Malcolm I of Scotland

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Malcolm I
Donald II
, King of Alba

Máel Coluim mac Domnaill (

Donald II
.

Biography

Malcolm was born in 897, the son of Donald II, who had reigned from 889 until 900.

Prophecy of Berchán, a verse history in the form of a supposed prophecy, states that it was not a voluntary decision that Constantine II abdicated in 943 and entered a monastery, leaving the kingdom to Máel Coluim.[2]

Seven years later, the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba says:

[Malcolm I] plundered the English as far as the River Tees, and he seized a multitude of people and many herds of cattle: and the Scots called this the raid of Albidosorum, that is, Nainndisi. But others say that Constantine made this raid, asking of the king, Malcolm, that the kingship should be given to him for a week's time, so that he could visit the English. In fact, it was Malcolm who made the raid, but Constantine incited him, as I have said.[3]

Woolf suggests that the association of Constantine with the raid is a late addition, one derived from a now-lost saga or poem.[4]

He died in the shield wall next to his men.[citation needed]

Máel Coluim was the third in his immediate family to die violently, his father Donald II and grandfather Constantine I both having met similar fates 54 years earlier in 900 and 77 years earlier in 877, respectively.

In 945,

Edmund I of England, having expelled Amlaíb Cuarán (Olaf Sihtricsson) from Northumbria, devastated Cumbria and blinded two sons of Domnall mac Eógain, king of Strathclyde. It is said that he then "let" or "commended" Strathclyde to Máel Coluim in return for an alliance.[5] What is to be understood by "let" or "commended" is unclear, but it may well mean that Máel Coluim had been the overlord of Strathclyde and that Edmund recognised this while taking lands in southern Cumbria for himself.[6]

The

rulers of Moray, and his identity is unknown.[7]

Máel Coluim appears to have kept his agreement with the late English king, which may have been renewed with the new king, Edmund having been murdered in 946 and succeeded by his brother

Norse-Gaels. This battle is not reported by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and it is unclear whether it should be related to the expulsion of Amlaíb Cuarán from York or the return of Eric.[9]

The Annals of Ulster report that Máel Coluim was killed in 954. Other sources place this most probably in the

Dunnottar following The Prophecy of Berchán. He was buried on Iona. Some versions of the Chronicle, and the Chronicle of Melrose, are read as placing Máel Coluim's death at Blervie, near Forres.[10]

Issue

The name of Máel Coluim's wife is not known; however, it is known he had 2 sons:

References

  1. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 177.
  2. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 175; Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 444–448; Broun, "Constantine II".
  3. ^ Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 452–453.
  4. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 178–181.
  5. ^ Early Sources, pp. 449–450.
  6. ^ ASC Ms. A, s.a. 946; Duncan, pp. 23–24; but see also Smyth, pp. 222–223 for an alternative reading.
  7. Mormaer of Angus, and that this event is connected with the apparent feud that led to the death of Máel Coluim's son Cináedin
    977.
  8. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Ms. D, s.a. 948, Ms. B, s.a. 946; Duncan, p. 24.
  9. ^ Early Sources, p. 451. The corresponding entry in the Annals of the Four Masters, 950, states that the Northmen were the victors, which would suggest that it should be associated with Eric.
  10. ^ Early Sources, pp. 452–454.

Further reading

For primary sources see also External links below.

External links
Preceded by
King of Alba

943–954 		Succeeded by
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