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Duncan I of Scotland

 

 
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Donnchad mac Crínáin (Modern Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic languages branch of Celtic languages. This branch also includes the Irish language and Manx language languages....
: Donnchadh mac Crìonain) anglicised as Duncan I, and nicknamed An t-Ilgarach, "the Diseased" or "the Sick" (died 14 August 1040) was king of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a Anglo-Scottish border to the south with the Kingdom of England, with which it was united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, in 170...
 (Alba
Kingdom of Alba

The Kingdom of Alba pertains to the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II of Scotland in 900, and of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286 which then led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence....
). He was son of Crínán
Crínán of Dunkeld

Cr?n?n of Dunkeld was the lay abbot of the diocese of Dunkeld, and perhaps the Mormaer of Atholl. Cr?n?n was progenitor of the House of Dunkeld, the dynasty who would rule Scotland until the later 13th century....
, hereditary lay abbot
Lay abbot

Lay abbot is a name used to designate a layman on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an abbey as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitled to part of the income....
 of Dunkeld
Dunkeld

Dunkeld is a small town in River Tay, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately 15 miles north of Perth, Scotland on the eastern side of the A9 road into the Scottish Highlands and on the opposite side of the River Tay from the Victorian village of Birnam, Perth and Kinross....
, and Bethóc
Bethóc

Beth?c ingen Ma?l Coluim meic Cin?eda was the eldest daughter of King Malcolm II of Scotland, King of Scots, who had no known sons.The strongest hereditary claim of succession to the Scottish throne therefore passed through Beth?c....
, daughter of king Malcolm II of Scotland
Malcolm II of Scotland

M?el Coluim mac Cin?eda , known in modern anglicized regnal lists as Malcolm II , was King of the Scots from 1005 until his death. He was a son of Kenneth II of Scotland ; the Prophecy of Berch?n says that his mother was a woman of Leinster and refers to him as M?el Coluim Forranach, "the destroyer"....
 (Máel Coluim mac Cináeda).

Unlike the "King Duncan
King Duncan

King Duncan, or Duncan, King of Scotland is a character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. He is the King of Scotland, the father of two youthful sons , and the victim of a well-plotted regicide in a power grab by his trusted captain and cousin Macbeth ....
" of Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 Macbeth
Macbeth

Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest Shakespearean tragedy and is believed to have been written some time between 1603 and 1606, with 1607 being the very latest possible date....
, 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.






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Donnchad mac Crínáin (Modern Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic languages branch of Celtic languages. This branch also includes the Irish language and Manx language languages....
: Donnchadh mac Crìonain) anglicised as Duncan I, and nicknamed An t-Ilgarach, "the Diseased" or "the Sick" (died 14 August 1040) was king of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a Anglo-Scottish border to the south with the Kingdom of England, with which it was united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, in 170...
 (Alba
Kingdom of Alba

The Kingdom of Alba pertains to the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II of Scotland in 900, and of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286 which then led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence....
). He was son of Crínán
Crínán of Dunkeld

Cr?n?n of Dunkeld was the lay abbot of the diocese of Dunkeld, and perhaps the Mormaer of Atholl. Cr?n?n was progenitor of the House of Dunkeld, the dynasty who would rule Scotland until the later 13th century....
, hereditary lay abbot
Lay abbot

Lay abbot is a name used to designate a layman on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an abbey as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitled to part of the income....
 of Dunkeld
Dunkeld

Dunkeld is a small town in River Tay, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately 15 miles north of Perth, Scotland on the eastern side of the A9 road into the Scottish Highlands and on the opposite side of the River Tay from the Victorian village of Birnam, Perth and Kinross....
, and Bethóc
Bethóc

Beth?c ingen Ma?l Coluim meic Cin?eda was the eldest daughter of King Malcolm II of Scotland, King of Scots, who had no known sons.The strongest hereditary claim of succession to the Scottish throne therefore passed through Beth?c....
, daughter of king Malcolm II of Scotland
Malcolm II of Scotland

M?el Coluim mac Cin?eda , known in modern anglicized regnal lists as Malcolm II , was King of the Scots from 1005 until his death. He was a son of Kenneth II of Scotland ; the Prophecy of Berch?n says that his mother was a woman of Leinster and refers to him as M?el Coluim Forranach, "the destroyer"....
 (Máel Coluim mac Cináeda).

Unlike the "King Duncan
King Duncan

King Duncan, or Duncan, King of Scotland is a character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. He is the King of Scotland, the father of two youthful sons , and the victim of a well-plotted regicide in a power grab by his trusted captain and cousin Macbeth ....
" of Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 Macbeth
Macbeth

Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest Shakespearean tragedy and is believed to have been written some time between 1603 and 1606, with 1607 being the very latest possible date....
, 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 tánaise
Tanistry

Tanistry was a system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist was the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the Gaels patrilineal dynasties of Ireland, Scotland and Isle of Man, to succeed to the Chiefs of the Name or to the kingship....
 as the succession appears to have been uneventful. Earlier histories, following John of Fordun
John of Fordun

John of Fordun was a Scotland chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th century; and it is probable that he was a chaplain in the cathedral of Aberdeen....
, supposed that Duncan had been king of Strathclyde in his grandfather's lifetime, ruling the former Kingdom of Strathclyde
Kingdom of Strathclyde

Strathclyde , originally Brythonic language Ystrad Clud, was one of the kingdoms of the Brythons in the northern part of the island Great Britain throughout the Sub-Roman Britain period , and the Scotland in the Middle Ages....
 as an appanage
Appanage

An apanage or appanage is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who under the system of primogeniture would otherwise have no inheritance....
. Modern historians discount this idea.

Another claim by Fordun, that Duncan married the sister, daughter or cousin of Sigurd the Dane, Earl of Northumbria
Earl of Northumbria

Earl of Northumbria was a title in the Danish people, late Anglo-Saxon England, and early Anglo-Norman period in England. The earldom of Northumbria was the successor of the ealdormanry of Bamburgh, itself the successor of an independent Bernicia....
, appears to be equally unreliable. An earlier source, a variant of the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
Chronicle of the Kings of Alba

The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, or Scottish Chronicle, is a short written chronicle of the Kings of Scots of Alba, covering the period from the time of Kenneth I of Scotland until the reign of Kenneth II of Scotland ....
 (CK-I), gives Duncan's wife the Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic languages branch of Celtic languages. This branch also includes the Irish language and Manx language languages....
 name Suthen. Whatever his wife's name may have been, Duncan had at least two sons. The eldest, Malcolm III
Malcolm III of Scotland

M?el Coluim mac Donnchada , called in most Anglicisation regnal lists Malcolm III, and in later centuries nicknamed Canmore, "Big Head" or Long-neck , was King of Scots....
 (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada) was king from 1057 to 1093, the second Donald III
Donald III of Scotland

Domnall mac Donnchada , anglicisation as Donald III, and nicknamed Domnall B?n, "Donald the Fair" , was King of Scots from 1094?1097....
 (Domnall Bán, or "Donalbane") was king afterwards. Máel Muire, Earl of Atholl
Máel Muire, Earl of Atholl

M?el Muire of Atholl was Mormaer of Atholl at the beginning of the twelfth century, until sometime perhaps in the 1130s. According to the Orkneyinga saga, M?el Muire was a son of king Duncan I of Scotland and a younger brother of King Malcolm III of Scotland....
 is a possible third son of Duncan, although this is uncertain.

The early period of Duncan's reign was apparently uneventful, perhaps a consequence of his youth. Macbeth
Macbeth of Scotland

Mac Bethad mac Findla?ch , anglicised as Macbeth, and nicknamed R? Deircc, "the Red King" , was King of the Scots from 1040 until his death....
 (Mac Bethad mac Findláich) is recorded as his dux, literally duke
Duke

A duke is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy or a dukedom. The title comes from the Latin language Dux Bellorum, which had the sense of "military commander" and was employed by both the Germanic peoples themselves and by the Ancient Rome authors covering them to r...
, but in the context — "dukes of Francia" had half a century before replaced the Carolingian
Carolingian

File:Charlemagne denier Mayence 812 814.jpgThe Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century....
 kings of the Franks and in England the over-mighty Godwin of Wessex was called a dux — this suggests that Macbeth was the power behind the throne
Power behind the throne

The phrase power behind the throne refers to a person or cabal that informally exercises the real power of an office. In politics, it most commonly refers to a spouse, aide, or advisor of a political leader who serves as de facto leader, setting policy through influence or manipulation....
.

In 1039, Duncan led a large Scots army south to besiege Durham
Durham

Durham is a city in North East England. It lies at the heart of the City of Durham local government district. It is the county town of County Durham....
, but the expedition ended in disaster. Duncan survived, but the following year he led an army north into Moray, traditionally seen as Macbeth's domain. There he was killed, at Pitgaveny near Elgin
Elgin, Moray

Elgin is a former cathedral city and a former Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland and is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain....
, by his own men led by Macbeth, probably on 14 August, 1040.

Depictions in fiction


Duncan is depicted as an elderly King in Macbeth
Macbeth

Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest Shakespearean tragedy and is believed to have been written some time between 1603 and 1606, with 1607 being the very latest possible date....
 by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
. He is killed in his sleep by the protagonist, Macbeth.