Cill Amhlaidh

Context
The site of Cill Amlaidh is located between Loch Bì and the north-western coast of South Uist (with the coastline pictured above). On the [simple_tooltip content='Six-inch 1st edition Ordnance Survey Maps of Scotland, 1843-1882 <https://maps.nls.uk/os/6inch/index.html>.']OS 6-inch map[/simple_tooltip] it is listed as a disused burial ground, but the lack of archaeological evidence for the church has led archaeologists to believe that the remains may be ‘buried beneath the modern houses at Kilauley’ [simple_tooltip content='Parker Pearson, M., Sharples, N. & Symonds, J. 2004. South Uist: archaeology and history of a Hebridean island (Stroud).'](Parker Pearson, Sharples & Symonds 2004, 158)[/simple_tooltip].

The OS Name Books [simple_tooltip content='OS Name Books Inverness-shire Ordnance Survey Name Books, 1876-1878. ScotlandsPlaces <https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/ordnance-survey-name-books/inverness-shire-os-name-books-1876-1878>.'](OS1/18/10/84)[/simple_tooltip] provide an interesting example of local folklore relating to this site, stating that: ‘This name applies to a Burying place in the district of Kilaulay and [is] Supposed to be the burying place of a Danish Princess of the name of Alua or Oloff which was caught in a storm and blown to Uist’. Although this is highly unlikely, and the name almost certainly refers to St Olaf, King of Norway, it is an intriguing example of local users of the name engaging with a recognisably Norse name and re-interpreting it.

Discussion
Although there is a slight possibility that this site is dedicated to Amhlaibh Cúaran, king of Dublin (see Amhlaidh), it is more likely that it is dedicated to St Olaf, King of Norway 1016-30. This provides firmer dating grounds than many other hagiotoponyms and representing one of the few specifically Scandinavian cults in the Hebrides [simple_tooltip content='Abrams, L. 2007. ‘Conversion and the Church in the Hebrides in the Viking Age: “A Very Difficult Thing Indeed”’, in Ballin-Smith, B., Taylor, S., and Williams, G. (eds.) West Over Sea. Studies in Scandinavian Sea-borne Expansion and Settlement before 1300 (Leiden), 169–193.'](Abrams 2007, 177)[/simple_tooltip]. The saint in question having died in 1030, all dedications to him must have been coined after this date. Thus, the site may represent an early dedication to Olaf in the 11th century, but it could also reflect the ambitions of the Norwegian church during the 12th century following the incorporation of the see of Sodor (which included the Hebrides) into the archiepiscopal see of Nidaros [simple_tooltip content='Rekdal, J E. 2003-4. ‘Vikings and saints—encounters vestan um haf’, Peritia 17–18, 256–275.'](Rekdal 2003-4, 257[/simple_tooltip], but also see Amhlaidh). This does not necessarily mean that the site itself cannot be earlier since re-dedications are possible. The early map forms (albeit post-medieval) consistently list this site as dedicated to St Olaf. The lack of archaeological evidence for Cill Amhlaidh also makes it difficult to provide further contextual evidence for this site. [simple_tooltip content='Raven, J. 2005. ‘Medieval Landscapes and Lordship in South Uist vol. 1’ (PhD thesis, University of Glasgow), 162-3']Raven (2005, 162-3)[/simple_tooltip] has proposed that the proximity of Cill Amhlaidh to Àird Choinnich may indicate the latter having taken over from the former. However, this is problematic since both names are recorded by [simple_tooltip content='Blaeu, J. 1654. ‘Atlas of Scotland’ (NLS National Library of Scotland) <https://maps.nls.uk/atlas/blaeu/graphic_index_west.html>.']Blaeu[/simple_tooltip] as separate church sites (also see Àird Choinnich and Amhlaidh).

Discussing this site in the context of the spread of the cult of St Olaf places it firmly with the North Atlantic, Scandinavian sphere of influence during the Middle Ages. Such dedications may indicate that the Hebrides ‘were more integrated into the into the Christianity of the Irish Sea’ in comparison with more localised, independent cults in the Northern Isles during the Norse period [simple_tooltip content='Abrams, L. 2007. ‘Conversion and the Church in the Hebrides in the Viking Age: “A Very Difficult Thing Indeed”’, in Ballin-Smith, B., Taylor, S., and Williams, G. (eds.) West Over Sea. Studies in Scandinavian Sea-borne Expansion and Settlement before 1300 (Leiden), 169–193.'](Abrams 2007, 178)[/simple_tooltip]. Power’s (1990, 20) statement that it may be that ‘the Norse in the Hebrides had mingled more fully with their neighbours [than Orkney and Shetland], and had more readily adopted Christianity and the visitation of local shrines’ further highlights the dedication to St Olaf, a Scandinavian saint, as unusual.

Other Sources
[simple_tooltip content='OSNB Inverness-shire Ordnance Survey Name Books, 1876-1878. ScotlandsPlaces <https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/ordnance-survey-name-books/inverness-shire-os-name-books-1876-1878>.']OS Name Books (OS1/18/10/84)[/simple_tooltip]: ‘Meaning obscure
This name applies to a Burying place in the district of Kilaulay and [is] Supposed to be the burying place of a Danish Princess of the name of Alua or Oloff which was caught in a storm and blown to Uist it is now (Disused)’

Other Resources
Canmore ID 9904
Saints in Scottish Place-Names (DoSH) ‘Olaf, King of Norway’