GENERAL DESCRIPTION 13 



mountainous northern islands. The local badge is Channelled 

 Wrack (Feamainn Chireagach). 



Although the monastery at Oransay is believed to have 

 been founded originally by St Columba, the present build- 

 ings date from a much later period. St Columba's buildings 

 were of clay and wattle, but even had they been constructed 

 of more lasting material, it is certain that they would have 

 been destroyed in the ninth and tenth centuries by the 

 Vikings and the Danes. These hardy sea-rovers made 

 their first descent on lona in 795, and for the next 200 

 years our shores were subject to their invasions, often 

 sudden and disastrous. The good John of Isla, Lord of the 

 Isles, is credited with the foundation, about 1350, of the 

 present priory at Oransay. It belonged to the Augustine 

 order, and canons were brought from Holyrood. 



While the Lords of the Isles were in power, Oransay, it 

 may be assumed, was the centre of a nourishing community. 

 Foundations have been traced which extended over a much 

 larger area than the buildings now occupy. Along both 

 sides of the road leading from the priory to the strand the 

 ruins of a number of circular enclosures, each about 18 feet 

 in diameter, are to be seen. Others were probably cleared 

 away when the road was made. Those still existing are 

 situated well within view of the church, and it is supposed 

 that these structures had been used for stacking the seed- 

 grain of persons living in Colonsay, who carried it across 

 the strand for the blessing of the Church, and also for the 

 more practical reason of having it preserved until seedtime 

 from the depredations of freebooters. Oransay having the 

 right of sanctuary was, so far, free from such visits. 



A number of sculptured stones, some exhibiting very fine 

 workmanship, are now arranged along one side of the chapel 

 at Oransay. Formerly they lay on the floor, over the graves 

 of persons of note, but for preservation they were removed 

 to their present positions. One of the stones, on which is 



