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Máel Coluim (Dunkeld) MacEth (abt. 1120 - 1168)

Máel Coluim (Malcolm) MacEth formerly Dunkeld aka MacHeth
Born about in Stirling Castle, Scotlandmap
Son of [father unknown] and
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 1160 in Stranith, East Lothian, Scotlandmap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 48 in Moray, Scotlandmap
Problems/Questions
Profile last modified | Created 7 May 2011
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Biography

Malcolm MacEth, Earl of Ross, birthdate circa 1120. Birthplace, Scotland. Died 1168 in Moray, Ross, Scotland.Place of Burial Ross, Moray, Scotland.

Immediate Family:

  • Son of Angus Earl of Moray Mackay and Hugh or Angus Aodh MacEth
  • Husband of Mariotte (Margaret) MacEth, Sister of Somerled and Heiress of Ross
  • Father of Gormlath MacEth; Donald MacEth; Ferquhard MacEth, Earl of Ross; Hugh MacEth / Mackie; MacMalcom of Moray and 1 other.

Research Notes

  1. Please refer to Scotland Project - Reliable Sources for pre-1500 profiles, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Scotland_-_Reliable_Sources.
  2. (Record Removed, The record you requested is no longer available. If you arrived here from a bookmark, please delete your bookmark." accessed 6 Apr 2023P "Illegitimate son of Alexander I. Created Earl of Ross 1157. The King gave him the land of Ross, part of the territory of Moray, from the ancient rulers of which he claimed descent. Appears as a witness to one of King Malcolm's charters before 1160. For insurrection against David I imprisoned in Roxburgh Castle. 1154 Somerled, Lord of Argyll, with his nephews, Malcolm's sons, invaded Scotland, and caused a civil War, which laster until the King released Malcolm in 1157." [1]
  3. "Note: It is not confirmed but is traditionally thought that Malcom Mac Alistair was the illegitimate son of Alexander I of Scotland."
  4. (copied from Wikipedia) "Máel Coluim MacHeth. If it is accepted that this Máel Coluim and the son of Alexander I are not one and the same, Máel Coluim MacHeth appears in 1157, when it is said that he was reconciled with the king, Malcolm IV. It appears that he was restored to the mormaerdom of Ross, which he held until his death in around 1168."
  5. “…Malcolm, possibly illegitimate son of Alexander I, who is yet called Malcolm ‘mac Heth’ and whose descent is one of the important unsolved problems of early Scottish history.” [2]
  6. "Orderic Vitalis, in an otherwise highly-coloured passage on Scotland, seems to be on factual ground in identifying the rebel, Malcolm, ‘the bastard son of Alexander [I]’ – the only explicit statement of his origins, for he was not Malcolm mac Heth." [3]
  7. “...when the revolt of Somerled of Argyll broke out; associated with him were the ‘sons of Malcolm’, that is of Alexander I’s bastard. However, they are usually taken as the sons of Malcolm mac Heth, who, in 1157 was reconciled with King Malcolm. The earl called Aed or (h) Eth who witnessed two charters early in David I’s reign disappears without leaving an identifiable successor and may have lost his earldom in 1130; he was probably the father of this Malcolm who subsequently became earl of Ross and died in 1168. He was not replaced and his descendants resurfaced as rebels in the early thirteenth century. He is often compounded with the bastard Malcolm because one is mentioned in 1156 as a prisoner, the other in 1157 as reconciled. But the patronymic given to the 1157 Malcolm was surely to distinguish him from the 1156 one; they were separate individuals, and the 1157 Malcolm may not have been a rebel, but a son to whom his heritage was restored." [4]
  8. "But aspirants to the dignity still remained. Two families the one called MacHeth, whose founder, Wymund, claimed to be the son of Angus, the other known as that of Mac- William disputed for the pre-eminence. And the struggle continued till the pretensions of both were extinguished by King Alexander II. in 1222." [5]
  9. “Malcolm macHeth escaped with his life, taking refuge in the Highlands before he was finally captured in 1 134. Afterwards he was held prisoner for many years at Roxburgh Castle. When he was eventually released in 1157 by Malcolm IV he was granted the earldom of Ross, which may have been part of his ancestral lands. If he was not just held as a hostage for the good behaviour of his followers, the clemency shown to him after his capture and the eventual granting to him of the earldom of Ross may well suggest that he was of royal descent. Indeed the true ancestry of Malcolm macHcth remains a tantalising mystery in Scottish history, yet to be solved. His patronymic name implies that he was the son of Aed or Heth, who apparently ruled over Moray rather than Ross as its mormaer before Angus, at least according to the very scanty records of the time. It may be that Malcolm macHeth was Angus’s brother. However it is sometimes argued that he was an illegitimate son of Alexander I, if not the eldest son of Ethelred, lay-abbot of Dunkeld and perhaps the first Earl of Fife, and thus the grandson of Malcolm Canmore, however unlikely this may seem.” [6]

Sources

  1. FamilySearch Royal Houses Community Tree entry
  2. Duncan, A.A.M., Scotland, the Making of the Kingdom, Edinburgh History of Scotland, vol. 1, (Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1975), 166.
  3. Duncan, A A M, Kingship of the Scots, A.D.842-1292: Succession and Independence, (Edinburgh Classic Editions). Kindle edition. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2002), 66 (loc 103).
  4. Duncan, A A M, Kingship of the Scots, A.D.842-1292: Succession and Independence, (Edinburgh Classic Editions). Kindle edition. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2002), 77-79 (loc 108).
  5. Rampini, Charles, A history of Moray and Nairn, (Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood, 1797), 44.
  6. Roberts, John Lenox, “Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland and the Middle Ages,” (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997), 67.

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Comments: 3

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I'll be working on this profile on behalf of the Scotland Project and Clan MacKay
posted by Amy (Crawford) Gilpin
This profile is a duplicate and also attached to the incorrect father. The theory that Malcolm was an illegitimate son of Alexander of Scotland has been proven false. I will be proposing a merge of the two profiles and recommend that it be co-managed by the Scotland Project.
posted by Amy (Crawford) Gilpin
Should the nickname be listed as Mèl Coluim MacHeth? Database Errors Project Auto correction is suggesting to do so.
posted by Karen (Kraus) Harbert

Rejected matches › Malcolm (Ros) de Ros (1064-1168)

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