Causantín mac Cináeda
Causantín or Constantín mac Cináeda was a king of the Picts. He is known as Constantine I in reference to his place in modern lists of kings of Scots, but contemporary sources described Causantín only as a Pictish king. A son of Cináed mac Ailpín, he succeeded his uncle Domnall mac Ailpín as Pictish king following the latter's death on 13 April 862, it is that Causantín's reign witnessed increased activity by Vikings, based in Ireland and northern Britain. He died fighting one such invasion. Few records of ninth century events in northern Britain survive; the main local source from the period is the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, a list of kings from Cináed mac Ailpín to Cináed mac Maíl Coluim. The list survives in a thirteenth-century compilation. A list of kings with reign lengths, the other details contained in the Poppleton Manuscript version were added from the tenth century onwards. In addition to this king lists survive; the earliest genealogical records of the descendants of Cináed mac Ailpín may date from the end of the tenth century, but their value lies more in their context, the information they provide about the interests of those for whom they were compiled, than in the unreliable claims they contain.
The Pictish king-lists ended with this Causantín, reckoned the seventieth and last king of the Picts. For narrative history the principal sources are the Irish annals. While Scandinavian sagas describe events in 9th century Britain, their value as sources of historical narrative, rather than documents of social history, is disputed. If the sources for north-eastern Britain, the lands of the kingdom of Northumbria and the former Pictland, are limited and late, those for the areas on the Irish Sea and Atlantic coasts—the modern regions of north-west England and all of northern and western Scotland—are non-existent, archaeology and toponymy are of primary importance. Writing a century before Causantín was born, Bede recorded five languages in Britain. Latin, the common language of the church. By the ninth century a sixth language, Old Norse, had arrived with the Vikings. Viking activity in northern Britain appears to have reached a peak during Causantín's reign. Viking armies were led by a small group of men.
Among those noted by the Irish annals, the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are Ívarr—Ímar in Irish sources—who was active from East Anglia to Ireland, Halfdán—Albdann in Irish, Healfdene in Old English— and Amlaíb or Óláfr. As well as these leaders, various others related to them appear in the surviving record. Viking activity in Britain increased in 865 when the Great Heathen Army a part of the forces, active in Francia, landed in East Anglia; the following year, having obtained tribute from the East Anglian King Edmund, the Great Army moved north, seizing York, chief city of the Northumbrians. The Great Army defeated an attack on York by the two rivals for the Northumbrian throne, Osberht and Ælla, who had put aside their differences in the face of a common enemy. Both would-be kings were killed in the failed assault on 21 March 867. Following this, the leaders of the Great Army are said to have installed one Ecgberht as king of the Northumbrians, their next target was Mercia where King Burgred, aided by his brother-in-law King Æthelred of Wessex, drove them off.
While the kingdoms of East Anglia and Northumbria were under attack, other Viking armies were active in the far north. Amlaíb and Auisle, said to be his brother, brought an army to Fortriu and obtained tribute and hostages in 866. Historians disagree as to whether the army returned to Ireland in 866, 867 or in 869. Late sources of uncertain reliability state that Auisle was killed by Amlaíb in 867 in a dispute over Amlaíb's wife, the daughter of Cináed, it is unclear whether, if accurate, this woman should be identified as a daughter of Cináed mac Ailpín, thus Causantín's sister, or as a daughter of Cináed mac Conaing, king of Brega. While Amlaíb and Auisle were in north Britain, the Annals of Ulster record that Áed Findliath, High King of Ireland, took advantage of their absence to destroy the longphorts along the northern coasts of Ireland. Áed Findliath was married to Causantín's sister Máel Muire. She married Áed's successor Flann Sinna, her death is recorded in 913. In 870, Amlaíb and Ívarr attacked Dumbarton Rock, where the River Leven meets the River Clyde, the chief place of the kingdom of Alt Clut, south-western neighbour of Pictland.
The siege lasted four months before the fortress fell to the Vikings who returned to Ireland with many prisoners, "Angles and Picts", in 871. Archaeological evidence suggests that Dumbarton Rock was abandoned and that Govan replaced it as the chief place of the kingdom of Strathclyde, as Alt Clut was known. King Artgal of Alt Clut did not long survive these events, being killed "at the instigation" of Causantín son of Cináed two years later. Artgal's son and successor Run was married to a sister of Causantín. Amlaíb disappears from Irish annals after his return to Ireland in 871. According to the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba he was killed by Causantín either in 871 or 872 when he returned to Pictland to collect further tribute, his ally Ívarr died in 873. In 875, the Chronicle and the Annals of Ulster again report a Viking army in Pictland. A bat
Clan Mackay
Clan Mackay is an ancient and once-powerful Highland Scottish clan from the far North of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old kingdom of Moray. They supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. In the centuries that followed; the territory of the Clan Mackay consisted of the parishes of Farr, Tongue and Eddrachillis, was known as Strathnaver, in the north-west of the county of Sutherland. However, it was not until 1829 that Strathnaver was considered part of Sutherland when the chief sold his lands to the Earls of Sutherland and the Highland Clearances had dire consequences for the clan. In the 17th century the Mackay chief's territory had extended to the east to include the parish of Reay in the west of the neighbouring county of Caithness; the chief of the clan is Lord Reay and the lands of Strathnaver became known as the Reay Country. Historian Angus Mackay in his "Book of Mackay" compares two different genealogies of the early chiefs of the Clan Mackay.
The first is by Sir Robert Gordon, a 17th-century historian and the second by Alexander Mackay of Blackcastle, an 18th- to 19th-century historian who had access to the charters and historical documents of the Mackay chief's family. Both genealogies have similarities but there are significant differences given for the ancestry of the Mackay chiefs. Gordon's genealogy claims that the chiefs of the Clan Mackay shared a common ancestor with both the chiefs of the Clan Forbes and chiefs of Clan Farquharson. Historian Angus Mackay gives evidence that explains that Gordon's theory of the connection to the Forbeses was due to an strong alliance between the two families that began during the 16th century in a long feud with the Gordon family; the Blackcastle MS shows that the Mackay chiefs were related to the Farquharsons but gives a different connection to that given by Gordon. Angus Mackay analyses what evidence is available to support each of the two genealogies and concludes that the one given in Alexander Mackay's Blackcastle Manuscript is by far the most accurate.
The Blackcastle MS claims that Iye Mackay, 1st chief of the Clan Mackay, born in about 1210, was a descendant of Malcolm MacHeth, 1st Earl of Ross who died in about 1168. Malcolm MacHeth, Earl of Ross may well have been related to the early Mormaers of Moray. According to Angus Mackay, sometime in the 1160s, the MacHeths and their supporters after conflict with king Malcolm IV of Scotland fled northwards over the hills of Ross into Strathnaver, where they were welcomed by the Norse Harald Maddadsson, Mormaer of Caithness, an enemy of the king. In 1215 the MacHeths along with the MacWilliams retaliated against the king but were defeated by Fearchar, Earl of Ross and the grandson of Malcolm MacHeth, Kenneth MacHeth was killed. According to Angus Mackay it is possible that from this Kenneth MacHeth the Stathnaver Mackays are descended, that Iye Mackay, 1st chief of Clan Mackay may well have been his son or nephew. According to the Blackcastle MS Iye Mackay's son was Iye Mor Mackay, 2nd chief of Clan Mackay who married a daughter of Walter, Bishop of Caithness in 1263.
According to Major General Stewart the Mackays were amongst the clans who supported Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. In the 14th century, in 1370, chief Iye Mackay, 4th of Strathnaver and his son were murdered at Dingwall Castle by Nicholas Sutherland of Duffus, head of one of the junior branches of Clan Sutherland. Much bloodshed followed, including a retaliatory raid on Dornoch in 1372; the cathedral was once again set on fire and many Sutherland men were hanged in the town square. After this, the feud quietened down. In 1403 the Battle of Tuiteam Tarbhach was fought between Clan Mackay and Clan MacLeod of Lewis: Chief Angus Mackay, 6th of Strathnaver had married the sister of the MacLeod of Lewis. MacLeod found that his sister had been mistreated and he decided to spoil Strathnaver and Brae-Chat in Sutherland but in the ensuing battle MacLeod was killed. In 1411 Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles challenged the Stewart royal family for the Earldom of Ross. Chief Angus Du Mackay, 7th of Strathnaver joined the Stewart Confederacy and the Battle of Dingwall took place in which Donald of the Isles defeated Mackay.
However, Angus Du Mackay married a sister of Donald of the Isles, granddaughter of Robert II of Scotland, indicating how important the Clan Mackay had become. In 1426 the Battle of Harpsdale took place where Chief Angus Du Mackay, 7th of Strathnaver, with his son Neil, laid waste to Caithness; the inhabitants of Caithness assembled and fought Angus Du at Harpsdale, where there was great slaughter on both sides. Soon afterwards James I of Scotland came to Inverness, intending to pursue Angus Du Mackay who submitted himself to the King's mercy, gave his son Neil as a pledge of his future obedience; the King accepted, sent Neil Mackay to remain in captivity on the Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth. In 1431 the Battle of Drumnacoub took place where Angus Du Mackay, 7th of Strathnaver defeated the Clan Sutherland who were led by Angus Moray. In 1437 a conflict known as the Sandside Chase took place where men of Caithness were overthrown by Neil Bhasse Mackay, 8th of Strathnaver after his release from the Bass Rock.
In 1464 the Battle of Tannach took place where the Clan Mackay, under Angus Roy Mackay, 9th of Strathnaver, the Clan Keith defeated the Clan Gunn of Caithness. In the late 15th century the Clan Mackay and Clan Ross had long been at feud; this resulted in the Battle of Tarbat in 1486 where the Mackays were defeated by the Rosses an
Donald II of Scotland
Domnall mac Causantín, anglicised as Donald II was King of the Picts or King of Alba in the late 9th century. He was the son of Constantine I. Donald is given the epithet Dásachtach, "the Madman", by The Prophecy of Berchán. Donald became king on the death or deposition of Giric, the date of, not known but placed in 889; the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba reports: Doniualdus son of Constantini held the kingdom for 11 years. The Northmen wasted Pictland at this time. In his reign a battle occurred between Scots at Innisibsolian where the Scots had victory, he was killed at Opidum Fother by the Gentiles. It has been suggested that the attack on Dunnottar, rather than being a small raid by a handful of pirates, may be associated with the ravaging of Scotland attributed to Harald Fairhair in the Heimskringla; the Prophecy of Berchán places Donald's death at Dunnottar, but appears to attribute it to Gaels rather than Norsemen. Donald's death is dated to 900 by the Annals of Ulster and the Chronicon Scotorum, where he is called king of Alba, rather than king of the Picts.
He was buried on Iona. Like his father, Constantine, he died a violent death at a premature age; the change from king of the Picts to king of Alba is seen as indicating a step towards the kingdom of the Scots, but historians, while divided as to when this change should be placed, do not attribute it to Donald in view of his epithet. The consensus view is that the key changes occurred in the reign of Constantine II, but the reign of Giric has been proposed; the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba has Donald succeeded by his cousin Constantine II. Donald's son Malcolm was king as Malcolm I; the Prophecy of Berchán appears to suggest that another king reigned for a short while between Donald II and Constantine II, saying "half a day will he take sovereignty". Possible confirmation of this exists in the Chronicon Scotorum, where the death of "Ead, king of the Picts" in battle against the Uí Ímair is reported in 904. This, however, is thought to be an error, referring to Ædwulf, the ruler of Bernicia, whose death is reported in 913 by the other Irish annals.
Kingdom of Alba Origins of the Kingdom of Alba CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork includes the Annals of Ulster, the Four Masters and Innisfallen, the Chronicon Scotorum, the Lebor Bretnach and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English; the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
Scottish people
The Scottish people or Scots, are a nation and Celtic ethnic group native to Scotland. They emerged from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century; the neighbouring Celtic-speaking Cumbrians, as well as Germanic-speaking Anglo-Saxons and Norse, were incorporated into the Scottish nation. In modern usage, "Scottish people" or "Scots" is used to refer to anyone whose linguistic, family ancestral or genetic origins are from Scotland; the Latin word Scoti referred to the Gaels, but came to describe all inhabitants of Scotland. Considered archaic or pejorative, the term Scotch has been used for Scottish people outside Scotland. John Kenneth Galbraith in his book The Scotch documents the descendants of 19th-century Scottish pioneers who settled in Southwestern Ontario and affectionately referred to themselves as'Scotch', he states the book was meant to give a true picture of life in the community in the early decades of the 20th century.
People of Scottish descent live in many countries. Emigration, influenced by factors such as the Highland and Lowland Clearances, Scottish participation in the British Empire, latterly industrial decline and unemployment, have resulted in Scottish people being found throughout the world. Scottish emigrants took with them their Scottish languages and culture. Large populations of Scottish people settled the new-world lands of North and South America and New Zealand. Canada has the highest level of Scottish descendants per capita in the world and the second-largest population of Scottish descendants, after the United States. Scotland has seen settlement of many peoples at different periods in its history; the Gaels, the Picts and the Britons have their respective origin myths, like most medieval European peoples. Germanic peoples, such as the Anglo-Saxons, arrived beginning in the 7th century, while the Norse settled parts of Scotland from the 8th century onwards. In the High Middle Ages, from the reign of David I of Scotland, there was some emigration from France and the Low Countries to Scotland.
Some famous Scottish family names, including those bearing the names which became Bruce, Balliol and Stewart came to Scotland at this time. Today Scotland is one of the countries of the United Kingdom, the majority of people living there are British citizens; the highest concentrations of people of Scottish descent in the world outside of Scotland are located in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in Canada and Southland in New Zealand, the Falklands Islands, Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. In the Early Middle Ages, Scotland saw several ethnic or cultural groups mentioned in contemporary sources, namely the Picts, the Gaels, the Britons, the Angles, with the latter settling in the southeast of the country. Culturally, these peoples are grouped according to language. Most of Scotland until the 13th century spoke Celtic languages and these included, at least the Britons, as well as the Gaels and the Picts. Germanic peoples included the Angles of Northumbria, who settled in south-eastern Scotland in the region between the Firth of Forth to the north and the River Tweed to the south.
They occupied the south-west of Scotland up to and including the Plain of Kyle and their language, Old English, was the earliest form of the language which became known as Scots. Use of the Gaelic language spread throughout nearly the whole of Scotland by the 9th century, reaching a peak in the 11th to 13th centuries, but was never the language of the south-east of the country. King Edgar divided the Kingdom of Northumbria between England. South-east of the Firth of Forth in Lothian and the Borders, a northern variety of Old English known as Early Scots, was spoken; as a result of David I, King of Scots' return from exile in England in 1113 to assume the throne in 1124 with the help of Norman military force, David invited Norman families from France and England to settle in lands he granted them to spread a ruling class loyal to him. This Davidian Revolution, as many historians call it, brought a European style of feudalism to Scotland along with an influx of people of Norman descent - by invitation, unlike England where it was by conquest.
To this day, many of the common family names of Scotland can trace ancestry to Normans from this period, such as the Stewarts, the Bruces, the Hamiltons, the Wallaces, the Melvilles, some Browns and many others. The Northern Isles and some parts of Caithness were Norn-speaking. From 1200 to 1500 the Early Scots language spread across the lowland parts of Scotland between Galloway and the Highland line, being used by Barbour in his historical epic The Brus in the late 14th century in Aberdeen. From 1500 on, Scotland was divided by language into two groups of people, Gaelic-speaking "Highlanders" and the Inglis-speaking "Lowlanders". Today, immigrants have brought other languages, but every adult throughout Scotland is fluent in the English language. Today, Scotland has a population of just over five million people, the majority of whom co
Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II was King of Scotland from 1214 until his death in 1249. He was born at Haddington, East Lothian, the only son of the Scottish king William the Lion and Ermengarde of Beaumont, he spent time in England before succeeding to the kingdom on the death of his father on 4 December 1214, being crowned at Scone on 6 December the same year. In 1215, the year after his accession, the clans Meic Uilleim and MacHeths, inveterate enemies of the Scottish crown, broke into revolt. In the same year Alexander joined the English barons in their struggle against John of England, led an army into the Kingdom of England in support of their cause; this action led to the sacking of Berwick-upon-Tweed as John's forces ravaged the north. The Scottish forces reached the south coast of England at the port of Dover where in September 1216, Alexander paid homage to the pretender Prince Louis of France for his lands in England, chosen by the barons to replace King John, but John having died, the Pope and the English aristocracy changed their allegiance to his nine-year-old son, forcing the French and the Scots armies to return home.
Peace between Henry III, Louis of France, Alexander followed on 12 September 1217 with the treaty of Kingston. Diplomacy further strengthened the reconciliation by the marriage of Alexander to Henry's sister Joan of England on 18 June or 25 June 1221; the next year marked the subjection of the hitherto semi-independent district of Argyll. Royal forces crushed a revolt in Galloway in 1235 without difficulty. Soon afterwards a claim for homage from Henry of England drew forth from Alexander a counter-claim to the northern English counties; the two kingdoms, settled this dispute by a compromise in 1237. This was the Treaty of York which defined the boundary between the two kingdoms as running between the Solway Firth and the mouth of the River Tweed. Joan died in March 1238 in Essex. Alexander married his second wife, Marie de Coucy, the following year on 15 May 1239. Together they had one son, the future Alexander III, born in 1241. A threat of invasion by Henry in 1243 for a time interrupted the friendly relations between the two countries.
Alexander now turned his attention to securing the Western Isles, which were still part of the Norwegian domain of Suðreyjar. He attempted negotiations and purchase, but without success. Alexander set out to conquer these islands but died on the way in 1249; this dispute over the Western Isles known as the Hebrides, was not resolved until 1266 when Magnus VI of Norway ceded them to Scotland along with the Isle of Man. The English chronicler Matthew Paris in his Chronica Majora described Alexander as red-haired: " taunted King Alexander, because he was red-headed, sent word to him, saying,'so shall we hunt the red fox-cub from his lairs." Alexander attempted to persuade Ewen, the son of Duncan, Lord of Argyll, to sever his allegiance to Haakon IV of Norway. When Ewen rejected these attempts, Alexander sailed forth to compel him, but on the way he suffered a fever at the Isle of Kerrera in the Inner Hebrides, he died there in 1249 and was buried at Melrose Abbey 1. Joan of England, was the eldest legitimate daughter and third child of John of England and Isabella of Angoulême.
She and Alexander II married on 21 June 1221, at York Minster. Alexander was 23. Joan was 11, they had no children. Joan was Alexander's 3rd cousin. Joan died in Essex in 1238, was buried at Tarant Crawford Abbey in Dorset. 2. Marie de Coucy, who became mother of Alexander III of Scotland, she was Alexander's third cousin once removed by their common ancestor Hugh, Count of Vermandois. Alexander II has been depicted in historical novels: Sword of State by Nigel Tranter; the novel depicts Patrick II, Earl of Dunbar. "Their friendship withstands treachery and rivalry". Child of the Phoenix by Barbara Erskine. "Alexander II". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. Chambers, Robert. "Alexander II.". A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen. 1. Glasgow: Blackie and Son. Pp. 47–49 – via Wikisource. Worcester Annals Rotuli Litterarum Patencium Oram, Richard. Alexander II: King of Scots 1214-1249. Edinburgh. Pollock, M. A.. Scotland and France after the Loss of Normandy, 1204-1296. Woodbridge
Duncan I of Scotland
Donnchad mac Crinain was king of Scotland from 1034 to 1040. He is the historical basis of the "King Duncan" in Shakespeare's play Macbeth, he was a son of Crínán, hereditary lay abbot of Dunkeld, Bethóc, daughter of king 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 Tànaiste 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, although it is supported by the ODNB.. An earlier source, a variant of the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, 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 was king from 1058 to 1093, the second Donald III was king afterwards. Máel Muire, Earl of Atholl is a possible third son of Duncan; the early period of Duncan's reign was uneventful a consequence of his youth. Macbeth is recorded as having been his dux, today rendered as "duke" and meaning nothing more than the rank between prince and marquess, but still having the Roman meaning of "war leader". In 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 may have been 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, Macbeth's domain on a punitive expedition against Moray. There he was killed in action, at Bothnagowan, now Pitgaveny, near Elgin, by the men of Moray led by Macbeth on 14 August 1040.
He is thought to have been buried at Elgin before relocation to the Isle of Iona. Duncan is depicted as an elderly king in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, he is killed in his sleep by Macbeth. In the historical novel Macbeth the King by Nigel Tranter, Duncan is portrayed as a schemer, fearful of Macbeth as a possible rival for the throne, he tries to assassinate Macbeth by poisoning and when this fails, attacks his home with an army. In self-defence Macbeth kills him in personal combat. In the animated television series Gargoyles he is depicted as a weak and conniving king who assassinates those who he believes threaten his rule, he tries to assassinate Macbeth, forcing Demona to ally with the Moray nobleman, with Duncan's resulting death coming from attempting to strike an enchanted orb of energy that one of the Weird Sisters gave to Macbeth to take Duncan down. Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History AD 500 to 1286, volume one. Republished with corrections, Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990.
ISBN 1-871615-03-8 Broun, Dauvit, "Duncan I", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 15 May 2007 Duncan, A. A. M; the Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. ISBN 0-7486-1626-8 Oram, David I: The King Who Made Scotland. Tempus, Stroud, 2004. ISBN 0-7524-2825-X
Earl of Fife
The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the Earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the realm, had the right to crown the King of Scots. Held by the MacDuff family until it passed by resignation to the Stewarts, the earldom ended on the forfeiture and execution of Duke Murdoch in 1425; the earldom was revived in 1759 with the style of Earl Fife for William Duff, a descendant of the MacDuffs. His great-great-grandson, the 6th Earl Fife, was made Earl of Fife in 1885 and Duke of Fife in 1889; the Mormaers of Fife, by the 12th century, had established themselves as the highest ranking native nobles in Scotland. They held the office of Justiciar of Scotia - highest brithem in the land - and enjoyed the right of crowning the Kings of the Scots; the Mormaer's function, as with other medieval Scottish lordships, was kin-based. Hence, in 1385, the Earl of Fife, seen as the successor of the same lordship, is called capitalis legis de Clenmcduffe.
The lordship existed in the Middle Ages until its last earl, Duke of Albany, was executed by James I of Scotland. The first Earl of Fife was Alexander Scrymgeour. Alexander served under Robert the Bruce. Was the official and hereditary Banner Bearer for the King of Scotland. Was awarded title of Earl and given the demesne of Fife for services rendered; the deputy or complementary position to mormaer or earl of Fife was leadership as Chief of Clan MacDuff. There is little doubt that the style MacDuib, or Macduff, derives from the name of King Cináed III mac Duib, from this man's father, King Dub. Compare, for instance, that Domhnall, Lord of the Isles, signed a charter in 1408 as MacDomhnaill; the descendants of Cináed III adopted the name in the same way that the descendants of Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig called themselves Uí Briain, although it does seem that at least MacDuff was a style reserved for the man who held the Mormaership of Fife. The chieftaincy of the clan was not always held by the mormaer after the mormaerdom became subject to the laws of feudal primogeniture in the reign of Donnchadh I.
For example, at the Battle of Falkirk, it is the head of the clan who led the men of Fife, rather than the Mormaer. The Macduff line continued without interruption until the time of Isabella, the only child of Donnchad IV, Earl of Fife, his wife Mary de Monthermer, she succeeded her father as suo jure Countess of Fife on his death in 1358, making her one of the most eligible maidens in Scotland. She married four times. In 1371 she was persuaded to name Robert Stewart, Earl of Menteith as her heir, her brother-in-law by her second marriage to Walter Stewart, he thus succeeded her as twelfth Earl of Fife on her death in 1389. Duke Robert was succeeded as Duke of Albany, Earl of Fife, etc. by his son Murdoch in 1420. Duke Murdoch was forfeited and executed in 1425, due to his father's part in the death of Prince David, Duke of Rothesay, thus the earldom of Fife came to an end. The arms of the earldom of Fife are or, a lion rampant gules, that is, a red lion rampant on gold; these arms are testament to the Earls' royal connection, as they differ to the King's arms only in the exclusion of the flowered border, or royal tressure.
The device of a lion is attested for the first time on the seal of the tenth Earl, but had been used for a long time before this, though some early seals show a different shield, bearing pallets or vertical stripes. The arms of the Earl of Fife are the basis for the arms of Fife Council, which show a knight on horseback in full armorial regalia, his shield and the caparison of his horse bedecked with red lions; the Fife lion appears in the first quarter of the Duke of Fife's arms. The earldom of Fife was resurrected in 1759 for William Duff, after he proved his descent from the original Earls of Fife; this title was in the Peerage of Ireland, notwithstanding. The title of Earl of Fife in the Peerage of the United Kingdom was created in 1885 by Queen Victoria for Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife, he married Princess Louise, the third child and eldest daughter of Albert, Prince of Wales King Edward VII. When it became clear that Alexander was not going to have a son, Queen Victoria created a second dukedom of Fife which could pass through the female line.
After his death in 1912, the dukedom of Fife created in 1900 passed to his eldest daughter Lady Alexandra, while his other titles, including the 1759 earldom, became extinct. The fourth and current Duke of Fife is David Carnegie, is the grandson of Duke Alexander's younger daughter.? Giric mac Cináeda meic Duib? Macduib Causantín, Earl of Fife, See Mormaer Beth and Ethelred of Scotland for common confusion here Gille Míchéil, Earl of Fife Donnchadh I, Earl of Fife Donnchadh II, Earl of Fife Maol Choluim I, Earl of Fife Maol Choluim II, Earl of Fife Colbán, Earl of Fife, Donnchadh III, Earl of Fife Donnchadh IV, Earl of Fife, considered by King David II to have forfeited the earldom Sir William Ramsay of Colluthie, Earl of Fife
