Malcolm II of Scotland

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History 1500 and before (including Roman Britain)

Máel Coluim mac Cináeda ( anglicised Malcolm II) (c. 980 – 25 November 1034) was King of Scots from 1005 until his death. He was a son of Cináed mac Maíl Coluim; the Prophecy of Berchán says that his mother was a woman of Leinster and refers to him as forranach (the Destroyer or Avenger).

To the Irish annals which recorded his death, Máel Coluim was ard rí Alban, High King of Scotland. In the same way that Brian Bóruma, High King of Ireland, was very far from being the only king in Ireland, Máel Coluim was one of several kings within the geographical boundaries of modern Scotland. His fellow kings included the king of Strathclyde, who ruled much of the south-west, various Norse-Gael kings of the western coasts and the Hebrides and, nearest and most dangerous rivals, the Kings or Mormaers of Moray. To the south, in the kingdom of England, the Earls of Bernicia and Northumbria, whose predecessors as kings of Northumbria had once ruled most of southern Scotland, still controlled large parts of the south-east.

Early Years

It is unclear if Máel Coluim first appears in 997, when "Cináed mac Maíl Coluim" is credited with killing Causantín mac Cuilén. Whether Máel Coluim killed Causantín or not, there is no doubt that in 1005 he killed Causantín's successor Cináed mac Duib in battle at Monzievaird in Strathearn.

John of Fordun writes that Máel Coluim defeated a Norwegian army "in almost the first days after his coronation", but this is not reported elsewhere. Fordun says that the Bishopric of Mortlach (later moved to Aberdeen) was founded in thanks for this victory over the Norwegians, but this appears to be a claim without foundation.

Bernicia

The first reliable report of Máel Coluim's reign is of an invasion of Bernicia, perhaps the customary crech ríg (literally royal prey, a raid by a new king made to demonstrate prowess in war), which involved a siege of Durham. This appears to have resulted in a heavy defeat, by the Northumbrians led by Uchtred, later Earl of Bernicia, which is reported by the Annals of Ulster.

A second war in Bernicia, probably in 1018, was more successful. The Battle of Carham, by the River Tweed, was a victory for the Scots led by Máel Coluim and the men of Strathclyde led by Eógan (Owen the Bald). By this time Earl Uchtred may have been dead, and Eiríkr Hákonarson was appointed Earl of Northumbria by his brother-in-law Canute, although his authority seems to have been limited to the south, the former kingdom of Deira, and he took no action against the Scots so far as is known. The work De obsessione Dunelmi (The siege of Durham, associated with Symeon of Durham) claims that Uchtred's brother Eadwulf Cudel surrendered Lothian to Máel Coluim, presumably in the aftermath of the defeat at Carham. This is likely to have been the lands between Dunbar and the Tweed as other parts of Lothian had been under Scots control before this time. It has been suggested that Canute received tribute from the Scots for Lothian, but as he had likely received none from the Bernician Earls this is not very probable.

Canute

Canute, reports the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, led an army into Scotland on his return from pilgrimage to Rome. The Chronicle dates this to 1031, but there are reasons to suppose that it should be dated to 1027. Burgundian chronicler Rodulfus Glaber recounts the expedition soon afterwards, describing Máel Coluim as "powerful in resources and arms ... very Christian in faith and deed." Ralph claims that peace was made between Máel Coluim and Canute through the intervention of Richard, Duke of Normandy, brother of Queen Emma. Richard died in about 1027 and Rodulfus wrote close in time to the events.

It has been suggested that the root of the quarrel between Canute and Máel Coluim lies in Canute's pilgrimage to Rome, and the coronation of Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II, where Canute and Rudolph, King of Burgundy had the place of honour. If Máel Coluim were present, and the repeated mentions of his piety in the annals make it quite possible that he made a pilgrimage to Rome, as did Mac Bethad mac Findláich in later times, then the coronation would have allowed Máel Coluim to publicly snub Canute's claims to overlordship.

Canute obtained rather less than previous English kings, a promise of peace and friendship rather than the promise of aid on land and sea than Edgar and others had obtained. The sources say that Máel Coluim was accompanied by one or two other kings, certainly Mac Bethad, and perhaps Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, King of the Isle of Man and Galloway. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle remarks of the submission "but he [Máel Coluim] adhered to that for only a little while". Canute was soon occupied in Norway against Olaf Haraldsson and appears to have had no further involvement with Scotland.

Orkney and Moray

A daughter of Máel Coluim, whose name is not known, married Sigurd Hlodvisson, Earl of Orkney. Their son Thorfinn Sigurdsson was said to be five years old when Sigurd was killed on 23 April 1014 in the Battle of Clontarf. The Orkneyinga Saga says that Thorfinn was raised at Máel Coluim's court and was given the Mormaerdom of Caithness by his grandfather. Thorfinn, says the Heimskringla, was the ally of the king of Scots, and counted on Máel Coluim's support to resist the "tyranny" of King Olaf Haraldsson of Norway. The chronology of Thorfinn's life is problematic, and he may have had a share in the Earldom of Orkney while still a child, if he was indeed only five in 1014. Whatever the exact chronology, before Máel Coluim's death a client of the king of Scots was in control of Caithness and Orkney, although, as with all such relationships, it is unlikely to have lasted beyond his death.

If Máel Coluim exercised control over Moray, which is far from being generally accepted, then the annals record a number of events pointing to a struggle for power in the north. In 1020, Mac Bethad's father Findláech mac Ruaidrí was killed by the sons of his brother Máel Brigte. It seems that Máel Coluim mac Máil Brigti took control of Moray, for his death is reported in 1029.

It should be said that whatever the Irish annals say, English and Scandinavian writers appear to seen Mac Bethad as the rightful king of Moray, witness their descriptions of the meeting with Canute in 1027, before the death of Máel Coluim mac Máil Brigti. Máel Coluim was followed as king or mormaer by his brother Gille Coemgáin, husband of Gruoch, a granddaughter of Cináed mac Duib. It has been supposed that Mac Bethad was responsible for the killing of Gille Coemgáin in 1032, but if Mac Bethad had a cause for feud in the killing of his father in 1020, Máel Coluim too had reason to see Gille Coemgáin dead. Not only had Gille Coemgáin's ancestors killed many of Máel Coluim's kin, but Gille Coemgáin and his son Lulach might be rivals for the throne. Máel Coluim had no sons, or no living sons, and the threat to his plans for the succession was obvious. The following year another man who might some day be king, Gruoch's brother or nephew, was killed by Máel Coluim.

Strathclyde and the succession

It has traditionally been supposed that King Eógan of Strathclyde died at the Battle of Carham and that the kingdom passed into the hands of the Scots afterwards. This rests on some very weak evidence. It is far from certain that Eógan died at Carham, and it is reasonable certain that there were kings of Strathclyde as late as the 1054, when Edward the Confessor sent Earl Siward to install " Máel Coluim son of the king of the Cumbrians". The confusion is old, probably inspired by William of Malmesbury and embellished by John of Fordun, but there is no firm evidence that the kingdom of Strathclyde was a part of the kingdom of the Scots, rather than a loosely subjected kingdom, before the time of Máel Coluim's great-grandson Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.

As has been said, by the 1030s Máel Coluim's sons, if he had had any, were dead. The only evidence that he did have a son or sons is in Ralph Glaber's chronicle where Canute is said to have stood as godfather to a son of Máel Coluim. His grandson Thorfinn would have been unlikely to accepted as king by the Scots, and he chose the sons of his other daughter, Bethóc, who was married to Crínán, lay abbot of Dunkeld, and perhaps Mormaer of Atholl. It may be no more than coincidence, but in 1027 the Irish annals had reported the burning of Dunkeld, although no mention is made of the circumstances. Máel Coluim's chosen heir, and the first and last tánaise ríg certainly known in Scotland, was Donnchad mac Crínáin.

It is possible that a third daughter of Máel Coluim married Findláech mac Ruaidrí and that Mac Bethad was thus his grandson, but this rests on relatively weak evidence.

Death and posterity

Máel Coluim died in 1034, Marianus Scotus giving the date as 25 November 1034. The king lists say that he died at Glamis, variously describing him as a "most glorious" or "most victorious" king. The Annals of Tigernach report that "Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, king of Scotland, the honour of all the west of Europe, died." The Prophecy of Berchán, perhaps the inpiration for John of Fordun and Andrew of Wyntoun's accounts where Máel Coluim is killed fighting bandits, says that he died by violence, fighting "the parricides", suggested to be the sons of Máel Brigte of Moray.

Perhaps the most notable feature of Máel Coluim's death is the account of Marianus, matched by the silence of the Irish annals, which tells us that Donnchad became king and ruled for five years and nine months. Given that his death in 1040 is described as being "at an immature age" in the Annals of Tigernach, he must have been a young man in 1034. The absence of any opposition suggests that Máel Coluim had dealt thoroughly with any likely opposition in his own lifetime.

On the question of Máel Coluim's putative pilgrimage, pilgrimages to Rome, or other long-distance journeys, were far from unusual. Thorfinn Sigurdsson, Canute and Mac Bethad have already been mentioned. Rognvald Kali Kolsson is known to have gone crusading in the Mediterranean in the 12th century. Nearer in time, Domnall mac Eógain of Strathclyde died on pilgrimage to Rome in 975 as did Máel Ruanaid uá Máele Doraid, King of the Cenél Conaill, in 1025.

Not a great deal is known of Máel Coluim's activities beyond the wars and killings. The Book of Deer records that Máel Coluim "gave a king's dues in Biffie and in Pett Meic-Gobraig, and two davochs" to the monastery of Old Deer. As has been said, he was probably not the founder of the Bishopric of Mortlach-Aberdeen. John of Fordun has a peculiar tale to tell, related to the supposed "Laws of Malcom MacKenneth", saying that Máel Coluim gave away all of Scotland, except for the Moot Hill at Scone, which is unlikely to have the least basis in fact.