General Notes

sub-king of Cumbria and Strathclyde 1045-58 (officially from 1034), King of Scotland 3/17/1058 - 11/13/1093
Crowned: Scone Abbey 4/25/1048
burial moved to Escorial, Madrid

King of Scotland
Malcolm III
(Malcolm Canmore), d. 1093, king of Scotland (1057-93); son of Duncan I;successor to MACBETH. In aid of Edgar Atheling, pretender to the Englishthrone, Malcolm waged wars against England that helped ensure Scottishindependence and made possible church reorganization by his wife,Margaret of Scotland.

Some say died 1098. Slew Macbeth 1057. King of Strathclyde.

Colonial and Revolutionary Lineages of America (973 D2ah) Vol. 2 CalledCeannmor or Canmore, succeeded to the throne of Scotland by the defeat ofMacbeth in 1054. During his reign he carried on almost constant warfare,most of which was successful. He gave support to his brother-in-law,Eadgar Atheling, in fighting William the Conqueror in Northumbria. In1072 William invaded Scotland and succeeded in a temporary conquest ofthe country, returnin to England after Malcolm did homage. Later, in1091, Malcolm raided Northern England, in return for which William Rufusinvaded Scotland and once more Malcolm did homage. In 1092, when inGloucester, England, he declined to do homage and returned to Scotland inanger. He invaded Northumberland in 1093, but was ambuscaded near theCastle of Alnwick and slain.


Malcolm married Ingibiorg, daughter of Finn Amasson, widow of Thorlinn,Jarl of Orkney, When she died, he married St. Margaret. One source I havesays she was the daughter of Edward Atheling, two others say she was thesister of Edward Atheling. Most likely she was the sister of Athelingand was the great-niece of Edward the Confessor. Duncan II was Malcolm's son by first marriage. Other sons were Edgar 1098-1107, Alexander1107-1124 (married an illegitimate daughter of Henry I) and David I (TheSaint) 1124-1153. These were children by the second marriage withMargaret. They had six sons in all.

David I had a son Henry, the Earl of Huntingdon, who was never on thethrone. He and his wife, Ada, had Malcolm IV (The Maiden) who ruled from1153 to 1165 and William I (The Lion) who ruled from 1165 to 1214.William's son Alexander II (1214-1249 married Joan, the daughter of John,King of England. His son Alexander III ruled from 1249-1286 and marriedMargaret, the daughter of Henry III, King of England. Their child,Margaret married the King of Norway and had Margaret, the Maid of Norwaywho was crowned from 1286-1290.

The reign of Malcolm III, or Canmore as he was known, began the rule ofthe house of Canmore. This house continued to preside for over twocenturies. Canmore means big head or great chief. After the defeat of hisfather, Malcolm took refuge with his uncle in Northumbir and acquiredAnglo-Sxon attitudes. Margaret, his second wife, had a lot of influenceover him and through her he substituted Saxon for Gaelic as the courtlanguage. His dream was to expand his kingdom into England but this wasnot to be as William the Conqueror advanced into Scotland in 1072. Hemade jeweled bindings for her religious books although he could not readthem.

Margaret was a much loved and very devout queen. She had travelled widelyin Europe and when she came to Scotland she was determined to change themanner of the court both in fashion and standards of behavior. Nobleswere forbidden to fight or get drunk at court and she gave each noble hisown drinking cup. Margaret was allowed to use her husband's money to helpthe poor by giving them food, shelter and clothing. She also encouragedtrade with foreign merchants. Under her influence, life became morecivilized. She also founded many monasteries and tried to bring her RomanChurch close together with the Celtic church. Margaret was canonized in1251.

Malcolm's son was taken as hostage to the English court. In later years,1093, he decided to invade England for the 5th time. Magaret was very illin Edinburgh Castle and begged him not to got but he would not listen.Soon after the fighting commenced, he was killed.


Margaret received the news four days later, and being on her deathbedherself, died almost immediately. Soon after his death, Edinburgh Castlewas surrounded by Highlanders employed by Donald Bane, Malcolm III'sbrother, who planned to capture the castle and thus enable him to becomeking. His plan was to kill his nephews, Margaret's sons, or to put themin prison. The brothers were trapped. They had to take their mother'sbody to Dumferline to be buried and didn't know how they were to manage.By good fortune or a freak of nature a heavy white mist descended uponthe castle and it was so dense that they were able to sneak past theHighlanders with their mother's body. They then made their escape toFrance. Malcolm had ruled for 35 years but the stability he had gainedfor Scotland disappeared after his death. A succession of kingsfollowed.

St. Margaret

After Malcolm's death, the frontier between Scotland and England for thefirst time
was defined.