Duncan, I of Scotland

Male Abt 1001 - 1040  (~ 39 years)


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  • Name Duncan , I of Scotland  [1
    Suffix I of Scotland 
    Born Abt 1001  [1
    Gender Male 
    Died 14 Aug 1040  Pitgaveny, Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Buried Iona, Argyll, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Notes 
    • He married Sybilla, daughter of Siward Digera, Earl of Northumberland and Elfleda, circa 1030. He died on 14 August 1040 at Pitgaveny, Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland, killed by a blow from Macbeth.

      He gained the title of King Duncan of Strathclyde in 1018. He succeeded to the title of King Duncan I of Scotland on 25 November 1034.

      Donnchad mac Crínáin (Modern Gaelic: Donnchadh mac Crìonain;[2] anglicised as Duncan I, and nicknamed An t-Ilgarach, "the Diseased" or "the Sick"; ca. 1001 - 14 August 1040) was king of Scotland (Alba) from 1034 to 1040. He was son of Crínán, hereditary lay abbot of Dunkeld, and Bethóc, daughter of king Malcolm II of Scotland (Máel Coluim mac Cináeda).

      Unlike the "King Duncan" of Shakespeare's Macbeth, the historical Duncan appears to have been a young man. He followed his grandfather Malcolm as king after the latter's death on 25 November 1034, without apparent opposition. He may have been Malcolm's acknowledged successor or tánaise as the succession appears to have been uneventful. Earlier histories, following John of Fordun, supposed that Duncan had been king of Strathclyde in his grandfather's lifetime, between 1018 and 1034, ruling the former Kingdom of Strathclyde as an appanage. Modern historians discount this idea.

      An earlier source, a variant of the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba (CK-I), gives Duncan's wife the Gaelic name Suthen. Whatever his wife's name may have been, Duncan had at least two sons. The eldest, Malcolm III (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada) was king from 1057 to 1093, the second Donald III (Domnall Bán, or "Donalbane") was king afterwards. Máel Muire, Earl of Atholl is a possible third son of Duncan, although this is uncertain.

      The early period of Duncan's reign was apparently uneventful, perhaps a consequence of his youth. Macbeth (Mac Bethad mac Findláich) is recorded as his dux, literally duke, but in the context - "dukes of Francia" had half a century before replaced the Carolingian kings of the Franks and in England the over-mighty Godwin of Wessex was called a dux - this suggests that Macbeth was the power behind the throne.

      In 1039, Duncan led a large Scots army south to besiege Durham, but the expedition ended in disaster. Duncan survived, but the following year he led an army north into Moray, traditionally seen as Macbeth's domain. There he was killed in action, at Bothganowan, now Pitgaveny, near Elgin, by his own men led by Macbeth, probably on 14 August 1040. He is thought to have been buried at Elgin before later relocated to the Isle of Iona.
    Person ID I1936  Bosdet Genealogy
    Last Modified 16 May 2013 

    Father Crínán of Dunkeld,   b. Abt 975, Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1045, Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 70 years) 
    Relationship Natural 
    Mother Bethoc of Scotland,   b. Abt 984, Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Relationship Natural 
    Married Abt 1000  Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location  [3, 4
    Family ID F68  Group Sheet

    Family Sybilla 
    Married Abt 1030  [2
    Children 
     1. Malcolm III 'Caennmor', King of Scotland,   b. Abt 1031,   d. 13 Nov 1093, Alnwick, Northumberland, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 62 years)
     2. Melmare,   b. Abt 1035
     3. Donald III 'Donald bane', King of Scotland,   b. Abt 1033,   d. 1099, Rescobie, Angus, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 66 years)
    Family ID F557  Group Sheet

  • Sources 
    1. [S174] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan_I_of_Scotland.

    2. [S180] Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy, Alison Weir, (Name: The Bodley Head; Location: London, U.K.; Date: 1999;).

    3. [S177] Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, Charles Mosley, (Name: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd; Location: Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A; Date: 2003;).

    4. [S160] Richard Glanville-Brown, (Location: 2, Milton, Ontario, Canada;).