ID: I013228
Name: Máel Coluim II Mac Cináed , King of Scotland 1 2
Sex: M
Birth: 954 in Argyll, Dál Riata, Scotland 1 2
Death: 25 NOV 1034 in Glamis Castle, Angus, Forfarshire, Scotland 1 2
Burial: Isle of Iona, Scotland 1 2
Note:
Malcolm II of Scotland
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Malcolm II of Scotland (Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, nicknamed "Forranach" meaning "Destroyer" in Gaelic) (died November 25, 1034) was King of Scots (Alba) from 1005 to 1034. He was the son of King Kenneth II of Scotland and first cousin of his predecessor, King Kenneth III of Scotland (Cináed mac Duib), who was murdered by Malcolm II at the Battle of Monzievaird in 1005.

His rule was contested for ten years during the reign of Kenneth III but Malcolm II finally gained the throne after Kenneth III's death. It appears that he only ruled part of Scotland during his reign, in opposition to leaders from Moray such as Findláech mac Ruaidrí (d. 1020, probably father of Macbeth), and Máel Coluim mac Máil Brigti (d. 1029), both of whom were also called Kings of Alba (and therefore Scotland) in the Irish annals, though neither are called Kings of Scotland in modern texts. In 1006, Malcolm II was defeated by Northumbrian forces under Uhtred the Bold while besieging Durham. The English then became preoccupied with the Danish allowing Malcolm II to march south, avenging the loss at Durham by winning the Battle of Carham against the Anglo-Saxons in 1016 and, thereby, regaining Lothian. Thirteen years later, however, Canute, King of England, Denmark, and Norway, travelled to Scotland. What happened is lost to time, but claims that Malcolm II submitted to Canute seem very unlikely. However, Canute seems to have recognised Malcolm II's possession of Lothian.

In the west, Malcolm II made an alliance with King Owen the Bald of Strathclyde and together they defeated King Canute at the Battle of Carham in 1018. He battled to expand his kingdom, gaining land down to the River Tweed and in Strathclyde. When King Owen died without an heir, Malcolm II claimed Strathclyde for his grandson, Duncan. This caused dissent throughout the Kingdom of Strathclyde which resulted in Malcolm II's murder at Glamis in 1034. He was buried on the Isle of Iona shortly after.

If it really was his daughter and not of his northern roval Malcolm, King of Moray, who was in c 1007 married to Sigurd Hlodvirsson, Earl of Orkney, then that is an indication that Malcolm II's influence extended to the far north, in addition to the south where his expansion is well-attested.

As the last of the House of Alpin, he did not have any sons to succeed him. Malcolm II lived, according to contemporary accounts, to a great age - which means that not only the generation of his children were adults (that itself was much rarer in that era than today), there were even his grandchildren already adults and capable to take reins of power.

He had arranged good marriages for his daughters. A daughter (or granddaughter) has been said to have produced the future king MacBeth of Scotland. Malcolm II's (reportedly eldest) daughter, Bethoc, married Crínán, the Abbot of Dunkeld and their son became Duncan I (c. 1010–1040), who succeeded Malcolm II upon his death in 1034.

Malcolm's (whichever Malcolm it was) daughter and Earl Sigurd had Thorfinn Sigurdsson, who established his rule in the lands of Caithness and Sutherland and allegedly in several other northern parts of Scotland too. It has been a question of loyalty whether this meant they became any better under the control of the King of Alba, but at least it means that Thorfinn had a separate sphere of power in northern Scotland at and soon after Malcolm's death.



Notes: conquered Lothian 1018. King of Alba, King of Strathclyde.
said to have married an Irishwoman from Ossory.
Killed by his kinsman.

Version: 25 Mar 2001 © 1994-2001 Brian Tompsett Sources: bibliography


Father: Cináed mac Maíl Coluim , King of Alba & Scotland b: ABT 930 in Argyll, Dál Riata, Scotland
Mother: Anleta O'Toole , Princess of Leinster b: ABT 930 in Dublin, Leinster, Ireland

Marriage 1 Blanaid O'Brian , Princess of Munster b: ABT 966 in Munster, Ireland
Children
Doda Duxia , Princess of Scotland b: ABT 982 in Glamis Castle, Angus, Forfarshire, Scotland
Bethóc (Beatrix) , Heiress of Scone b: 984 in Glamis Castle, Angus, Forfarshire, Scotland
Dovada b: ABT 985 in Glamis Castle, Angus, Forfarshire, Scotland
Donalda b: ABT 986 in Glamis Castle, Angus, Forfarshire, Scotland

Sources:
Title: Robert de Brus.ged
Repository:
Media: Other
Text: Date of Import: 12 Feb 2005
Title: duncan I.ged
Repository:
Media: Other
Text: Date of Import: 27 Mar 2005