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Notes for King of Scotland, *Malcolm III Caennmor | ||||||||||||||||
229Malcolm III (1058-93) Malcolm Canmore ('great head' or 'chief') was the eldest son of Duncan I. After his father's death, he found refuge in England with his uncle Siward of Northumbria, where he stayed for more than 14 years. His first wife was Ingibjorg, widow of Earl Thorfinn of Orkney. She died, and in about 1070 he married Margaret, great-niece of King Edward the Confessor of England. She had sought refuge in Scotland with her brother, Edgar the Atheling (Anglo-Saxon heir to the English throne), when William I excluded him from the English succession. Margaret had a strong influence over her husband, who revered her piety and secretly had jewel-encrusted bindings made for her religious books, which he himself was unable to read, never having learned to do so. He also substituted Saxon for Gaelic as the court language. According to Margaret's biographer, she corresponded with Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, brought Benedictine monks to Dunfermline and did away with local usages in the Scottish Church. Margaret also began building what was later to be known as St Margaret's Chapel, situated on the highest part of Edinburgh Castle. Malcolm was determined to extend his kingdom southwards and take advantage of the upheaval caused by the Norman Conquest. Making the excuse that he was supporting the claim to the English throne of his brother-in-law Edgar Atheling, Malcolm invaded England five times (he was a formidable warrior-king, having killed his two predecessor kings). Three times defeated, Malcolm was forced under the treaty of Abernethy in 1072 to become 'the man' of the English king and give up his son Duncan as a hostage. Malcolm and his eldest son were finally killed in battle at Alnwick, Northumberland on 13 November 1093, aged about 62. His wife died when they brought her the news at Edinburgh Castle. She was canonised in 1249. After Malcolm's death, the frontier between the kingdoms of Scotland and England was clearly defined for the first time. Anglo-Norman influence in Scotland was promoted by the subsequent marriages of Malcolm's sons to English brides. -------------------------------------------------- For some genealogy info. go to http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal01511 219 Malcolm at the head of an English Saxon army defeated and killed MacBeth while his Norwegian allies were engaged elsewhere and Malcolm ascended the throne in 1057 as King Malcolm III Ceann Mor (Canmore). During his 37 year reign, the first events now known as Highland Games were held on the Braes of Mar to choose the best available men to serve as his servants and soldiers. His death during battle in Dec 1093, and the death of his wife several days later, brought on a turbulent time which saw Malcolm's eldest son (King Duncan II) murdered by Malcolm's brother (Donald Bane, Lord of the Isles) in order to become king. Ceanmohr, means Great Head. Malcolm III was eldest son of Duncan, who was murdered by MacBeth in 1039. After Duncan's death, Malcolm fled for safety to his kinsman, Siward, Danish Earl of Northumberland and continued to live for many years in England. In 1054 Siward, with the sanction of Edward the Confessor, led an army into Scotland - encountered MacBeth near Dunsinane and defeated him, leaving Malcolm in possession. MacBeth retired into the North, and the contest was only ended in 1056 by MacBeth's defeat and death at Lumphanan. Peace remained with England during the reign of Edward the Confessor, but on the accession of Harold he favoured the attempt of Tostig. After the battle of Hastings he welcomed to his court, Edgar the Atheling with his mother and two sisters. He soon married one of them, Princess Margaret. In 1070 he invaded England, ravaged Durham and carried off so many prisoners that for years after, English slaves were found in every hamlet of Scotland. This raid was avenged by a more savage and destructive devastation of Northumbria by William the Conqueror. Malcolm agreed to do homage, and Edgar left his court, but he continued to give his protection to the English exiles. Disputes arose with William Rufus, and in 1091 Malcolm again invaded England, but retired without fighting. | ||||||||||||||||
Last Modified 21 May 2001 | Created 23 Feb 2017 by EasyTree for Windows95 |