I found wonderful book “WHO’S WHO IN SCOTTISH HISTORY” by Gordon Donaldson and Robert S Morpeth
None of the kings who reigned in Scotland in this period had a good fortune to find a biographer.
There were three kingdoms: Dalriada, Pictland and Stracthclyde. Although the later Scottish kings were to race their antecedents among the Kings of Dalriada and even to invent a list of rulers which began not with the historical Fergus about A. D. 500 but with an imaginary ‘Fergus I’ in 330 B.C. it was the Picts who occupied far the larger part of country and their kings, little though we know about them, must have been important figures.
Brude, son of Bile (d 693) began his reign about 671. He was evidently a great warrior, who said to have ‘destroyed’ the Orkneys in 682. And it was presumable he who besieged the fortresses of the Scots at Dundurn and Dunadd in 683. When Brude lured him into difficult terrain and then turned on him defeat and kill him at Nechtansmere (Dunniches near Forfar) on 20 may 685. Another great warrior King of the Picts was Angus, son of Fergus, whose reign is dathe from 731 and who died in 761. He was said to have captured Dunadd in 736 and to have ’overthrown Dalriada’ in 741.
The termination of the Pictish monarch and its suppression by the dynasty of the Scots of Dalriada came with Kenneth, son of Alpin d 858, who became King of Scots in 841 and of the Picts in 843, though his acceptance throughout the whole of Pictland may well have taken some time. Its appears that, at a point when the Picts, were suffering heavy defeats at the hand of Norse invaders, Kenneth had received reinforcements from Ireland which enabled him to invade Pictland. Kenneth may have had a claim to the Pictish throne through his mother, and conquest may have been a less important element than a dynastic union in bringing Scots and Pict together in one kingdom called Alba. Kenneth is said to have invaded England (that is Lothian) six times.
Constantine II, son of Kenneth was killed in battle against the Norse at Forgan in 177. Constantine III (900-42) had to deal with Norse attacks from almost all sides. Besides the King of England there was Danes and Britons but the confederacy was defeated at Brunauburh 937. Malcolm 9425-54 is said to have obtained from Edmund, King of England that he would hold it against the Norse, this can have been only a temporary arrangement Kenneth II 971-95 is said to have gained Lothian from the England King Edgar.
Kenneth II succeeded after the violent death of his 2nd cousin, Culen and was then himself killed by Constantine III, son of Culen. Kenneth III, Nephew of Kenneth II, killed Constantine III and was in his turn killed by Malcolm II son of Kenneth II. Malcom II tried to secure his position by liquidating Boilhe, who was the son of either Kenneth II or Kenneth III but this was not prevent Malcolm II’s grandson, Duncan I from being killed by Macbeth.
Malcolm II, King of Scots (c 954-1034) son of Kenneth II, who was king from 971 to 995. This may have been designated as his father’s heir but for 10 years the throne was contested by others members of the royal house. Malcolm continued the policy of his predecessors by aggression in the south, he was victorious over the men of Northumbria at Carham in 1016 or 1018. The Scots had control of the area between the Firth of Forth and the River Tweed. The death of the last King of Strathclyde or Cumbria, Malcolm’s son Duncan succeeded him. Malcolm established good relations with Earl Sigurd of Orkney, by married on his daughters and he was therefore grandfather of Earl Thorfinn, who succeeded Sigurd in 1014. Malcolm’s eldest daughter Bethoc married Crinan Abbot of Dunkeld and was the mother of Duncan I and third daughter many have been the mother of King Macbeth. Duncan died on 25 Nov 1034
Malcolm II was seceded by his grandson Duncan I (1010-40), the son of Crinan, Abbot of Dunkeld and Bethoc, Malcolm’s eldest daughter. Duncan, who had thus gained the throne by primogeniture, married a cousin of Siward, Earl of Northumbria, about 1030. In 1040m after incurring heavy losses in an unsuccessful siege of Durham, he was twice defeated by his cousin, Thorfinn, Earl of Orkney and then was killed by Macbeth at Pitgaveny near Elgin 14 Aug 1040. Macbeth was challenged by Crinan fell in fight. In 1054 Malcolm, the eldest son of Duncan, came up with Earl Siward of Northumbria and possibly gained the Lothians. He and his wife gave endowments to the Church and in 1050 he went on pilgrimage to Rome. Macbeth was defeated and killed by Malcolm, son of Duncan at Lumphana in Mar on 15 Aug 1057. Macbeth had no children. Macbeth stepson, Lulach (the Simple) who inherited Queen Gruoch’s claim to the throne. He was installed at Scone and held it until he was overthrown and killed by Malcolm at Essie in Strathbogie
Lulach’s son Malsnectai was forced in monastery by Malcolm there he died in 1805. His grandson by daughter was Angus. Mormaer of Moray, who was defeated and killed by David I in 1130. Crinan "the Thane" de Mormaer m’d Bethoc (Beatrix) Priincess of Scotland, Heiress of Scone
Children
Duncan I King of Scotland b abt 1013 m’d Sibyl Fitzsiward
Duncan and his wife Sibyl children
1 Malcolm III King of Scotland b abt 1033 Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland d 13 Nov 1093 Alnwick, Northumberland, England buried Holy Trinity Church, Dumferline, Fifeshire, Scotland m’d Ingeborg Finnsdatter b 1021 Osteraat, Yrje, Norway
2 Donald III aka Donald Bane (1033-1100)
Malcom III called ‘Canmore’ (means great head or chief) Kings of Scots (c 1031-1093). Malcolm had to take refuge in England when his father was overthrown by Macbeth in 1040. He stayed in England for at least fourteen years. In 1054 his kinsman, Earl Siward of Northumbria won a victory over Macbeth. Malcolm control the southern part of Scotland but could not become King until he defeated and killed Macbeth on 15 Aug 1057 and had encompassed the death of Lulach, Macbeth’s stepson on 17 Mar 1058. Malclom III 1st wife was Ingibjorg the daughter of Thorfinn Early Orkney. Thorfinn (1009-1065) was the eldest son of Earl Sigurd by a daughter of Malcolm II. Being like Duncan I, a grandson of Malcolm II he may well have believed that he had a claim to the Scotland throne. Thorfinn’s wife was named Ingibjorg and he had two sons paul and Erlend. It has been said that his widow subsequently married Malcolm III. This is impossible for Malcolm III wife to Thorfinn wife but she could be Thorfinn’s daughter.
Malcolm and Ingibjorg children
1 King Duncan II
2 Malcolm possibly killed in 1094
3 Donald d 1085
After her death (or possibly divorce on grounds of consanguinity) he married the English Princess Margaret about 1069. Margaret brother was Edgar the Altheling. Malcolm invaded England 5 times after he married Princess Margaret. The last and fifth invasion of England, during which he was killed at Alnwick 13 Nov 1093.
Malcolm and Margaret children
1 Edward mortally wounded at Alnwick.
2 Edmund who seems to have collaborated with his uncle Donald Bane in his seizure of the throne after Malcolm’s death, but who died a monk in England.
3 Ethelred, who succeeded to the family abbacy of Dunkeld
4 Edgar
5 Alexander I c 1007-1124 m’d Sybille d 1122 (the natural dau of Henry I of England)
6 David who became Kings of Scots.
7 Matilda 1080-1118 who married in 1100 Henry I England by whom she had a son William, lost at sea in 1120
8 The Empress Maud who was the mother of Henry II
9 Mary who married the Count of Boulogne and was the mother of the wife of King Stephen.
The wife of Malcolm III was Margaret the daughter of Edward “the Exile”a son of Edward Ironside and grandson of Ethelred II. When Cnut became King of England after Edmund death, Edward was banished and found his way to Hungary, when he married a German princess a had three children, Margaret, Christina and Edgar the Atheling. They return to England at the invitation of Edward uncle Edward the Confessor. The nephew Edward died with in few days or weeks after returning to England. His son Edgar claim to succeed Harold as King of England abt 1066. In about 1069 Edward “the Exile” family move to Scotland, where Margaret m’d Malcolm III. Margaret was canonized in 1249. Margaret died 16 Nov 1093 on hearing of her husband’s death.
Donald III aka Donald Bane (1033-1100) was an exile during Macbeth’s reign but found a refuge not, like his elder brother Malcolm, in England, but in the Isles. On Malcolm’s death 13 Nov 1093 Donald seized the throne and drove out the English whom Malcolm had introduced. In May 1094 he was ousted by his nephew, Duncan II but on 12 Nov after Duncan had been killed, Donald recovered the throne. By Oct of 1097 he was overthrown and it was by an English army send up to supersede him by Edgar, another son of English Margaret. Donald was captured by Edgar, who had him blinded. He was the last king of Scots to be buried in Iona.
Duncan II King of Scots c 1060-1094 the eldest son of Malcolm III was handed over to William the Conqueror as a hostage in 1072 but after the death of Conqueror in 1087 released and knighted, by William II (Rufus) Duncan ousted his uncle Donald Bane and establish himself as the King of Scots. Duncan to appease his Celtic subject rejected his English followers. 12 Nov, he was killed. During Duncan short reign he issued the earliest Scottish charter which has survived granting to the monks of Durham certain lands in East Lothian. Duncan m’d his kinswoman Octreda, daughter of Earl Gospatrick of Northumbria and left a son William Fitz Duncan d 1151 m’d Alice de Rumilly.
Edgar, King of Scots c 1074-1107 4th son of Malcolm III by Queen Margaret, fled to England after his father death. Abt 1095 King William Rufus acknowledged Edgar as rightful King of Scots. Edgar died unmarried on Jan 1107
David who became Kings of Scots c 1084-1153. The son of Malcolm III and Margaret, spent his youth in England. His sister, Matilda, was the wife of Henry I. David m’d Maud, daughter of and heiress of Walthof, Earl of Huntingdon, and widow of Simon de Senlis, brought him the earldom of Northampton and the honor of Huntingdon and made him the greatest baron in England. During the reign of his brother Alexander I, David ruled southern Scotland with the title of “EARL” and founded the abbeys of Selkirk. David’s generosity to the Church continued after he became king. David was no altruistic visionary. Apart from the contribution made by ecclesiastical institutions to the cohesion and stability of the realm, some his monks, with their interests in agriculture, sheep-farming, coal-working and salt-making, aided the economy. David and Maud had three or four sons but only one reach adulthood. His name was Henry c 1114-1152, Earl of Northumbria and Northampton, who married Ada, daughter of William, Earl of Warenne, and had three sons.
Henry and Ada children
1 Malcolm IV
2 William I
3 David the Earl of Huntingdon
And three daughters. On Henry’s death in 1152, David designated his grandson, Malcolm as his successor. He died at Carlisle on 24 May 1153
David the Earl of Huntingdon’s daughter: ISABEL (died circa 1251), second daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, who was son of Prince Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, son and heir of David I, King of Scots m’d Robert de Brus
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Malcolm IV, King of Scots 1141-1165 Called ‘the Maiden’ was the eldest son of Henry, son of David I by Ada daughter of the Earl of Warenne. Malcolm tutor was his Uncle Waltheof, Abbot of Melrose. Malcolm father died July 1152. David instructed Duncan, Earl of Fife, to conduct the boy round the kingdom. Malcolm became King at the age of 12. Malcolm had evidently been infirm for some time before his death at Jedburgh on 9 Dec 1165. He was buried at Dunfermline. He never married.
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William I, King of Scots 1143-1214 is conventionally known as ‘the Lion’. He was the 2nd son of Henry, son of David I. On his father death, David assigned to William the earldom of Northumberland, but Henry II of England annexed it in 1165. William succeeded his brother Malcolm IV 9 Dec 1165. William was with Henry II in 1166 and spent Easter 1170 at Henry’s court at Windsor. 1174 he (William) joined with Henry’s son in his rebellion against his father and invaded England. Captured at Alnwick, he was taken to France, and by the Treaty of Falaise (8 Dec 1174) he acknowledged Henry as feudal superior of his kingdom and surrendered some Scottish castles. Queen Ermengrarde, who founded Balmerino Abbey in 1229, died in 1234. By her husband William had one son, Alexander II and three daughters. Margaret, Isabella and Marjory. None of them married English princes as agreed in 1209. They married Margaret m’d Hubert de Burgh, Isabella m’d Earl of Norfolk and Marjory m’d the Earl of Pembroke. William had 6 illegitimate children.
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The claim of JOHN BALLIOL to the Scottish throne was honored by Edward I 1286 by the suggesting of William Fraser, Bishop of St Andrews d 1297. Balliol claim arose through his descent from David Earl of Huntingdon c 1144-1219, the third son of Prince Henry, son of David I. David founded the abbey of Lindores c 1191, but after his marriage in 1190 to Maud, daughter of Hugh, Earl of Chester, his interests lay mainly in England. Apart from two sons who died young and one who did not marry. David had a fourth son John ‘the Scot’, who succeeded to the earldoms of Huntingdon and Chester but died without issue in 1237. It was therefore through Earl David’s daughters that the royal line continued after the death of the Maid of Norway, Margaret. The eldest daughter Margaret m’d Alan, Lord of Galloway and their daughter, Devorguillla, was the mother of John Balliol. The 2nd daughter, Isabella m’d Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale; her son contested the throne with Balliol and his grandson became King as Robert I. Third, Ada, m’d Henry Hasting and their grandson, John Hastings, claimed in 1291, that Scotland, like any feudal fief, was divisible among heiresses and should therefore be partitioned among the Balliol, Bruce and himself.
John Balliol, King of Scots c1250-1313 was descended from John de Bailleul, Picard who was a landowner in England under William Rufus and whose son Guy, had appeared under David I. As the son of Devorguilla, Lady of Galloway, granddaughter of David , Earl of Huntingdon, Balliol represented the senior line in succession to the throne after the death of ‘the Maid of Norway’ in 1290. He had only just succeeded lordship of Galloway on his mother’s death. There were 12 competitors for the throne but Balliol’s main rival was Robert Bruce. When the Dispute was submitted to Edward I and the competitors all agreed to accept him as their lord, Edward chose Balliol, who was set on the Stone at Scone on 30 Nov 1292. Edward I wanted John to give him military service with the English army but insisted that John should answer in English courts for, among other things, the unpaid bills of King Alexander III. John’s counselors would not permit John to submitted to any indignity as to English authority. The Scots made an Alliance with England’s other enemy France, I 1295, and this brought on them retaliation by Edward, who defeated them heavily at Dunbar (27 Apr 1296). Balliol resigned his kingdom to Edward (10 July) and by being stripped of his royal insignia, became know as ’Toom Tabard’ (the empty cloak). He was taken to England as a prisoner but three years was allowed to retire to his French estates, where died. Balliol m’d daughter of the Earl Surrey and two sons Edward (who contested the throne of David II) and Henry who died with out issue. His sister Alianora m’d John Comyn Lord of Badenoch. Their son John “the Red Comyn” fought for Balliol in 1296. He could not co-operated amiably with the rival family of Bruce, and in a quarrel in 1299 he seized Robert Bruce, the future king, by the throat. In 1306, in circumstances which remain mysterious he was stabbed by Bruce in a quarrel at Dumfries and according to a picturesque tale was dispatched by one of Bruce’s followers, Roger Kirkpatrick.
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Robert Bruce ’The Competitor’ 1201-1295, the descendant of a Norman on whom the lordship of Annandale had been conferred by David I, was the son of Isabella, 2nd daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon. 1255 Robert was one of the guardians of young Alexander III but his career was for many years mainly in England. He supported Henry III against Simon de Montfort and after the latter’s overthrow at Evesham (1265) he became governor of Carlisle, sheriff of Cumberland and in 1268, Chief Justice of the Court of King’s Bench. His first marriage was to Isobel, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Glouscester and Hereford and 2nd to Christina, daughter of Sir William de Ireby. In 1270, he went on a crusade with Edmund, the youngest son of Henry III. In 1284, he acknowledged Margaret, ’the Maid of Norway’ as heiress to the Scottish throne, but on Alexander III’s death in 1286 he rose in arms to claim the throne in virtue of an alleged declaration by Alexander II (then childless) in 1238 that he, as a male, should be preferred to the daughter of his mother’s elder sister. In 1290 on the death of ’the Maid of Norway, he renewed his claim and in 1291, along with his son, swore fealty to Edward I, to whose judgment the competition for the throne was remitted. After Edward appointed Balliol as King. Bruce resigned his rights to his son Robert, who had become Earl of Carrick by his marriage c1272 to Marjory, daughter and heiress of Neil, Earl of Carrick. Carrick who lived until 1304, was the father of King Robert I, to whom he had resigned his earldom in 1292 and of Edward, King of Ireland as well as of three other sons, Thomas, Alexander and Nigel all of whom were put to death by the English.
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Robert I, King of Scots 1274-1329 was the grandson of the Robert Bruce who contested the throne with John Balliol in 1291. His parents were Robert Bruce and Marjory, Countess of Carrick and he was born, probably at Turnberry on 11 July 1274 His fathe, who held the earldom of Carrick in right of his wife, resigned it to his son in 1292. In 1297 while his father remained on the side of Edward, Robert joined William Wallace’s rising but there is no evidence that he took any part in the battles of Stirling Bridge and Falkirk. After Wallace’s defeat, Bruce continued to associate with those who maintained resistance and in Dec 1298 he was appointed one of the Guardians of the Realm. Yet in 1302 while others were continuing resistance with some effect, Bruce submitted to Edward, possibly because he feared a Balliol restoration under English aspics and thought that his lands as well as his claim to the throne might be in danger. Bruce quarreled with John Comyn at Dumfires in which the latter was killed. He was inaugurated as King at Scone 25 Mar 1306 and crowned by Isabella, Countess of Buchan 27 Mar.
Bruce married 1st c 1295 Isabella , daughter of Donald, Earl of Mar, by whom he had a daughter Marjory and 2nd in 1302 Elizabeth d 1327 daughter of Earl of Ulster who bore the future David II. In 1315 Bruce had no son , the succession was settled Marjory’s consent on his brother Edward, as a man skilled in war and fitted to defend the kingdom. Edward c 1276-1318 had taken part in his brother’s campaigns, first by overrunning Galloway in 1308 and the Battle of Bannonckburn had been the outcome of his agreement in 1313 with the governor of Stirling Castle that the castle would surrendered if ti were not relieved Midsummer Day 1314. Edward was styled Lord of Galloway in 1309 and was created Earl of Carrick, abt 1313. Edward land in Larne May 1315 was crowned King of Ireland. He was killed in 1318 at Dundalk and leaving no issue. Marjory Bruce too, was now dead and in 1318 the crown was settled, failing male issue of King Robert , on Robert ( later Robert II) her son by Walter the Steward. Thus the Steward/Stewart reign began
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Robert II, King of Scots 1316-1390 was descended from Flaald, a Breton, who was a landholder in England under Henry I and whose grandson, Walter FitzAlan, became hereditary Steward of Scotland under David I. Walter, the sixth High Steward, married Marjory, daughter of Robert I, in 1315 and their son Robert born on 2 Mar 1316 was declared heir presumptive in 1318. He succeeded as Steward on his father’s death in 1326. When Robert I died 1329 his son David II b 1324 became King and David’s nephew Robert who was 8 years older then David II became 2nd place. Robert shared in the command at the battle of Hilidon. At Neville’s Cross in 1346 the Steward was among the Scottish commanders. The David II was captured and Robert became the guardian of the kingdom until David returned from his English captivity in 1357. When David died, Robert succeeded (12 Feb 1371) As early as 1381 his eldest son, the Earl of Carrick was associated with him in the government and in 1384 was effect appointed to rule in his place. In 1388 when Carrick himself had become a chronic invalid the King’s next son Robert, Earl of Fife, was appointed.
Robert have several children by Elizabeth Mure daughter of Adam Mure of Rowallan before he married the lady on 22 Nov 1347. He and his wife were related within the forbidden degrees, it was debatable whether the papal dispensation for their marriage could legitimate the children already born to them. After Elizabeth Mure death he married Euphemia Ross 1355 by who had two sons there is no dispute. In 1373 an Act of Succession was passed, assigning the crown to the three surviving sons of the first marriage in turn and their heirs males, whom failing the two sons of the second marriage and their heir males. Robert II died at Dundonald on 19 Apr 1390 and was buried at Scone.
Robert and Elizabeth sons and daughters
1 John who succeeded as Robert III
2 Walter who died about 1362
3 Robert , Earl of Fife and later Duke of Albany 1339-1420 m’d Margaret, Countess of Menteith. At which time Robert became the Earl of Menteith. (a son from this marriage was name Murdock b 1362-1425) and 2nd m‘d Muriell Keith (three sons, John; Andrew d 1413 and Robert d 1431)
4 Alexander Lord of Badenock
And five daughters.
Robert and Euphemia sons
1 David, Earl of Stathearn
2 Walter Earl of Atholl m‘d Isabella, Countess of Fife and on the death of Robert his brother he became the Earl of Fife and Menteith but 1398 he was created Duke of Albany. During his fathers reign he became keeper of Stirling Castle 1373
And two daughters.
Robert also had 8 illegitimate sons.
Robert III King of Scots c 1337-1406 was eldest son of Robert II Elizabeth Mure and was baptized John. He was created Earl of Carrick in 1368 and before his father’s death he was already something of an invalid following a kick from horse. When Carrick succeeded on 19 Apr 1390 he assumed the name of Robert for John was considered unlucky name for King. Robert III was about 53 when became King. During much of his reign real power lay with his next brother Robert Earl of Fife and Duke of Albany. Disorder grew in the realm, until it was remarked that there was no law in Scotland and the whole kingdom was as den of thieves. Alexander, Lord of Badenoch, Robert brother, burned Eligin Cathedral. David of Duke of Rothesay and Kings heir was appointed Lieutenant of the kingdom but he act with advice of councilors among whose names that of Albany stood first. With death of David Rothsay 1402. The Old King in the hope of preserving his younger son James arranged for him to be sent to France for safety. But he was captured by the English at sea. The King may have felt increasing in security for he withdrew to the castle of Rothesay on his ancestral island of Bute. There he died 4 Apr 1406. Robert’s wife Annabella Drummond daughter of Sir John Drummond of Stobhall whom he had married in 1367 and died 1401.
Robert and Annabella children
1 David 1378-1402 was betrothed 1st to Euphemia sister of David 1st Earl of Crawford, the to Elizabeth daughter of George, Earl of March but in Feb 1400 m’d Marjory daughter of Archibald 3rd Earl of Douglas.
2 Robert (who did young)
3 James
And four daughters.
He had 2 recorded illegitimate sons.
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