General Notes

REFN: 1595AN
Alias:<ALIA> Cinead II /MacAlpin/
REFN: P1595
King of Alba, said to have marr ied a princess of Leinster.
Reigned from 971-995.
Kenneth II (Cináed mac Máel Coluim), son of Malcolm I, king of Scotland,
succeeded Culen, son of Indulf, who had been slain by the Britons of
StrathclyDe in 971 in Lothian. He did n ot established himself as sole
king until he killed Culen's brother Amlaíb in 977, after which he ruled
all of Scotland.
Kenneth began his reign by ravag ing the British kingdom, but he lost a
large part of his force on the river C ornag. Soon afterwards he attacked
Eadulf, earl of the northern half of North umbria, and ravaged the whole
of his territory. He fortified the fords of the Forth as a defence
against the Britons and again invaded Northumbria, carryi ng off the
earl's son. About this time he gave the city of Brechin to the chu rch.
According to the English chroniclers, Kenneth paid homage to King Edgar
for the cession of Lothian, but these statements are probably due to the
con troversy as to the position of Scotland.
The mormaers, or chiefs, of Kenneth w ere engaged throughout his reign in
a contest with Sigurd the Norwegian, earl of Orkney, for the possession
of Caithness and the northern district of Scot land as far south as the
Spey. In this struggle the Scots attained no permane nt success.
In 995 Kenneth, whose strength like that of the other kings of his branch
of the house of Kenneth MacAlpin lay chiefly north of the Tay, was sl ain
treacherously by his own subjects, according to the later chroniclers at
Fettercairn in the Mearns through an intrigue of Finvela, daughter of the
e arl of Angus. He was buried on the Isle of Iona. He, then, became the
fifth king of Scotland to be murdered in succession.
References
Chronicles of the Pi cts and Scots, ed. WF Skene (Edinburgh, 1867)
WF Skene, Celtic Scotland (Edinb urgh, 1876)
Kenneth III (Cináed mac Duib) was King of Scots from 997 to 1005. He was t
he son of King Dub, fourth cousin of the previous King Constantine III, a
nd first cousin of his successor Malcolm II (1005–34).
Kenneth III was the last King of Scotland to succeed to the throne throu
gh the system of tanistry, whereby the succession was shared between two f
amily lines and the dying King named the person from the other family li
ne who was to succeed him. The system was much discredited as it ensured t
hat the two royal families of the Kingdom of Scotland were in a constant s
tate of war with each other.
Kenneth III and his son Giric were both killed in the Battle of Monzievair
d, TaysiDe on March 25, 1005. It was his first cousin Malcolm II, succeedi
ng him at the battle, who abolished the tanistry system by killing a
ll of Kenneth III's male descendants.
However, Kenneth III had a granddaughter, Gruoch, via his son Bodhe. Gruoc
h's first husband was Gillacomgain, Mormaer of Moray. They had a son call
ed Lulach. She then married King Macbeth of Scotland (becoming Lady Macbet
h). On the death of Macbeth in 1057, her son via her first marriage (Kenne
th III's great-grandson), succeeded to the throne, becoming King Lula
ch of Scotland (1057–58).