Scottish island names
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The modern names of Scottish islands stem from two main influences. There are many names that derive from the Scottish Gaelic language in the Hebrides and Firth of Clyde. In the Northern Isles most pl
Undeciphered ogham inscription on the Lunnasting stone found near Vidlin, Shetland
Rodney's stone
Horse of Copinsay from the north west
Description of the Western Isles of Scotland is the oldest known account of the Hebrides and the Islands of the Clyde, two chains of islands off the west coast of Scotland. The author was Donald Monro
Scottish island names
…is that a retreat of some kind existed there. The earliest comprehensive written list of Hebridean island names was undertaken by Donald Monro in his Description of 1549, which in some cases also provides the earliest written form of the modern island name. There are three island names in Shetland of unknown and…
A cave on Garbh Eilean in the Shiant Isles. In 1549, Donald Monro wrote that "through the arch we used to row or sail with our boats, for fear of the horrible break of the sea that is on the outward side of the point".
The tomb effigy of Domhnall Mac Gilleasbuig, crown tenant of Finlaggan during the mid 16th century
Castle Craig on the Black Isle, with the Cromarty Firth beyond. Donald Monro may have lived here in the 1560s.
The 8th century Kildalton Cross on Islay, carved when the island was part of Dál Riata.