 In the Norse sagas Skye is called Skíð , for example in the Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar and a skaldic poem in the Heimskringla from c . 1230 contains a line that translates as " the hunger battle @-@ birds were filled in Skye with blood of foemen killed " . The island was also referred to by the Norse as Skuy ( misty isle ) , Skýey or Skuyö ( isle of cloud ) . The traditional Gaelic name is An t @-@ Eilean Sgitheanach ( the island of Skye ) , An t @-@ Eilean Sgiathanach being a more recent and less common spelling . In 1549 Donald Munro , High Dean of the Isles , wrote of " Sky " : " This Ile is callit Ellan Skiannach in Irish , that is to say in Inglish the wyngit Ile , be reason it has mony wyngis and pointis lyand furth fra it , throw the dividing of thir foirsaid Lochis . " but the meaning of this Gaelic name is unclear . 
