Mael Coluim (MacAlpin) King of Scots (954 - abt. 1034)

Born 0954 in Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 25 Nov 1034 at about age 80 in Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland

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

Biography

Malcolm II (MacAlpin) King of Scots is a member of House of Alpin.

”Rì Alban," "mac Cinaeda," "mac Kenneth"

House of Alpin

Clann Chausantan (Northern Branch)

Family and Early Years

Malcolm was born in or before 954,^[1][2] the son of Kenneth II, King of Scots, and his wife whose name is now unknown, but was most likely a daughter of a Uí Dúnlainge King of Leinster.^[3][4][5][6] [see research notes] Malcolm's father was slain in 995,^[7] and was succeeded by Constantine III, who had been a rival claimant to the throne during Kenneth II's reign and was thought to have been implicated in Kenneth's murder.^[8] Constantine's reign lasted only two years. He was slain in battle at Rathinveramon in 997 by Kenneth III and his son, Girac II, who ruled jointly until 1005.^[9] In the face of Malcolm's growing popularity among the Scottish people,^[10] Kenneth III and Girac allowed him to continue to hold the title of King of Strathclyde and Cumbria which had been bestowed on him by his father in 990, although it was usually held only by heirs to the throne of Scotland.^[9] Although Malcolm was their cousin, there was no love lost between the three rulers and on 25 March 1005 Malcolm defeated and killed Kenneth and Girac at the Battle of Monzievaird.^[8][9]

Marriage and Children

Little is known of the woman whom Malcolm married. Historian Alison Weir claims that she is "said to have been an Irishwoman from Ossory" but provides no sources to support this claim.^[11] [see research notes] Malcolm II had at least three daughters, although there is no way of knowing for certain whether they all had the same, or different, mothers.

• Bethóc MacAlpin, heir;^[12] m. c1000 to Crinan the Thane]^[12]

• Donada MacAlpin; m. c1004 to Finnláech, Mormaer of Moray^[13]

• (Unknown daughter) MacAlpin; m. c1007 Sigurd Hlodverson, Earl of Orkney^[14][15]

King of Scots

Malcolm II's reign began 25 March 1005 ^[6] and was to last for over twenty-nine years, giving him ample time to expand and consolidate the kingdom.^[16] One strategy for doing this was to solidfy an alliance with the Norse earls of Orkney (against any threat from Moray) by marrying his youngest daughter to Sigurd, the earl of Orkney.^[17][18] When Sigurd died at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, Malcolm's grandson Thorfin, then five years of age, became the earl of Caithness and Sutherland.^[17][18]

In 1018 Malcolm prepared to invade Northumbria, and received unexpected support in the form of a comet which blazed in the sky for thirty days and thirty nights and was considered by the Northumbrians to be such an ill-fated omen that many of them immediately tried to flee, creating chaos on the battlefield and resulting in many deaths.^[19] Eadulf Cudel ceded Lothian (all of ancient Bernicia beyond the Tweed) to Scotland in order to stop the hostilities, and Malcolm returned home in triumph.^[19][4] Malcolm almost immediately made his grandson Duncan, son of his eldest daughter Bethóc, the king of Cumbria.^[20]

The latter part of Malcolm's reign continued to be marked by internal feuds, ^[21] and skirmishes with the rulers of Moray.^[16] By 1031 Canute, now the King of England, was determined to reclaim Scotia and Malcolm was forced to submit to him. ^[22] In 1032, then in his late seventies, Malcolm attemped to insure the succession of his own grandson, Duncan, to the throne of Scotland by murdering the family of Kenneth III's granddaughter, Gruoch, surprising them in their castle at Atholl and burning it to the ground.^[23] Gruoch's husband, Gilecomgain, was killed but Gruoch and her son (Lulach) managed to escape.^[23]A short time later, Malcolm is believed to have arranged the murder of Kenneth III's infant grandson, also named Malcolm.^[23][18]

Death

King Malcolm II died 25 November 1034 at Glammis, and was buried on Iona.^{[24][25][26][6]} Although later historians have speculated that Malcolm II was assassinated, this does not seem to be supported by any reliable source.

Research Notes

Who was Malcolm's mother?

• Although recent historians such as Alison Weir and Dauvit Brown believe Kenneth II's wife was the daughter of a king of Leinster,^[27][4] the sole basis for this assumption is one line in the The Prophecy of Berchán which says [Malcolm] "was the son of a woman from Leinster."^[5] No further detail is provided in the Prophecy. An opposing suggestion was offered much earlier by an eminent seventeenth century historian, Frederic van Bossen, who published a detailed History of the Royal Line of Scotland, followed in 1688 by The Royal Cedar. Van Bossen relied heavily on an 'ancient manuscript by John Tulloch, bishop of Orkney', for both these works and the Tulloch manuscript unfortunately appears to have been lost hundreds of years ago. Based on extensive research, Van Bossen claimed that the wife of Kenneth II and the mother of Malcolm II was Boada Olyphant, a daughter of Constantine II and a granddaughter of the prince of Norway.^[28] It may not be possible to prove either of these two claims.

Who was Malcolm's wife?

• Once again there appear to be conflicting theories: Alison Weir suggests that Malcolm married "an Irish woman from Ossory," but gives no reliable source for this;^[11] and Frederic van Bossen (citing Tulloch) claims that Malcolm's wife and the mother of his children was Gunnora, a daughter of the second duke of Normandy.^[29]

Sources

1. ↑ Skene, William F. (ed). John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish Nation. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1872), p. 177. Malcolm II died in 1034 "at the age of eighty or more."
2. ↑ Pryde, E.B., et al. Handbook of British Chronology (3rd ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (reprinted 2003), p. 56.
3. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 10015-1626. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 2.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Broun Dauvit. Malcolm II (Mael Coluim mac Cinaeda). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Berchan's Prophecy, stanzas 179-184, quoted in Anderson, Alan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500-1286. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd (1922), p. 574; also see fn.1.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} The Henry Project: The Ancestors of King Henry II of England, Baldwin, Stewart, ed., Farmerie, Todd, ed., Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth I, (Online https://fasg.org/projects/henryproject/, 2001), Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (Malcolm II)
7. ↑ Burton, John Hill. The History of Scotland, vol. 1. Elibron Classics (unabridged facsimile of edition publ. at Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1874), p.339.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Burton, John Hill. The History of Scotland, vol. 1. Elibron Classics (unabridged facsimile of edition publ. at Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1874), p.340.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Ashley, Mike. The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers (1998), p. 390.
10. ↑ Skene, William F. (ed). John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish Nation. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1872), pp.172-173.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families. London: The Bodley Head (1989). p. 178.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 10015-1626. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 4.
13. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 10015-1626. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), pp. 6-7.
14. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 10015-1626. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 7.
15. ↑ Flateyiarbók, vol.i, p. 558, cited in Anderson, Alan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500-1286. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd (1922), p. 528. " The earl [Sigurd] proceeded to marry the daughter of Malcolm, the king of the Scots ; and their son was earl Thorfinn."
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} Ashley, Mike. The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers (1998), p.391.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} Robertson, Eben William. Scotland Under Her Early Kings, vol. 1. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1862), p.94.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1 18.2} Mackay, Aeneas James George. Malcolm II. Dictionary of National Biography online edition.
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1} Robertson, Eben William. Scotland Under Her Early Kings, vol. 1. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1862), pp. 95-96.
20. ↑ Barrow, G.W.S. Kingship and Unity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (reprinted 2015), p.30.
21. ↑ Duncan, A.A.M. Scotland, the Making of the Kingdom. Edinburgh History of Scotland, vol. 1: Oliver & Boyd (1975), p.99.
22. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 10015-1626. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 3.
23. ↑ ^{23.0 23.1 23.2} Ashley, Mike. The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers (1998), p.392.
24. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros, p. 46. "Anno M.xxxiiij. obiit Malcolmus rex Scottorum et Dunecanus nepos ejus ei fucceffit."
25. ↑ The Annals of Tighernach. T1034.1. "Maolcoluim son of Cinaedh, king of Scotland, glory of the whole west of Europe, died."
26. ↑ Skene, W. F. (William Forbes). Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and Other Early Memorials of Scottish History. Edinburgh, H. M. General register house, 1867. p.175. " Malcolm mac Kinat rex victoriosissimus 30 annis. Mortuus in Glemmis et sepultus in lona."
27. ↑ Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families. London: The Bodley Head (1989). p. 175
28. ↑ Cunningham, Derek. The Lost Queens of Scotland: Extracts from Frederic van Bossen's "The Royal Cedar." Kindle edition (2021), p. 97.
29. ↑ Cunningham, Derek. The Lost Queens of Scotland: Extracts from Frederic van Bossen's "The Royal Cedar." Kindle edition (2021), p. 99.

See Also:

• Anderson, Alan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500-1286. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd (1922), p. 525.

• BBC, History of Scotland. Malcom II.

• Broun, Dauvit. Kenneth II (Cináed mac Maíl Choluim). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.

• Cawley, Charles. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Medlands database online, Scotland,Malcolm I.

• Goodey, Emma. Malcolm II (r. 1005-1034). The Royal Family. London: The Royal Household (2016). Malcolm II (r. 1005-1034).

• Mackenzie, Capt. Colin. The Sculptured Stones of Ross and Cromarty. The Celtic Magazine, vol. 6 (1881), pp. 479-480.

• Mac Niocaill, Gearóid (transl). The Annals of Tigernach, CELT: University College Cork. T1034.1 "Maolcoluim son of Cinaedh, king of Scotland, glory of the whole west of Europe, died."

• Simeon Monachus Dunelmensis, et al. Historiæ Anglicanæ Scriptores X . London: Bee (1652).

• Wikipedia:Malcolm II of Scotland

Acknowledgements

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