Malcolm (Dunkeld) King of Scots (abt. 1031 - 1093)

Born about 1031 in Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Wessex) Queen of Scots — married about 1069 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

Descendants

Died 13 Nov 1093 at about age 62 in Alynwick, Northumberland, England

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Malcolm III (Dunkeld) King of Scots was a member of Scottish Nobility. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland

Biography

Rí Alban," "Malcolm III," "King of the Cumbrians," "Mael Coluim Ceann Mór," "Malcolm Canmore," "Malcolm Ceann Mór," "Malcolaim filii Donnchada," "Mael-Coluimb, son of Donnchad," "Mael Coluim son of Donnchad," "Moelco filius Donchae," "rex Scottorum Malcolmus," "Big Head," "Long-neck"

House of Dunkeld, Canmore Dynasty

Family and Early Life

Malcolm Dunkeld, born about 1031, was the eldest son of Duncan I, king of Scots, by his wife, whose name is uncertain and who is thought to have been related to Siward, Earl of Northumbria.^[1][2][3][4] He had two younger brothers: Donald III, who succeeded him as king of Scots; and Maelmuire, whose son became the first earl of Athol.^[5][6]

Malcolm's father, King Duncan, was murdered by Macbeth 14 August 1040 when Malcolm was about nine years old, and the young boy was immediately smuggled out of Scotland for his own safety.^[7] He grew up in the court of Edward the Confessor, king of England,^[8] and was granted a small estate in Northamptonshire.^[9][10] Fourteen years later Siward, with King Edward's support, led an army into Scotland which inflicted heavy losses on Macbeth and placed Malcolm in possession of all lands in Scotland south of the Tay.^[9] On 15 August 1057 (almost seventeen years to the day from his father's death) Malcolm killed Macbeth at Lumphanan.^[9] The following March, he ambushed and killed Macbeth's stepson Lulach, who had claimed the throne of Scotland for himself after Macbeth's death.^[9]

On 25 April 1058 Malcolm was formally crowned at Scone as Malcolm III, king of Scots.^[1][5]

First Marriage and Children

Malcolm married (first) about 1059 Ingibjörg, widow of Thorfin Sigurdsson, earl of Orkney, and daughter of Earl Finn Arnason.^[1][2][5] [see research notes] There were three sons from this marriage:

• Duncan II, king of Scots; b. c 1060;^[2] m. Ethelreda (or Octreda) of Dunbar;^[11] d. 12 Nov 1094^[12]

• Malcolm Dunkeld; witnessed a charter of his brother (Duncan II) in 1094^[13][14][15]

• Donald Dunkeld; d. (violently) 1085^{[16][2][17][18]}

Ingibjörg died 17 February^[19][1] 1068/9.^[18]

Second Marriage and Children

Malcolm married (second) at Dunfermline, Fife in 1068/9 Margaret, daughter of Edward the Ætheling, by his wife Agatha.^[1][20][21] There were eight children from this marriage:

• Edward Dunkeld; d. 15/16 Nov 1093^[22][23][24]

• Edmund Dunkeld, prince of Cumbria and later a monk^[25][2][17]

• Æthelred Dunkeld, earl of Fife and abbot of Dunkeld^[26][2][27]

• Edgar Dunkeld, king of Scots; b. c.1074;^[28][29] d. 8 Jan 1106/7 (unmarried)^[30][31][32]

• Alexander I Dunkeld, king of Scots; b. c.1077;^[33][34] m. Sybilla, natural daughter of Henry I, king of England;^[33][31][35] d. 23 Apr 1124^[33][31][36]

• David I Dunkeld, king of Scots; m. 1113 Maud Huntingdon;^[37][38] d. 24 May 1153^[39][37][40]

• Maud (or Matilda) Dunkeld, queen of England; m. 11 Nov 1100 Henry I, king of England;^[41][27][2] d. 1 May 1118^[27][2]

• Mary Dunkeld, countess Boulogne and Lens; m. 1102 Eustace III, count of Boulogne and Lens;^[42][27][2] d. 31 May 1116^[27][2]

Margaret, Queen of Scots, died at Edinburgh Castle 16 November 1093, three days after her husband was killed at Alnwick, and she was buried before the high altar in the church of the Holy Trinity at Dunfermline, Fife.^{[43][44][1][2]}

King of Scots

Malcolm's reign was characterized by his relentless effort to expand Scotland's borders into English Northumbria.^[45] Beginning in 1061 he made a total of five (major) raids into Northumbria.^[9] These military engagements were conducted in a particularly vicious manner, laying waste to the countryside, burning entire villages, and often carrying away thousands of captives who either died during the hardship of an enforced march to Scotland or, surviving, spent the rest of their lives as English slaves.^[46] In 1072, William the Conqueror in retaliation invaded Scotland with a large army and forced Malcolm's submission at Abernethy.^[46][47] Under the terms of the treaty signed there Malcolm promised to no longer harbor any of the king's enemies, to recognize King William as his overlord, and to give up his eldest son Duncan as a hostage.^[47] King Malcolm, however, was an opportunist who rarely lost an opportunity to attack whenever the English king was abroad, but who refused to fight and became subservient whenever his kingdom was invaded.^[48] In 1079 he once again attacked Northumbria, regardless of the fact that his son Duncan was still a hostage in England.^[48]

In matters of religion and the church he deferred completely to his Saxon queen, Margaret, trusting her judgment implicitly.^[49] He did not himself know how to read, although he spoke three languages (Gaelic, English, and Latin) and served as the queen's interpreter whenever she would summon the clergy to a council.^[49] Margaret's influence over Malcolm is also seen in the names which were given to their sons: Edward, the eldest (after her father); Edgar (after her brother); Edmund (after her grandfather); Ethelred (after her great-grandfather); Alexander (after the pope); and David (after a Welsh saint).^[50] Although in the long term, Malcolm's marriage to Margaret helped to cement the relationship between Scotland and England (when their eldest daughter Maud married King William's son Henry), in the short term it created a great deal of tension because William suspected Malcolm of planning to eventually place one of his own sons on the English throne.^[51]

Death

In 1092, King William II (Rufus) seized Carlisle and built a castle there, which understandably enraged King Malcolm.^[52] The two kings agreed to meet at Gloucester to discuss the matter but when Malcolm arrived, Rufus refused to see him.^[52] Malcolm vowed to return north immediately and muster his army for yet another raid on Northumbria.^[52] On their way home, however, his party was attacked 13 November 1093 on a hill north of Alynwick by a group of men led by Robert de Mowbray, earl of Northumbria.^[53] Robert's nephew, Arkil Morel of Bamborough, who was King Malcolm's "god-sib" (i.e. they had stood as god-fathers together, which was considered a very sacred bond whose violation was a 'heinous' sin) is said to have struck the fatal blows that killed both King Malcolm and his eldest son, Edward.^[53][54] King Malcolm died (probably ) immediately,^[55] Edward was fatally wounded and died several days later at Edwardsisle, in the forrest near Jedburgh.^[17]

King Malcolm's body was recovered and given a hasty burial at Tynemouth, but was later moved by his son, King Alexander I, to the church of the Holy Trinity at Dunfermline to be buried near his queen, Margaret.^[1][54] During the Reformation, the remains of both Malcolm and Margaret were transferred by Philip II of Spain to the Escorial at Madrid.^[9][56]

Research Notes

*Ceann Mór

• There are various theories as to how Malcolm earned the nickname "Big Head." He was said to be physically strong and a very large man, a ruthless fighter who led his army in at least five major invasions of English Northumbria.^[9] One theory is that his size and aggressive nature gave the impression that he was "a swaggering bully"and that was how he earned the appellation "Big Head."^[57] The same nickname, however, was also given to his great-grandson, Malcolm IV, in the twelfth century, and many contemporary historians now believe that Malcolm IV suffered from Paget's disease, causing his head to appear overly large.^[9] It is entirely possible that Malcolm III suffered from the same disease. Refuting both these ideas, however, both Prof. G.W.S. Barrow and Charles Cawley assert that Malcolm III was not referred to as Canmore at any time before the thirteenth century....contemporary historical accounts refer only to his florid complexion and long neck,^[9][56] so it appears that the nickname was given to him by later chroniclers and was not one that was used during his lifetime.

Ingibjörg

• There is much uncertainty about the nature of Malcolm's relationship with Ingibjörg, stemming from the fact that it is only mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga and not in a single Scottish or English source. This is highly unusual, and has led some historians to speculate that Ingibjörg may have been a concubine rather than a wife. The dates of her first husband's probable death and the birthdates of the sons she had with Malcolm are also difficult to reconcile and have led to questions about their eldest son's legitimacy. Charles Cawley discusses these discrepancies in more detail here.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, pp. 576-578 SCOTLAND 1. Malcolm III.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 1, pp. 1-2.
3. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835), "Malcolmus filius Dunecani fufcepit regnum ScotiaB jure heredita- rio, [regnavitque" xxxvij. annis." p. 51.
4. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 25 .
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 26 .
6. ↑ Pryde, E.B. (ed.) Handbook of British Chronology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (3rd ed. 1986), rv. 1996, p. 56.
7. ↑ Ashley, Mike. The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers (1998), p. 395.
8. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 14 .
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8} Barrow, G.W.S. Malcolm III. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online, 23 Sep 2004, rv. 3 Jan 2008. Available here by subscription.
10. ↑ Barrow, G.W.S. Kingship and Unity.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (1981), repr. 2003, p. 31.
11. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 577 SCOTLAND 1.i. Duncan II
12. ↑ Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 1, p. 3.
13. ↑ Durham Cathedral Archive: Miscellaneous Charters 1-999, Charter No. 554.
14. ↑ Lawrie, A.C. Early Scottish Charters Prior to A.D. 1153. Glasgow: J. MacLehose (1905), No. XII, p. 10.
15. ↑ Duncan, Archd. A. M. “The Earliest Scottish Charters.” The Scottish Historical Review 37, no. 124 (1958), p. 120.
16. ↑ Annals of Ulster, A.D. 1085: "Domnall, son of Mael Coluim, king of Scots, ended [his] life unhappily."
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1 17.2} Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 31
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} Duncan, A.A.M. Scotland, the Making of the Kingdom. Edinburgh History of Scotland, vol. 1. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd (1975), p. 118.
19. ↑ Rud, Thomas. Codicum Manuscriptorum Ecclesiae Cathedralis Dunelmensis. (1825), Monachi & alii Quorum in Margine Matyrologii: XIII. Kal. Mar. [17 Feb]: "Obit Ingeberga Comitissa...", p. 215.
20. ↑ Keene, Catherine.The Dunfermline ‘Vita’ of St. Margaret of Scotland: Hagiography as an Articulation of Hereditary Rights. Arthuriana 19, no. 3 (2009), p. 43.
21. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835), "Anno m.lxx: Rex Malcolmus Angliam ufque cliveland vaftavit; et tunc clitoni Edgaro et fororibus Margaret et Chriftine, ubi eas invenit regem Anglie fugientes, ut in Scotiam irent, apud weremundam in reditu pacem fuam donavit et Margaretam poftea fibi in matrimonium junxit." p. 55.
22. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835), "Rex Scottorum Malcolmus, cum filio fua primogeito Edwardo, a Norhimbris occifus eft." p. 60, see also fn #w.
23. ↑ Pryde, E.B. (ed.) Handbook of British Chronology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (3rd ed. 1986), rv. 1996, p. 57.
24. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 577 SCOTLAND 1.i. Edward of Scotland
25. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 577 SCOTLAND 1.ii. Edmund of Scotland
26. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, pp. 577-578 SCOTLAND 1.iii. Æthelred, Abbot of Dunkeld
27. ↑ ^{27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4} Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 32 .
28. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 578 SCOTLAND 1.iv. Edgar, King of Scots
29. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 45 .
30. ↑ Rud, Thomas. Codicum Manuscriptorum Ecclesiae Cathedralis Dunelmensis. (1825), Monachi & alii Quorum in Margine Matyrologii: "III. Id. Jan. [11 Jan.]: Obit. Ædgarus Rex Scottorum."p. 215.
31. ↑ ^{31.0 31.1 31.2} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 1, p. 3.
32. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 47 .
33. ↑ ^{33.0 33.1 33.2} Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 578 SCOTLAND 1.v. Alexander I, King of Scots
34. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 50 .
35. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 52 .
36. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 53 .
37. ↑ ^{37.0 37.1} Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, pp. 578-580 SCOTLAND 2. David I.
38. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 59 .
39. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835). Anno M.C.LIIJ:"Obiit Dauid rex Scottorum ix. kal. Junii [24 May]...p. 75.
40. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 64.
41. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 578 SCOTLAND 1.vii. Maud of Scotland.
42. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 578 SCOTLAND 1.viii. Mary of Scotland.
43. ↑ Turgot, Bishop of St Andrews. Life of Margaret, Queen of Scotland. Edinburgh: W. Paterson (1884), p. 79.
44. ↑ Dalrymple, Sir David. Annals of Scotland. Edinburgh: William Creech (1797), vol. 1, p. 31.
45. ↑ Duncan, A.A.M. Scotland, the Making of the Kingdom. Edinburgh History of Scotland, vol. 1. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd (1975), p. 117.
46. ↑ ^{46.0 46.1} Mackay, A.J.G. Malcolm III. Dictionary of National Biography Online (1893).
47. ↑ ^{47.0 47.1} Ashley, Mike. The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers (1998), p. 399.
48. ↑ ^{48.0 48.1} Duncan, A.A.M. Scotland, the Making of the Kingdom. Edinburgh History of Scotland, vol. 1. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd (1975), p. 121.
49. ↑ ^{49.0 49.1} Robertson, Eben William. Scotland Under Her Early Kings. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1862), repr. by Forgotten Books (2018), vol. 1, p. 148.
50. ↑ Duncan, A.A.M. Scotland, the Making of the Kingdom. Edinburgh History of Scotland, vol. 1. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd (1975), p. 124.
51. ↑ Barrow, G.W.S. Kingship and Unity.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (1981), repr. 2003, p. 35.
52. ↑ ^{52.0 52.1 52.2} Barrow, G.W.S. Kingship and Unity.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (1981), repr. 2003, p. 36.
53. ↑ ^{53.0 53.1} Barrow, G.W.S. Kingship and Unity.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (1981), repr. 2003, p. 37.
54. ↑ ^{54.0 54.1} Robertson, Eben William. Scotland Under Her Early Kings. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1862), repr. by Forgotten Books (2018), vol. 1, p. 146.
55. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 30.
56. ↑ ^{56.0 56.1} Cawley, Charles. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Medieval Lands Database. Malcolm III.
57. ↑ Ashley, Mike. The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers (1998), p. 398.

See Also:

• Baldwin, Stewart (ed.). The Henry Project: Máel Coluim mac Donnchada (Malcolm III). (2001), rev. 2010.

• Barrow, G.W.S. St Margaret. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online 23 Sep 2004. Available here by subscription.

• Debrett, John. Debrett's Peerage of the United Kingdom, Great Britain and Ireland. London: G. Woodfall (1829) ,vol. 1, p. ixxxvi.

• Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Gateshead, England: D. Dunglinson (1858), vol. 1, p. 77.

• Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families. London: The Bodley Head (1989), pp. 184-185.

• Wikipedia: Malcolm III of Scotland.

• House of Dunkeld

• Goodey, Emma. Malcolm III (r. 1058-1093). The Royal Family. London: The Royal Household (2016). Malcolm III (r. 1058-1093)).