Donald (Dunkeld) King of Scots (abt. 1033 - abt. 1099)

Born about 1033 in Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1099 at about age 66 in Rescobie, Forfarshire, Scotland

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Biography

”Rí Alban," 'Donald Bane,” ”Domnall Bán,” ”Donalbane,” ”Domnall Bán mac Donnchada,” ”Donald the Red,“ “The Fair,” “FitzDuncan,” “King of Alban,” “Duvenal,” “Dovenaldus”” “Insulanus (Islander)”

House of Dunke

Birth

Donald Dunkeld was born about 1033 in Scotland, the son of Duncan I, King of Scots and his wife, Sybilla Unknown. ^[1][2][3][4]

Exiled in the Hebrides

When he was about 7 years old, Donald Dunkeld’s father, Duncan I, King of Scots (controversially, known as Kali Hundason in The Orkneyinga Saga),^[5] was defeated on 14 Aug 1040 by his first cousin, Thorfinn, Earl of Orkney, in the Battle of Torfness at “Standing Stane in the Parish of Duffus.” ^[6] On the same day, 14 Aug 1040, he was “murdered by MacBeth, one of his own commanders, also the mórmaer of Moray, at Bothnagowan (now Pitgaveny) near Elgin,” “and was buried in the Island of Iona.” ^{[1][2][3][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

Subsequently, Macbeth seized the crown of Scotland in 1040, and unsuccessfully tried to kill the sons of Duncan I, King of Scots. After two years avoiding capture by MacBeth’s forces in Scotland, Malcolm, later Malcolm III, King of Scots fled to Cumbria. Donald Dunkeld took refuge in “the isles” where he remained for the 17 years of MacBeth, King of Scots’s reign ^[2][14] and also the subsequent reigns of Lulach, King of Scots and his brother, Malcolm III, King of Scots. Little information is available about this period, but he appears to have remained there until he was about 60 years old.

Marriage and Children

1. Bethóc,“The name of Donald's wife (if he married) is unknown, but he had a daughter, Bethóc, from whom John Comyn of Badenoch (d. 1302) derived his claim to the throne in 1291.” ^[3][15] b. abt. 1070; m. 1st Huctred (or Uctred, Uhtred, or Hadrian), of Tynedale; ^[16][17] m. 2nd, Radulf, son of Dunegall Lord of Nithsdale, d. abt. 1185.

Besieged the Rightful Heirs to the Throne

On 13 Nov 1093, Malcolm III, King of Scots was attacked in the battle of Alynwick, by a group of men led by Robert de Mowbray, earl of Northumbria.^[18][19] Robert's nephew, Arkil Morel of Bamborough,…is said to have struck the fatal blows that killed both King Malcolm and his eldest son, Edward.^[18][20] King Malcolm died (probably) immediately. ^[21] Edward was fatally wounded and died several days later at Edwardsisle, in the forest near Jedburgh, Scotland. ^[1] Grief-stricken, Malcolm’s wife, Saint Margaret, Queen of Scots, died soon after on 16 Nov 1093. ^[2]

Seizing upon these tragic, but personally auspicious, events, Donald Dunkeld invaded Scotland with his followers. He besieged the children of Malcolm III, King of Scots, including his “lawful and rightful heirs,” Edgar, Alexander, and David in the Edinburgh Castle of Maidens. However, with the aid of a mist, considered miraculous, they were able escape to the church of Dunfermline with the body of their mother, Saint Margaret, Queen of Scots. Subsequently, they were taken to England under the protection of Edgar Atheling, brother to Saint Margaret, Queen of Scots, ^[2]

Their elder half-brother, Duncan II, future King of Scots was also in England at this time, knighted and in the service of William II (Rufus) . ^{[3][22][1][23][24]}

Usurped Succession by Tanistry vs. Primogeniture

The Saxon rules of succession (Primogeniture) would have decreed succession by his nephew, Duncan, the eldest living son of Malcolm III. By invoking the "Celtic laws of inheritance (Tanistry), which preferred brothers to sons…,” ^[22] he had blatantly defied the prevailing method of succession - "from "Malcolm II (reigned 1005-1034) onwards there was a clear tendency for kings to secure the succession for their own direct descendants rather than allow it to pass to collaterals, whereas in true Irish custom it was rare for any son of the reigning king ever to be the tanist."^[25][26]

He reigned from 1093 to 1094 and from 1094 to 1097. ^[1]

Donald III, King of Scots, First Reign

Having forced the exile of the sons of Malcolm III remaining in Scotland, ^[27] he was able to temporarily seize the crown. In November 1093, at the age of 60, he acceded as Donald III, King of Scots. However, he reigned for only 6 months before his nephew, Duncan II, King of Scots deposed him in May 1094. ^{[1][3][4][23][16][28]}

Donald III, King of Scots, Second Reign

Although, he was the "rightful" heir to the throne, Duncan II, King of Scots reigned only 6 months. ^[29] By conspiracy of his half-brother, Edmund I, with Donald III, he was assassinated by Mormaer of the Mearns, Malpeder MacLoen on 12 Nov 1094 at Monacheden (now Mondynes) in Kincardineshire. ^{[1][2][4][22][23][16][28][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]}

His lack of respect for the Gaelic Scots majority contributed to his downfall. “Duncan’s own Normanized attitudes and sympathies…were clearly in part responsible for his own overthrow and death at the hands of gaelicized anti-Norman interests in 1094. Duncan’s rival and uncle, Donald Bán, has been seen on the other hand as representing Gaelic interests since on the accession of MacBeth in 1040 he is said to have taken refuge in the Western Isles.”^[14]

Donald III, King of Scots, with support of the Gaels, seized the kingdom again on 12 Nov 1094, but shared a portion of the Kingdom with his co-conspirator, Edmund I, King of Scots. ^[1][37]

Deposed and Imprisoned; Blinded

The combined rule of Donald III and Edmund I lasted only three years before they were deposed by another brother. In 1097, Edgar, supported by William Rufus (William II) King of England and an invading army, led by Edgar Atheling, became Edgar I, King of Scots. ^[3][38][39]

Donald III and Edmund I were both sentenced to life in prison. Some sources indicate that Edmund I, deposed King of Scots “was at first consigned to chains and imprisoned, but subsequently became a Cluniac monk and died in obscurity in Montacute Abbey in Somerset.” ^[40] Edmund, remorseful at death for his part in the murder of his brother, asked to be buried in his chains. ^{[1][4][22][31][35][41]}

In 1099, Donald Dunkeld, deposed King of Scots was further penalized by blinding “at the urging of his youngest nephew, Earl David, later David I, King of Scots..” ^{[42][43][40][44]}

“It is said that, out of revenge for this treatment, he strangled the elder son of his his nephew, Earl David.” ^[1][16] However, according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, “The claim that he strangled a son of David I in revenge for being blinded is late and improbable.” ^[3]

Death

Donald Dunkeld, deposed King of Scots died, imprisoned and sightless, about 1099, aged more than 66 years, in Rescobie, Forfarshire, Scotland. He was buried in Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland and later reburied in the Isle of Iona, Argyll, Scotland. ^{[1][3][4][23][16]}

Research Notes

1. The profile of Hextilda FitzAndlaw, attached as the wife of Donald, was detached; there is no known source for this person, and the multiple sources consulted uniformly describe his wife as “unknown.” ^[45][46][47]
2. Alternate date of death, "His date of death is unknown but tradition narrates how he was permitted to live until 1107, when he was killed on the instructions of Alexander I, King of Scots."^[40][48] Perkins-11750 22:28, 4 August 2022 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10} Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), pp. 12-15, 30-31, 41-44, 64.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Fordun, John. John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish nation. Skene, William F. (ed). Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1872), bk. v., pp. 179-215.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7} Duncan, A. A. M. Donald III Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press (2004), Donald III
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Baldwin, Stewart (ed.). The Henry Project: Domnall (Donald) Bán mac Donnchada, king of Scotland, 1093-4, 1094-7, 1094. (2001), rev. 2010. Domnall.
5. ↑ Anderson, Joseph; ed., Hjaltalin, Jon A. & Goudie, Gilbert. (Translated from the Icelandic) The Orkneyinga Saga. Edinburgh: Edmonston & Douglas (1873), citing, “When Thorfinn’s maternal grandfather, King Malcolm, died, Kali Hundason took the kingdom in Scotland. He attempted to exact tribute from Thorfinn for his dominions in the north of Scotland, and failing in this…Earl Thorfinn overran Scotland as far south as Fife, burning and slaying, and subduing the land wherever he went. By these conquests he became the most powerful of all the Earls of Orkney.” IV. The Earldom in the Norse Line, 872-1231.
6. ↑ Crawford, Barbara E. Thorfinn Sigurdson (II) [Þorfinnr Sigurðarson, Þorfinnr inn Ríki (c. 1009–c. 1065). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press (2004), citing, “…Thorfinn faced attack from a powerful ruler of Scotland, called in the saga Karl Hundason, who claimed Caithness and expected tribute to be paid for it by the earl. The claim on Caithness, and the location of the movement of the armies of both Earl Thorfinn and King Karl around the Moray Firth make it very likely that the Scottish rival was a ruler of the province of Moray,…He was clearly a famous warrior and the battles fought with Thorfinn—one in Orcadian waters, off Deerness, and the other near Karl's own home base at 'Torfness' (possibly Tarbat Ness in Easter Ross)—were close-won victories for Thorfinn.”Thorfinn Sigurdson
7. ↑ Tigernach Annals. Revue Celtique, vol. xvii, p. 379, s.a. 1040: "Duncan, Crinan's son, sovereign of Scotland, was slain by his subjects, at an immature age," “And he was killed by MacBeth, Findlaech’s son, in Bothngoane, and was buried in the Island of Iona.” cited in Anderson, Alan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd (1922), vol. 1, p. 581.
8. ↑ Ashley, Mike. The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers (1998), pp. 392-393.
9. ↑ Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books (1989), p. 182.
10. ↑ Moffat, Alistair. Scotland: A History from Earliest Times. Edinburgh: Berlinn, Ltd. (2015), loc. 2098.
11. ↑ Roberts, John Lenox. “Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland and the Middle Ages.” Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (1997), citing, “…in 1040, when Duncan I was killed by MacBeth in a skirmish near Elgin. MacBeth made himself king of all Alba…,” p. 20.
12. ↑ Bower, Walter. “A History Book for Scots: Selections from the Scotichronicon.” Edinburgh: Birlinn, Ltd. (2012), citing, “He was killed through the wickedness of the family of the murderers of both his grandfather and great-grandfather, chief among whom was Macbeth son of Findlaech, by whom he was fatally wounded in secret at [Pitgaveny]. He was carried off to Elgin and died there. He was buried on the island of Iona.” p. 49.
13. ↑ Rampini, Charles. “A History of Moray and Nairn.” Muskegon, MI: Electric Scotland USA LLC (1898), citing, “As for his cousin Duncan…He had hardly succeeded to his grandfather’s throne than we find him in hostilities with…Thorfinn to recover possession by force of arms of the earldom of Caithness and Sutherland or to make Thorfinn pay tribute for it….The Norsemen were…successful; and in the end they gained a decisive victory…The fight was (at) Torfness—Burghead (on) 14th August 1040…led by King Duncan in person…the Saga gives us a striking picture of their leader Thorfinn—a huge, sinewy, uncomely, martial-looking man, sharp-featured, dark-haired, sallow, and of swarthy complexion, with a gold-plated helmet on his head, a sword at his belt, and a spear in his hands…“The fight ended,” says the Saga-writer, “with the flight of the king, and some say he was slain.”Slain undoubtedly Duncan was. We have it on the authority of Marianus Scotus, of Tighernac, and of all the later chroniclers. And his general, Macbeth, was his murderer.” Chapter I. The Province of Moray.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} McDonald, R. Andrew. Outlaws of Medieval Scotland. Glasgow: Tuckwell Press, Ltd. (2003); Edinburgh: Berlinn Ltd. (2016), citing, “…Donald Bán…on the succession of MacBeth in 1040 is said to have taken refuge in the Western Isles.” p. 104.
15. ↑ Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), citing, “Donald Bane…leaving an only child…Bethoc…,” vol. 1, pp. 2-3.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 1, pp. 2-3.
17. ↑ Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1213–1314. East Lothian Scotland: Tuckwell Press, Ltd. (1997), p. 15
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} Barrow, G.W.S. Kingship and Unity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (1981), repr. 2003, p. 37.
19. ↑ Cannon, John (Ed.). A Dictionary of British History. “Alnwick, battle of.” Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (2009), p. 18.
20. ↑ Robertson, Eben William. “Scotland under her early kings; a history of the kingdom to the close of the thirteenth century.” Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1862), vol. 1, p. 146.
21. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 30.
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3} Duncan. The Scottish Nation. Muskegon, MI: Electric Scotland USA LLC (2022), Duncan II
23. ↑ ^{23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3} Cawley, Charles. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Medieval Lands Database. B.2. Donald.
24. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835). Anno M.lxxxvij:"…Dunecanum Malcomi regis filium, a custodia laxatos et armis militaribus honoratos, abire permifit.” pp. 58-59.
25. ↑ Barrow, G W S. "Kingship and Unity: Scotland 1000-1306." (Edinburgh Classic Editions) . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Kindle Edition. Loc. 503.
26. ↑ Bower, Walter, “A History Book for Scots: Selections from the Scotichronicon,” Kindle edition, (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2012), 45, citing, “…up to this time, thank God, the posterity of this unconquered king have happily reigned in succession (in Scotland), except that during certain corrupt periods Macbeth and the idiot Lulach, Donald Ban and Duncan in turn usurped the kingdom for short periods of time.” [Kindle].
27. ↑ Skene, William Forbes. Chronicles of the Picts, chronicles of the Scots, and other early memorials of Scottish history. “Chronicle of Huntingdon.” Edinburgh: H. M. General register house (1867), citing, “Invasit autem Regnum Scocie Dovenaldus frater predicti Malcolmi…legittimis heredibus, scilicet, Edgaro, Alexandro, David, quia junioro etatis erant, exilio relegatis.” (But Dovenald, the brother of the said Malcolm, invaded the Kingdom of Scotland... the legitimate heirs, namely, Edgar, Alexander, and David, because they were younger, were exiled.) p. 211.
28. ↑ ^{28.0 28.1} Forester, Thomas. The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester. London: H.G. Bohn (1854). p. 198, 203.
29. ↑ Skene, William Forbes. “Chronicles of the Picts, chronicles of the Scots, and other early memorials of Scottish history.” Edinburgh: H. M. General register house (1867), citing, ”…et Donechat mac Malcolm regnavit 6 mensibus…,” (and Donechat mac Malcolm reigned 6 months). p. 175.
30. ↑ Duncan, A. A. M. Duncan II. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press (2004), citing, “Then in a second rising, under Donald III and Edmund, son of Malcolm III, he was killed, apparently with some treachery, by the local mormaer at Mondynes in the Mearns on 12 November 1094…” Duncan II
31. ↑ ^{31.0 31.1} Anderson, Allan Orr. Scottish annals from English chroniclers, A.D. 500 to 1286. London: D. Nutt (1886), pp. 118-119.
32. ↑ Buchanan, George. Rerum scoticarum historia. Abredoniæ: Typis Jacobi Chalmers (MDCCLXII [1762]), ”LXXXVII REX., XXXIV. Nec Duncanus diu regnum tenuit…” pp. 172-178, 212, 178-221, 325, 336-337.
33. ↑ Annals of Ulster, A.D. 1094. "Donnchad son of Mael Coluim, king of Scotland, was treacherously killed by his own brothers, i.e. by Domnall and Edmond." U1094.7.
34. ↑ Dalrymple, David., Dalrymple, David. Annals of Scotland: From the Accession of Malcolm III in the Year MLVII to the Accession of the House of Stewart in the Year MCCCLXXI, to which are Added, Tracts Relative to the History and Antiquities of Scotland. United Kingdom: A. Constable (1819), p. 49.
35. ↑ ^{35.0 35.1} Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. 5 vols., ed. Kimball G Everingham. Salt Lake City: the author (2013), vol. 4, p. 213, pp. 576-578.
36. ↑ Pitcairn, Sheila. Chronological Table of Kings Etc - Royal Tombs Dunfermline. (2022). p. 3.
37. ↑ Duncan, A A M. Kingship of the Scots, A.D.842-1292: Succession and Independence. (Edinburgh Classic Editions). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2002) (Kindle), citing, “according to William of Malmesbury, Edmund was involved in the killing (an Irish annal confirms this), helping to restore Domnall, and ‘bargaining for half the kingdom’. It is not unlikely that Edmund was given an appanage, with the expectation that he would succeed the elderly Domnall. Edmund was later imprisoned for life…” p. 91.
38. ↑ Anderson, Joseph; ed., Hjaltalin, Jon A. & Goudie, Gilbert. (Translated from the Icelandic) The Orkneyinga Saga. Edinburgh: Edmonston & Douglas (1873), IV. The Earldom in the Norse Line.]
39. ↑ William of Malmesbury; Sharpe, John; Giles, John Allen. "William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the kings of England. From the earliest period to the reign of King Stephen (De gestis regum Anglorum)." London: H. G. Bohn (1847), citing, “For William…made Duncan a knight; and on the death of his father, appointed him king of Scotland. When Duncan was taken off by the wickedness of his uncle Donald, he promoted Edgar to the kingdom.” p. 434.
40. ↑ ^{40.0 40.1 40.2} Oram, Richard. The Canmores; Kings and Queens of the Scots 1040-1290. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Tempus (2002), citing, " After a long struggle, in 1097 Domnall and Edmund were defeated in battle and captured. was at first consigned to chains and imprisoned, but subsequently became a Cluniac monk and died in obscurity in Montacute Abbey in Somerset, safely removed from his former kingdom. History records a more gruesome fate for Domnall, who was blinded at the urging of his youngest nephew, David."p. 24
41. ↑ Lynch, Michael, editor. The Oxford Companion to Scottish History. Kingship. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (2011), p. 361.
42. ↑ Moffat, Alistair. Scotland: A History from Earliest Times. Edinburgh: Berlinn, Ltd. (2015), loc. 2261.
43. ↑ McDonald, R. Andrew. Outlaws of Medieval Scotland. Glasgow: Tuckwell Press, Ltd. (2003); Edinburgh: Berlinn Ltd. (2016). p. 138., citing, “In 1097 Donald Bán…was captured and had his eyes put out.”
44. ↑ Skene, William Forbes. Chronicles of the Picts, chronicles of the Scots, and other early memorials of Scottish history. “From the Continuation of the Annals of Tighernac, MCLXXVIII.” Edinburgh: H. M. General register house (1867), citing, “1099 Donald, son of Malcolm king of Alban, was blinded by his own brothers.” p. 141.
45. ↑ Duncan, A. A. M. Donald III Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press (2004), citing “ The name of Donald's wife (if he married) is unknown.” Perkins-11750 22:28, 4 August 2022 (UTC)Donald III.
46. ↑ Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books (1989), p. 186.
47. ↑ Cawley, Charles. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Medieval Lands Database. Citing “The name of Donald's wife is not known.” B.2. Donald.
48. ↑ Oram, Richard. “The Kings & Queens of Scotland.” Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press (Kindle edition, 2011), https://a.co/8MufTuY

See Also:

• Emma.Goodey. Donald III (r. 1093-1094, 1094-1097). The Royal Family. London: The Royal Household (2016). Donald III.
• Donald III, King of Scotland
• Wikipedia: House of Dunkeld