THE EARLY CHURCH IN SKYE

Skye, by the end of the sixth century, as we have seen, was an island divided, with a mainly Gaelic presence in the South end consisting of the original Celtic stock from Ireland, and an influx of the ambitious Dalriadan Gaels, while in the North the Picts had become the predominant force. The original settlers, the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age peoples must, to a great extent, have succumbed to the aggression of the two powerful incomers, although we can yet recognise physical characteristics typical of Iberian stock.

As mentioned, the earliest missionaries to the island from St Ninian's school arrived about the middle of the 5th century, and through the following century the forerunners of what was to become an invasion of irish/Dalriadan Christians took place. It is unlikely that there was any organised mission prior to the arrival of Columba about 565.

We are told that Columba arrived in lona with twelve companions, and spent a few years there consolidating his position, before embarking on what was his specific remit, the conversion of the Northern Picts. He had spent some twenty years establishing monasteries throughout Ireland. His mentor Finnian of Clonard, whose school numbered 3,000 students, chose Columba as the most suitable man for this daunting task.

Columba was of Gaelic stock but also had Pictish blood in his veins. He was fostered by Cruithnechan, an Irish Pict. He was of royal blood and it was common at this time among the ruling class to place a child in fosterage with a friend of suitable rank, a custom followed for many centuries throughout the Highlands.

There is a local tradition in Sleat that Columba first landed in Skye at Kilmore, and there is every reason to believe this is what actually happened, although the purpose of his visit was to seek to convert the Picts in the North. It is most likely that he sailed from Ardnamurchan (Artdaib Muirchol of Adomnan). We know that there was a chapel there and that Columba baptised an infant there, Lugucencalad (Lugucai-and Caladh 'of the ferry').

We'do not know if Columba visited Skye before proceeding to Inverness to meet King Brude the High King of the Picts. It seems certain that among other things he went to seek the permission of the king to establish a centre in Skye and perhaps other places for his missionary activities. Some commentators are of the opinion that it was Brude who granted him possession of Iona while the Annals of Tighernach have it that Conaill King of the Dalriadan Scots made the gift. From the outcome of the visit we can safely assume that Columba was indeed given a cordial reception, and that his mission was successful. His requests would be very modest, and with regard to Skye it seems certain that he sought permission to establish a monastic settlement on the island in the loch at Kilmuir which was the largest fresh water loch in Skye until drained in the 19th century after many unsuccessful attempts.

In land under the jurisdiction of the Dalriadan Kings the pattern of distribution was a tribal one, each tribe or tuath comprised a group of families under a local righ or kinglet and groups of tuaths owed allegiance to a king of higher rank. Into this system the monastic community slotted with a central monastery receiving its land from the king. There were no churches as we know them today. It is not certain if the Pictish land distribution was the same but Columba evidently introduced the same monastic system which had stood him in good stead in lreland.

Loch An Eilein was an ideal situation, with fresh water, good land, and a scattered population much as we have today. From this monastery many small chapels and even tiny cells were built and gradually the profound superstitions of Paganism gave way to the light of Christianity.

The loch in Kilmuir was one and one eighth miles long until finally drained in 1824. The island was some three acres in extent and its whole surface is covered with stones, the remains of the monastic cells which surrounded the small church buildings. On the western shore of the loch are traces of some buildings and above, overlooking the sea, is Carn Liath - an ancient burial ground. On the north side of the 'island' there is a circular enclosure some 16 yards in its greatest diameter, and containing the foundations of three cells, probably of beehive type. The walls were up to nine feet thick. This is probably the tower referred to by Pennant during his visit to Skye in the 18th century. There is a rectangular enclosure to the north of the tower which may be of more recent date. To the south are two small buildings while farther still to the south west there are the remains of a small church with cemented stones and of more recent time, probably dating to the thirteenth century.

Tradition, possibly connected with this church, mentions Gillegorm, leader of the Logan family in Easter Ross. He was killed in a feud with the Frasers and his widow gave birth to a deformed son called Crotair MacGillegorm who entered the Celtic Church in which by this time priests were allowed to marry. He was educated by the monks of Beauly Priory and founded a church in Kilmuir and in Glenelg. He fathered a son named Gille Fhinnein, probably the progenitor of the Clan MacLennan. MacKenzie's history of the Clan MacLeod states that Norman (Tormod), 2nd Chief of that clan married a Fingula MacCrotan who may well have been a granddaughter of Crotair MacGillegorm. By the thirteenth century the Church had become decadent mainly because the successor to the abbot in the monastery had of necessity to be a relation of the incumbent irrespective of piety. Inevitably worldly abbots came along intent on increasing their wealth through the acquisition of land, and no doubt the powerful warrior tribes of the time sought to increase their influence by whatever means possible. The influence of the Roman Church increased from the time of Queen Margaret and her son David the First, and Benedictine and Augustinian monks were placed within the various monasteries from lona northwards. In this way the MacLeods and MacDonalds endeavoured to lay claim to the more fertile lands while at the same time they strove to receive Royal Charters to consolidate their claims, leading to the disastrous Government policy of granting charters to more than one chief at the same time.

Continued on Early Church in Skye - Part 4

Early Church in Skye - Part 1
Early Church in Skye - Part 2
Early Church in Skye - Part 3
Early Church in Skye - Part 4
Early Church in Skye - Part 5

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