Kenneth II (MacAlpin) King of Scots
Privacy Level: Open (White)

Cináed mac Máel Coluim (MacAlpin) King of Scots (abt. 932 - 995)

Cináed mac Máel Coluim (Kenneth II) King of Scots formerly MacAlpin
Born about in Scotlandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 63 in Fettercairn, Kincardineshire, Scotlandmap
Profile last modified | Created 11 Dec 2012
This page has been accessed 34,042 times.
Scottish Nobility
Kenneth II (MacAlpin) King of Scots was a member of Scottish Nobility.
Join: Scotland Project
Discuss: Scotland
Preceded by
Colin I
King of Alba
971 - 995
Succeeded by
Constantine III

Contents

Biography

Kenneth II (MacAlpin) King of Scots is a member of House of Alpin.



"An Fionnghalach, The Fratricide," ”Cinadius filius Maelcolaim," "Cináed mac Maíl Coluim," "Cinaet mac Maelcolaim," "Coinneach mac Mhaoil Chaluim," "Kinet filius Malcolin," "Kynat mac Malcolm," "Kynath, rex Scottorum," "Ri Alban," "Rì nan Albannaich"
House of Alpin
Clann Chausantan (Northern Branch)

Birth and Early Life

Cináed mac Máel Coluim MacAlpin was born the son of Malcolm I, King of Scots and Unknown. [1][2][3][4]

Children

The name of his wife is Unknown (Leinster) MacAlpin, possibly a daughter of one of the Uí Dúnlainge kings of Leinster. [1][2][5] "Kenneth II & his wife had one child" [1]

Alpinid Dynasty (Clann Chausantan and Clann Áeda)

From about 889, the kingship of Alba (Scotland) rotated between the descendants of Kenneth I (Cináed), King of the Picts and Scots. The children of his two sons, Constantine I, King of the Picts (Clann Chausantan) and Aedh, King of the Picts (Clann Áeda) formed competing branches of the Alpinid Dynasty, Clann Chausantan and Clann Áeda. This practice was probably intended to avoid monopoly of the monarchy by one clan, and it may have originated in the earlier Kingdom of the Picts. [6] However, succession became more intensely competitive and eventually violent after Malcolm I advocated the abdication of Constantine II in 942, [7] and the suspected involvement of Colin I, King of Scots in the killing of Duff I, King of Scots in 966. [8][9][10]

Succession and Reign

He succeeded in 971 as Kenneth II, King of Scots and reigned from 971 to 995 [3] after the death of Colin I, King of Scots, [4] who was killed in Strathclyde by Rhydderch ap Dyfnwal. [1][2]

Soon after becoming king, he laid waste to England as far as Durham, but at the cost of many foot-soldiers killed in battle. About a year later, he again ravaged England, and this time "carried off" the son of "the king of the Saxons." [11]

At King Edgar's council at Chester in 973, he acknowledged Edgar "the Peaceable," King of England as his lord in return for recognition that he held Lothian, which he had seized from the Angles. He was one of the 8 kings at this event, who rowed the boat of King Edgar on the River Dee. [1][12][2] King Edgar died on 8 Jul 975. [13]

"Kenneth killed Olaf MacAlpin, brother of Colin I, King of Scots, in 977, [4] which apparently brought a lull for two decades in the rivalry between the two branches of the House of Alpin—the descendants of Constantine I, King of the Picts (Clann Chausantan), to which Kenneth belonged, and the descendants of Áed, King of the Picts (Clann Áeda), to which Kenneth's predecessor, Culen, had belonged." [2]

Late in his reign, Intending to assure that his son, Mael Coluim MacAlpin, would succeed him, he decreed that,

"thenceforth every king, on his death, should be succeeded by his son or his daughter; his nephew or his niece, or by brother or sister, in the collateral line; or, in short, by whoever was the nearest survivor in blood…”


Enraged at this usurpation of their sucession rights, his 3rd cousin, Constantine MacAlpin, later Constantine III, King of Scots and his nephew, Kenneth MacAlpin, later Kenneth III, King of Scots [14] joined in a murderous conspiracy with Finella, daughter of Cunthar, Earl of Angus. [4] She was seeking to avenge the death of her only son, who had been killed earlier by the order of Kenneth II. [15][2]

Death

In 995, Finella assassinated Kenneth II, King of Scots in Fettercairn, [16][17] and he was buried on the Isle of Iona. [1][4]

However, although Kenneth II was succeeded by Constantine III, King of Scots, [18] his son would ultimately become Malcolm II King of Scots in 1005 by killing the sitting king, Kenneth III King of Scots.

Research Notes

  1. Birth Estimate: known events - child born - 954, succeeded as king - 971, death - abt. 995; other unsourced estimated birth date - 932. This would make him 22 at birth of child and 63 at death. The birth date of 932 is a reasonable estimate.
  2. With no reliable sources, two daughters, Donada Unknown and Dúngal Unknown, were disconnected. [1]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Cawley, Charles Medieval Lands: a Prosopography of Medieval European Noble and Royal Families. (Hereford, UK: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, 2006), chap. 1, Malcolm, 2. Kenneth.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Broun, Dauvit. Kenneth II [Cináed mac Maíl Choluim (d. 995). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2004), Kenneth II [Cináed mac Maíl Choluim . [Subscription].
  3. 3.0 3.1 Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. (Edinburgh: D. Douglas, 1899), 280.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 The Henry Project: The Ancestors of King Henry II of England, Baldwin, Stewart, ed., Farmerie, Todd, ed., Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth I, (Online https://fasg.org/projects/henryproject/, 2001), Cináed mac Máel Coluim (Kenneth II)
  5. Anderson, Allan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500 to 1286. (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922), vol. 1, [Berchan’s Prophecy, stanzas 179-184; Skene’s Picts and Scots, pp. 99-100], 573-574.
  6. Woolf, Alex. From Pictland to Alba, 789-1070. The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 223-224.
  7. Broun, Dauvit. Constantine II [Causantín mac Aeda] (d. 952). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2004), Constantine II (Causantín mac Aeda) (d. 952). [Subscription]
  8. Skene, William Forbes. Celtic Scotland: A History of Ancient Alba Volume I. History and Ethnology, (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1886), Kindle edition. This edition (Paisley PA: Grian Press, 2014), loc. 4465. [Kindle]
  9. Smyth, Alfred P. Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD80-1000. The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1984), 223.
  10. 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), 77, 126
  11. Anderson, Allan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500 to 1286. (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922), vol. 1, [Chronicle of the Kings of England, version A; Skene’s “Picts and Scots,” p. 10], 512.
  12. Anderson, Allan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500 to 1286. (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922), vol. 1, [973, Chronicle of Melrose, pp. 34-34], 478.
  13. Williams, Ann. Edgar (called Edgar Pacificus) (943/4–975) Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2004), Edgar (called Edgar Pacificus). [Subscription].
  14. Anderson, Allan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500 to 1286. (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922), vol. 1, [Fordun, Chronica, IV, 32-33; i, pp. 174-176], 514-515.
  15. Anderson, Allan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500 to 1286. (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922), vol. 1, [971-995, Chronicle of the Kings of Scotland, versions DFGI; in Skene’s Picts and Scots, pp. 152, 174-175, 302, 289], 512-513.
  16. Ó Corráin, Professor Donnchadh; Morgan, Dr Hiram, CELT; Corpus of Electronic Texts, (Cork, Ireland: University College, 2023), The Annals of Ulster, citing, "Cinaed son of Mael Coluim, king of Scotland, was deceitfully killed."U995.1.
  17. Paisley, Altonvar. The History of Fettercairn. (Muskegon, MI: Electric Scotland, 1899), Chapter IV.
  18. Fordun, John. John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish nation. Skene, William F. (ed). (Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1872), bk. iv, 411-412.

See also:

  • Anderson, Allan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500 to 1286. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd (1922). Volume 1
  • Cawley, Charles Medieval Lands: a Prosopography of Medieval European Noble and Royal Families. Hereford, UK: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (2006), Chapter 1. ORIGINS, KINGS of SCOTLAND 834-1034.
  • Goodey, Emma. Kenneth II (r. 971-995). The Royal Family. (London: The Royal Household, 2016). Kenneth II.
  • Ó Corráin, Professor Donnchadh; Morgan, Dr Hiram, CELT; Corpus of Electronic Texts, (Cork, Ireland: University College, 2023), Index.
  • Wikipedia contributors. House of Alpin. Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia, House of Alpin
  • Wikipedia contributors. Kenneth II of Scotland. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2023), Kenneth II of Scotland.




Is Kenneth II your ancestor? Please don't go away!
 star icon Login to collaborate or comment, or
 star icon contact private message private message a profile manager, or
 star icon ask our community of genealogists a question.
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA
No known carriers of Kenneth II's DNA have taken a DNA test.

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments: 13

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
I believe we are missing a generation here and that Dub, King of Scotland, is Kenneth’s father, then Mael comes next as Dub’s father. The dates work out better and here’s the Wikipedia entry reflecting this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_III_of_Scotland
posted by Ronda Templeton
Thanks, Rhonda, for your interest in this profile. Please look at the first 4 citations (which support Kenneth's father being Mael). Dub was Kenneth's older brother and also a son of Mael. Wikipedia is not normally considered a reliable source for pre-1500 profiles, but you may want to check the sources which that article provides (I note it does not give a citation supporting who Kenneth's father is) and, if they differ from the sources already cited on this profile I will be happy to add a research note which includes that information.

Jen, for the Scotland Project

posted by Jen (Stevens) Hutton
Thanks for the quick response. This was the first time I’ve seen a discrepancy between a “noted” person and their parentage on Wikitree and Wikipedia. This site also lists Dub(h) as Kenneth’s father, so I may just stop my tree with an “uncertain” at this point. https://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/macalpin_10.htm
posted by Ronda Templeton
I have completed updating this profile. If anyone spots a typo, please correct or message me.

Thanks, Clyde

posted by Clyde Perkins
I will be updating this profile on behalf of the Scotland Project using Scotland - Profile Standards, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Scotland_-_Profile_Standards.

Please be patient while this is being done, and if anyone has new sources they would like to share please message me or post here.

Thank you,

Clyde, for the Scotland Project

posted by Clyde Perkins
Hi folks,

I'll be moving non-pre-1500 badged members to the Trusted List since those without the badge can't update the profile or merge duplicates. If you qualify for your pre-1500 badge, please just ask to be reinstated as a manager in order to help with development and maintenance.

Cheers,
Bobbie
Scotland Project co-Leader
posted by Bobbie (Madison) Hall

M  >  MacAlpin  |  K  >  King of Scots  >  Cináed mac Máel Coluim (MacAlpin) King of Scots

Categories: Scotland Project Managed Nobility Profiles | House of Alpin 742-1499 | House of Alpin