Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair
Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair[a] (fl. 1124–1134) was an illegitimate son of Alexander I of Scotland, and was an unsuccessful pretender to the Scottish throne. He is a relatively obscure figure owing primarily to the scarcity of source material, appearing only in pro-David English sources, which label him a "bastard".
When Alexander I died in 1124, Máel Coluim's uncle David I came to the throne with the help of King Henry I of England and David's own Norman retainers. Orderic Vitalis reports that Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair "affected to snatch the kingdom from [David], and fought against him two sufficiently fierce battles; but David, who was loftier in understanding and in power and wealth, conquered him and his followers".[1]
Máel Coluim's war against David and Henry may have involved the death of David's eldest son. Before recounting the war against Máel Coluim, Orderic Vitalis reported the death of this son at the hands of an exiled Norwegian priest; but Orderic's account is so obscure that it is difficult to make anything of it. The priest was reportedly a member of David's household, and was put to death by being bound to the tails of four horses.
In 1130, Máel Coluim enters the scant sources once more. Máel Coluim now had the backing of
It appears that David applied for and obtained extensive military aid from his patron, King Henry. Ailred of Rievaulx relates that at this point a large fleet and a large army of Norman knights, including
Máel Coluim's eventual fate is unknown. He was, and to a large extent still is, confused with
Notes
- ^ This is the medieval Gaelic version of his name; in modern Gaelic he would be "Máel Coluim mac Alasdair", and in English he would be "Malcolm son of Alexander".
Footnotes
- ^ A.O. Anderson, Scottish Annals, p. 158.
- ^ A.O. Anderson, Scottish Annals, p. 157; Duncan, The Kingship of the Scots, p 59, doubts the existence of this son on the basis that David is not known to have commemorated this supposed child, as he did to his other dead relatives.
- ^ Oram, David: The King Who Made Scotland, pp. 84-5.
- ^ Annals of Ulster, s.a. U1130.4, here (trans)
- ^ A.O. Anderson, Scottish Annals, p. 167; Anderson uses the word "earldom", but Orderic in fact used the word ducatum, duchy.
- ^ Oram, David: The King Who Made Scotland, p. 88.
- ^ A.O. Anderson, Scottish Annals, pp. 193-4; see also Oram, David: The King Who Made Scotland, p. 86.
- ^ A.O. Anderson, Early Sources, vol. ii, p. 183.
References
- Anderson, Alan Orr (ed.), Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500-1286, 2 Vols, (Edinburgh, 1922)
- Anderson, Alan Orr (ed.), Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers: AD 500-1286, (London, 1908), republished, Marjorie Anderson (ed.) (Stamford, 1991)
- Duncan, A. A. M., The Kingship of the Scots 842-1292: Succession and Independence, (Edinburgh, 2002)
- Oram, Richard, David: The King Who Made Scotland, (Gloucestershire, 2004)
- McDonald, R. Andrew, Outlaws of Medieval Scotland: Challenges to the Canmore Kings, 1058-1266, East Linton, 2003. ISBN 1-86232-236-8[McDonald, Outlaws of Medieval Scotland]