Editing Seil (section)

==Etymology==
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."{{sfnp|Broderick|2013|pp= 20-21}} 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."{{sfnp|Broderick|2013|p=21}}{{#tag:ref|Broderick is quoting Nicolaisen (1992) p. 2{{sfnp|Nicolaisen|1992|p=2}}|group="Note"}} 
[[File:Clachan Bridge2.jpg|thumb|left|Fast-flowing sea water under the 18th-century [[Clachan Bridge]] that links Seil to mainland Scotland]]
The ''[[Ravenna Cosmography]]'', which was compiled by an anonymous cleric in [[Ravenna]] around AD&nbsp;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 {{lang|la|Saponis}} mentioned in this list may refer to Seil.{{sfnp|Fitzpatrick-Matthews|2013|loc="Group 34: islands in the Irish Sea and the Western Isles 1"}}{{#tag:ref|Youngson favours Jura as the location of ''Saponis''.{{sfnp|Youngson|2001|p= 62}}|group="Note"}}

Seil is probably a pre-Gaelic name,{{sfnp|Mac an Tàilleir|2003|p=104}} although a case has been made for a Norse derivation.{{sfnp|Rae|2011|p=9}} It has also been argued that Seil could be the location of [[Hinba]], an island associated with [[Columba|St Columba]]. Reasons include the island's association with [[Brendan the Navigator|St Brendan]], its location on an inshore trade route from [[County Antrim|Antrim]] to the north and its suitability for a substantial settlement. The {{lang|gd|Muirbolcmar}} (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 {{lang|gd|Inbhir}}, 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 Frisia]]n place name {{lang|nl|Zijl}} or {{lang|nl|Syl}} meaning a "seep or passage of water". This, he proposes, could have been a Norse interpretation of Hinba/Inbhir.{{sfnp|Rae|2011| pp= 3-11}} However, Mac an Tàilleir notes that  Kilninver or {{lang|gd|Cill an Inbhir}} "appears to mean 'church by the river mouth', and an older form of {{lang|gd|Cill Fhionnbhair}}, 'Finbar's church' appears".{{sfnp|Mac an Tàilleir|2003|p=72}}{{#tag:ref|There are several other contenders for the location of Hinba, including Jura, [[Colonsay]] and [[Canna, Scotland|Canna]].|group="Note"}}
[[File:Blaeu - Atlas of Scotland 1654 - LORNA - The Firth of Lorn.jpg|thumb|[[Joan Blaeu]]'s Firth of Lorn in the ''[[Blaeu Atlas of Scotland]]'']]
It has also been suggested that Seil may be the {{lang|la|Innisibsolian}} 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 of Scotland|Donald II]] in the 9th century.{{sfnp|Hudson |1998| p= 9}} The name used in the 12th century ''[[Book of Leinster]]'' is {{lang|mga|Sóil}}.{{sfnp|Fraser|2009|p=246}}{{#tag:ref|Haswell-Smith suggests that the name Seil is "probably" from the Gaelic {{lang|gd|sealg}} - the hunting island.{{sfnp|Haswell-Smith|2004|p=76}}|group="Note"}}

The earliest comprehensive written list of Hebridean island names was undertaken by [[Donald Monro (Dean)|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]]''.{{sfnp|Blaeu|1654|loc=''Lorna''}}