Argyll and Bute. The highest point on the island is the summit of Meall Chaise at above sea level. On the west side of the island lies the former slate-mining village of Ellenabeich. This village, known for its white slate worker's cottages, has attracted an "artist's colony" and has a number of holiday cottages. There are three other small settlements; Cuan at the southern tip, Oban Seil north of Balvicar and Clachan Seil, which is closest to the Clachan Bridge. == Geology ==

The larger part of the bedrock of Seil is provided by the Neoproterozoic age Easdale Slate Formation, a pyritic, graphitic pelite belonging to the Easdale Subgroup of the Dalradian Argyll Group. Zones of metamorphosed intrusive igneous rocks occur within the southeast of the island. Andesitic lavas of the Lorn Plateau Lava Formation dominate the west of the island. Seil is cut by numerous NW-SE aligned basalt and microgabbro dykes which form a part of the ‘Mull Swarm’ which is of early Palaeogene age. Raised marine deposits of sand and gravel occur widely around the margins of the island, a legacy of late Quaternary changes in relative sea-level. ==History==

on mainland Scotland, seat of the government of Nether Lorn under the Breadalbane family The Cenél Loairn kindred controlled what is today known as Lorn in the kingdom of Dalriada. The 7th-century separates the Cenél Loairn into three subsidiary groups, of which the Cenél Salaich may have controlled Nether Lorn. In the mid-16th century Monro wrote of Seil: "" Ardfad Castle is a ruin in the northwest of Seil. It was the home of the Macdougalls of Ardencaple, but following the failure of King James VII to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland in the late 17th century the Macdougalls lost much of their lands to the Duke of Argyll. The castle was "a well-built structure of stone and lime, occupying a prominent situation on a crag and tail, not unlike Edinburgh Castle rock. In 1915, it was still fairly well preserved, with the walls standing to some height and two round corner towers". However, by 1971 only the remains of the southwest round tower survived. Eilean-a-beithich was never re-opened although production did continue at Easdale, Luing and Balvicar. Changes in demand - clay tiles were rapidly replacing slate as the roofing material of choice - led to commercial production ceasing by 1911. Balvicar quarry re-opened from the late 1940s until the early 1960s but slate is no longer mined anywhere in the Slate Islands. ==Economy and transport==

Today, the island's commerce is largely dependent on agriculture, tourism and lobster fishing. The Ellenabeich Heritage Centre which opened in 2000, is run by the Slate Islands Heritage Trust. Located in a former slate quarry-worker's cottage, the centre has displays about life in the 19th century, slate quarrying and the local flora, fauna and geology. Seil has been linked to the Scottish mainland since 1792/3 when the Clachan Bridge was built by engineer Robert Mylne. Also known as the "Bridge Over the Atlantic", the bridge was constructed with a span and has an arch above the sea bed in order to allow small craft of up to to pass under it. Ferries sail from Ellenabeich to Easdale, and from Cuan to Luing across the Cuan Sound. This stretch of water is only wide but the spring tides race through it at up to . The Easdale ferry uses a chain and cog wheels designed by John Whyte in the mid 19th century. ==Religion==

Seil is associated with the 6th century saint Brendan of Clonfert who established a monastery on the Garvellachs and at a later date a cell on the site of Kilbrandon Church to which he gave his name. The modern church, located between Balvicar and Cuan, has five stained glass windows by Douglas Strachan illustrating scenes from the Sea of Galilee. The central window depicts a ship in distress and "the portrayal in glowing colour of the storm's sweep, the crew's terror, and Christ's self-possession, has a lively drama unique in Highland stained glass". The building is part of Netherlorn church who have four of five locations for worship. ==Folklore and media==

The well-known pub Tigh an Truish (Gaelic for 'house of the trousers') at Clachan Seil is said to have obtained its name in the wake of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. Supposedly, shore-going islanders swapped their kilts for trousers here after Highland dress was banned. Parts of Ring of Bright Water were filmed on Seil. ==Notable people==

Alexander Beith, Free Church Moderator, spent about four years in this parish. Arthur Murray, 3rd Viscount Elibank and his wife, the actress Faith Celli, purchased property on Seil in the 1930s. They converted a row of derelict cottages into a substantial dwelling and created the garden at An Cala, near Ellanabeich. The artist C. John Taylor lived at Ellanabeich for many years until his death in 1998. His painting of the Clachan Bridge "Bridge Over The Atlantic" sold nearly a million copies. Frances Shand Kydd, the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales, lived on the island for many years until her death in 2004. ==Shipwrecks==

The Firth of Lorn is the seaway used by vessels going to and from Oban and Fort William from points south and the seas around Seil contain the sites of various shipwrecks. The wooden sailing ship Norval ran aground in fog near the southern tip of Insh on 20 September 1870. The wreckage was still visible in 1995. On 15 August 1900 the iron steamship Apollo ran aground on Bono Reef south west of Seil. She was carrying a cargo of granite cobble stones from Aberdeen to Newport. The wreck lies in a gully some down amidst thick kelp. In February 1933 the Clyde puffer Hafton en route from Toboronochy on Luing to Mull sprung a leak and foundered about into the journey. The crew of five took to a small boat and reached Ellanabeich safely. A wreck of unknown provenance has been recorded east of Rubha Garbh Airde at the northern end of Seil. ==Wildlife ==

'', the "fairy foxglove" In early summer the Clachan Bridge is covered in fairy foxgloves (Erinus alpinus). The narrows that the bridge spans trapped a whale with a long lower jaw in 1835 and no fewer than 192 pilot whales in 1837, the largest of which was long. According to wildlife experts the entire badger population of the island may have been deliberately exterminated in 2007. Forty of the animals, whose setts were believed to be long established, may have been gassed to death, according to the police. The police also expressed concerns that two golden eagles and one white-tailed sea eagle have been found poisoned near Seil in recent years, involving use of the banned substance carbofuran. ==Gallery==

File:Clachan Sound 05.JPG|Clachan Sound from Clachan Bridge, looking north File:Easdale Village - panoramio.jpg|The flooded quarry and village of Ellenabeich with the outline of the former island of Eilean-a-beithich at centre left and Easdale beyond File:Isle of Seil 05.JPG|Slate on the shoreline of Seil File:Quarry at Balvicar, Seil Island - geograph.org.uk - 65348.jpg|Flooded slate quarry near Balvicar File:Oban Seil - geograph.org.uk - 385656.jpg|The scattered settlement of Oban Seil File:Balvicar Bay From Ardshellach Farm - geograph.org.uk - 1719527.jpg|Balvicar Bay in winter, seen from mainland Scotland, looking towards the heights of Bàrr Mòr ==Notes==