Duncan I
1034–1040
- The dates in the subheadings are those of reign of Scotland.
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Born in
1001, Duncan probably became King of Strathclyde in 1018. He inherited the rest
of Scotland (except for the far north) on the death of his grandfather in 1034,
and was thus the first monarch to rule over the bulk of the country as we know
it today. Duncan has achieved lasting fame as the wise and gentle ruler of
Shakespeare's play Macbeth, brutally murdered by his cousin at the behest of
Lady Macbeth. In reality, though, he was not a particularly distinguished king.
He led an unsuccessful expedition against the English in Durham and was later
defeated by Macbeth's forces at Cawdor in 1040 — he was either killed in
the battle or murdered immediately afterwards. His sons Malcolm and Donald Bane
fled the country, leaving Macbeth to rule unchallenged for the next seventeen
years.
Macbeth
1040-1057
Macbeth has suffered badly at the hands of
William Shakespeare. Far from being the villain portrayed in Shakespeare's
play, he was in fact an able man with an excellent claim to the throne. His
wife was of royal descent and her brother had been murdered to prevent him
claiming the throne from Duncan. Macbeth, too, was probably of royal descent.
Born in about 1 005, he was mormaer (high steward) of Moray before he defeated
Duncan in 1040. He ruled Scotland for the next seventeen years and was
sufficiently sure of himself by 1050 to leave the country for several months to
make a pilgrimage to Rome. Eventually, however, Macbeth was challenged by
Duncan's son Malcolm and killed at the battle of Lumphanan in 1057 — an
episode not nearly as dramatic as it is portrayed in Shakespeare's play.
Malcolm III
1058–1093
In theory, Macbeth
was succeeded as king by his simple-minded stepson Lulach. In practice,
Lulach was quickly murdered and Macbeth's conqueror, Malcolm, took the throne.
The accession in 1058 of Malcolm Canmore, as Malcolm III MacDuncan, introduced a new era in Scotland, an era marked by fundamental transformations of the ancient Celtic culture and institutions. Born around 1030, he grew up in exile, only returning to Scotland as a young man. The consequent trend toward Anglicisation of his realm was sharply accelerated when, in 1067, he married Margaret, an English princess later canonised as Saint Margaret, who had been forced into exile in Scotland by the Norman Conquest in 1066. Under the influence of Margaret, a devout communicant of the church of Rome, many of the teachings of the Celtic church were brought into harmony with the Roman ritual. Malcolm and his wife Margaret — later St Margaret — were the first royal couple to live in Edinburgh Castle. It was during a Scottish invasion of Northumberland in 1093 that Malcolm was ambushed and killed by an English knight near Alnwick Castle (the site is still marked by a cross today). The hostility engendered among many of the Scottish chieftains by Margaret's activities flared into rebellion after Malcolm's death. Margaret, her stepson Duncan (later Duncan II, king of Scotland), and their English retainers were then driven from the country. With Anglo-Norman help, the rebellion, which had been led by Donald Bane, a brother of Malcolm III, was crushed. In 1097 Edgar, one of the six sons of Malcolm and Margaret, ascended the Scottish throne.
Donald III
1093–1097
Edmund
1094–1097 (jointly)
Donald Bane was Malcolm III's younger brother,
born in about 1033. As soon as he heard of Malcolm's death he seized Edinburgh
Castle with the aid of Celtic clansmen and expelled Malcolm's sons, who fled
south. The move was initially very popular, because the Scottish court under
Malcolm had become too English for many Scots' liking. But Malcolm's sons
regrouped under Duncan, the eldest son by his first marriage. Donald Bane was
temporarily deposed in 1094, although he then formed an alliance with another
of Malcolm's sons, Edmund, whereby Donald ruled Scotland north of the Clyde and
Edmund ruled the south. In 1097, however, Donald Bane was deposed for the last
time by another son, Edgar. As an additional precaution, he was blinded in both
eyes and imprisoned for the rest of his life. He died about 1100. Edmund was
spared this fate. Instead he was exiled to a monastery and died full of remorse
around 1100. He was buried in chains at his own request.
Duncan II
1094
As the eldest son of Malcolm III, Duncan (born
abut 1060) was sent to England in 1072 as a hostage for the good behaviour of
his father. He was very lucky not to have been executed by William the
Conqueror in reprisal for his father's invasion of northern England in 1079.
Instead, William contented himself with building a new castle on the Tyne and
continuing to hold Duncan prisoner. Duncan did not get back to Scotland until
1094, when he overthrew his uncle, Donald Bane, with the aid of an English and
French army. By then, however, he had become much more English than Scottish,
which did not commend him to the Celtic chieftains. He was killed some time in
1094 by the mormaer (high steward) of Mearns, one of Scotland's most unruly
provinces. The oldest surviving Scottish royal charter dates from his brief
reign.
Edgar
1097–1107
Although he seized the
crown by force and had his uncle blinded, Edgar (born about 1074) was actually
a kind and gentle man, devoted to peace rather than to war. He never married
and was very close to his mother, St Margaret. From her he inherited a
pleasant, saintly temperament and an understanding of the wider world outside
Scotland. Edgar was in fact the first king to have Saxon as well as Scottish
blood. His sister married Henry I of England, thus strengthening the links
between the two countries. Edgar maintained good relations with the English,
while discouraging their influence in Scottish affairs. He ceded the Western
Isles to Norway rather than fight a bloody war, and showered the Irish king
with gifts, including a camel. Edgar died in 1107, leaving a peaceful
inheritance to be divided between his younger brothers
Alexander and
David.
- Photos of many of the places mentioned in the text can be found in the Photo-tour.