- Duncan II of Scotland
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Duncan II 
King of Alba Reign 1094 Predecessor Donald III Successor Donald III Spouse Uchtreda of Northumbria Issue William fitz Duncan House House of Dunkeld Father Malcolm III, King of Alba Mother Ingibiorg Finnsdottir Born b. c. 1060 Died 12 November 1094 Burial Dunfermline Abbey Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim (Modern Gaelic: Donnchadh mac Mhaoil Chaluim;[1] anglicised as Duncan II; before c. 1060 – 12 November 1094) was king of Scots. He was son of Malcolm III (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada) and his first wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, widow of Thorfinn Sigurdsson.
Contents
Early life
Duncan was given into the keeping of William I of England in 1072 as a hostage, and spent many years at court, where he was exposed to the newly arrived Norman culture. His father, who had many sons, appears to have made no effort to obtain Duncan's return. By the reign of William II, Duncan was probably a member of the Norman court rather than a hostage, and he was knighted by the English King.
His father's chosen successor was Duncan's half-brother Edward, who died in the same combat during the invasion of Northumbria in 1093 as did Malcolm III. Malcolm was succeeded by his brother Donalbane (Domnall Bán mac Donnchada), who reigned as Donald III, and Malcolm's other sons joined their half-brother Duncan in England.
Rule
Duncan received William II's tacit support for the Scottish kingship, but the English king did not extend direct support, as he planned a campaign in Normandy. It is probably in the period 1093–1094 that Duncan married Uchtreda of Northumbria, daughter of Gospatric, Earl of Dunbar and Northumbria, although an earlier betrothal has been proposed. Accompanied by his Anglo-Norman followers, and perhaps by the elder of his half-brothers, Duncan easily defeated Donalbane in the early summer of 1094, but appears to have had little support north of the Forth, being reliant on his Northumbrian, English and Norman allies.
Death
A revolt later in 1094 was directed against Duncan's followers rather than the new king, but many of the Normans were killed and the rest sent away in order to settle the revolt. Donalbane's supporters appear to have rallied again, and Duncan was murdered late in 1094 by Máel Petair, Mormaer of Mearns. He was buried at Dunfermline Abbey.
Legacy
His son by Uchtreda, William fitz Duncan, was a prominent figure during the reigns of Duncan's half-brothers Alexander and David.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Duncan II of Scotland 8. Crínán of Dunkeld 4. Duncan I of Scotland 18. Malcolm II of Scotland 9. Bethóc 2. Malcolm III of Scotland 5. Suthen 1. Duncan II of Scotland 24. Arnmod earl 12. Arne Arnmodsson 6. Finn Arnesson 26. Thorstein Gallows 13. Tora Torsteinsdotter 3. Ingibiorg Finnsdottir 28. Sigurd Syr 14. Halfdan Sigurdsson 29. Åsta Gudbrandsdatter 7. Bergljot Halvdansdottir References
- ^ Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim is the Mediaeval Gaelic form
- Barrow, G.W.S., The Kingdom of the Scots. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2003. ISBN 0-7486-1803-1
- Duncan, A.A.M., The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. ISBN 0-7486-1626-8
- Duncan, A. A. M., Duncan II (b. before 1072, d. 1094), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 14 Nov 2010
- Oram, Richard, David I: The King Who Made Scotland. Tempus, Stroud, 2004. ISBN 0-7524-2825-X
Duncan II of ScotlandDied: 1094 12 NovemberRegnal titles Preceded by
Donald IIIKing of Scots
1094Succeeded by
Donald IIICategories:- 11th-century births
- 1094 deaths
- 1094 crimes
- Scottish monarchs
- Murdered monarchs
- House of Dunkeld
- Medieval Gaels
- Scottish people of Norwegian descent
- 11th-century Scottish people
- Burials at Dunfermline Abbey
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