Your husband, King Malcolm III, has recently gained control over previously unsettled lands in the west.

Scottish Christianity was first established in the west with Gaelic saints such as Columba at Iona. The pressure of Viking raiders forced the religious centre eastwards. Since then, the Gaelic Church has spread throughout the country.

Evidence of Viking raiding or settlement in the west of Scotland. Viking bead from Sanday Lighthouse, Canna.

Evidence of early Gaelic Christianity in the Western Isles. Cross slab, Kildalton, Islay.