Malcolm II of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (Modern Scottish Gaelic: Maol Chaluim mac Choinnich; anglicised Malcolm II; c. 954 – 25 November 1034) was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1005 until his death in the year 1034. He was one of the longest-reigning Scottish kings of that period.
| Malcolm II | |
|---|---|
Painting of King Malcolm II of Scotland who reigned 1005 - 1034 depicted facing the right, wearing a beige jacket, with a red under-garment, and a jewelled neckpiece by Jacob de Wet II | |
| King of Alba | |
| Reign | c. 25 March 1005 – 25 November 1034 |
| Predecessor | Kenneth III |
| Successor | Duncan I |
| Born | c. 954 |
| Died | 25 November 1034 (aged 79/80) Glamis Castle, Scotland |
| Burial | |
| Issue | Bethóc Donada Olith |
| House | Alpin |
| Father | Kenneth II of Scotland |
He was a son of King Kenneth II, but although the name of his mother is uncertain, she may have been a daughter of a Uí Dúnlainge king of Leinster. Also, The Prophecy of Berchán, (which referred to him as Forranach, "the Destroyer"), says his mother was "a woman of Leinster",.
To the Irish annals, which recorded his death, Malcolm was ard rí Alban, High King of Scotland, but his fellow kings of the geographical area of modern Scotland included the king of Strathclyde, who ruled much of the south-west, various Norse-Gael kings on the western coast and the Hebrides and his nearest and most dangerous rivals, the kings or "mormaers" of Moray.
Malcolm pursued a strategy of marrying his daughters into these regional dynasties, which helped create stability in his reign, and ensured that he became the grandfather of his successor Duncan I of Scotland, through his daughter Bethóc, and according to some sources, of Macbeth, King of Scotland, (about whom William Shakespeare later wrote the play Macbeth), through his daughter Donalda.