Malcolm III of Scotland

Malcolm III of Scotland was born on 26 March 1031 and died on 13 November 1093. He was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093, a reign of about 35 years. The supplied notes give his Medieval Gaelic name as Máel Coluim mac Donnchada and his Scottish Gaelic name as Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh.

He was later nicknamed “Canmore,” from the Gaelic ceann mòr, literally “big head” and understood in the notes as “great chief.” His reign came before the beginning of the Scoto-Norman age.

The kingdom ruled by Malcolm did not encompass all of modern Scotland. According to the supplied notes, many islands and lands north of the River Oykel were Scandinavian, while areas south of the Firth of Forth included independent or semi-independent realms, among them Strathclyde and Bamburgh. The extent of Scottish authority in those areas when Malcolm came to the throne is described as uncertain.

During his reign, Malcolm led at least five invasions into English territory. The notes describe one of his principal achievements as securing the position of the lineage that ruled Scotland until the late thirteenth century, while also cautioning that his later portrayal as the founder of a dynasty owes much to the propaganda of his descendants.

Malcolm’s second wife was Margaret, who was canonised as a saint in the thirteenth century. Their family connections later included Henry I of England and Eustace III of Boulogne as Malcolm’s sons-in-law. The supplied notes identify Malcolm as the maternal grandfather of Empress Matilda, William Adelin, and Matilda of Boulogne.

In the supplied family relationship path, Malcolm III is identified as the father of David I and as Barbara’s 24th great-grandfather.