View source for Malcolm III of Scotland

{{Short description|King of Alba from 1058 to 1093}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Malcolm III
| image        = Malcolm III Engraving (cropped).jpg
| caption      = Engraving depicting Malcolm III
| succession   = [[King of Alba (Scotland)]]
| reign        = 17 March 1058 –<br/>13 November 1093
| coronation   = 25 April 1058?<br/>[[Scone, Scotland|Scone]], [[Perth and Kinross]]
| cor-type     = Inauguration
| predecessor  = [[Lulach]]
| successor    = [[Donald III]]
| spouses      = {{plainlist|
* [[Ingibiorg Finnsdottir]]
* [[Margaret of Wessex]]}}
| issue        = {{Plainlist|
** [[Duncan II, King of Scots]]
** Domnall
** [[Edmund of Scotland|Edmund]]
** [[Ethelred of Scotland|Ethelred, Abbot of Dunkeld]]
** [[Edgar, King of Scotland]]
** [[Alexander I, King of Scotland]]
** [[David I, King of Scotland]]
** [[Matilda of Scotland|Matilda, Queen of England]]
** [[Mary of Scotland (1082–1116)|Mary, Countess of Boulogne]]}}
| issue-link   = #Issue
| issue-pipe   = more...
| house        = [[House of Dunkeld|Dunkeld]]
| father       = [[Duncan I of Scotland]]
| mother       = Suthen
| birth_date   = {{c.|1031}}
| death_date   = {{Death date and given age|1093|11|13|around 62|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Alnmouth]], Northumberland, England
| burial_place = [[El Escorial#The reliquaries|El Escorial monastery]], Madrid; formerly [[Dunfermline Abbey]], though initially interred at [[Tynemouth Castle and Priory|Tynemouth Priory]]
}}

'''Malcolm III''' ({{langx|mga|Máel Coluim mac Donnchada|label=[[Middle Irish]]}}; {{langx|gd|Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh}}; {{Circa|1031}}–13 November 1093) was [[King of Alba (Scotland)]] from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "'''Canmore'''" ({{langx|gd|link=no|ceann mòr}}, {{Lit|big head}}, understood as "great chief").<ref>Magnusson, p. 61</ref><ref>Burton, Vol. 1, p. 350, states: "Malcolm the son of Duncan is known as Malcolm III, but still better perhaps by his characteristic name of Canmore, said to come from the Celtic "Cenn Mór", meaning "great chief"". It has also been argued recently that the real "Malcolm Canmore" was his great-grandson [[Malcolm IV of Scotland]], who is given this name in the contemporary notice of his death. Duncan, pp. 51–52, 74–75; Oram, p. 17 note 1.</ref> Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the [[Scoto-Norman]] age.

Malcolm's kingdom did not extend over the full territory of modern [[Scotland]]: many of the islands and the land north of the [[River Oykel]] were [[Scandinavia]]n, and south of the [[Firth of Forth]] there were numerous independent or semi-independent realms, including the [[kingdom of Strathclyde]] and [[rulers of Bamburgh|Bamburgh]], and it is not certain what (if any) power the Scots exerted there on Malcolm's accession.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', pp. 16–41</ref> Throughout his reign, Malcolm III led at least five invasions into [[Kingdom of England|English territory]]. One of Malcolm's primary achievements was to secure the position of the lineage that would rule Scotland until the late thirteenth century.<ref>The question of the name of his family is open. "[[House of Dunkeld]]" is all but unknown; "Canmore kings" and "Canmore dynasty" are not universally accepted, nor are [[Richard Oram]]'s recent "meic Maíl Coluim" or Michael Lynch's "MacMalcolm". For discussions and examples: Duncan, pp. 53–54; McDonald, ''Outlaws'', p. 3; Barrow, ''Kingship and Unity'', Appendix C. McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', has recently used the term ''Clann Chrínáin'', 'children of Crínán'.</ref><ref>Hammond, p. 21. The first genealogy known that traces descent from Malcolm, rather than from [[Kenneth MacAlpin]] (Cináed mac Ailpín) or [[Fergus Mór]] is dated to the reign of [[Alexander II of Scotland|Alexander II]]; see Broun, pp. 195–200.</ref> He appears as [[Malcolm (Macbeth)|a major character]] in [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Macbeth]]'',<ref>Cousins, ''The Shakespeare Encyclopedia: The Complete Guide'' (2009), p. 211</ref> His second wife, [[Saint Margaret of Scotland|Margaret]], was canonised as a saint in the thirteenth century.

== Background ==
{{Main|Scotland in the High Middle Ages}}
Malcolm's father [[Duncan I of Scotland|Duncan I]] became king in late 1034, on the death of [[Malcolm II of Scotland|Malcolm II]], Duncan's maternal grandfather and Malcolm's great-grandfather. One Scottish king-list gives Malcolm's mother the name Suthen (Suthain), a Gaelic name;<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', p. 99; Duncan, p. 37; M.O. Anderson, p. 284.</ref> [[John of Fordun]] states that Malcolm's mother was a "blood relative" (''consanguinea'') of the Danish earl [[Siward, Earl of Northumbria|Siward]],<ref name="McGuigan, p. 99">McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', p. 99.</ref><ref>Young also gives her as a niece of Siward. Young, p. 30.</ref> though this may be a late attempt to deepen the Scottish royal family's links to the earldom of Northampton (of which Siward was regarded as founder).<ref name="McGuigan, p. 99"/> Later tradition, attested by the fifteenth century, makes Malcolm's mother the daughter of the miller of [[Forteviot]] and presents Malcolm as a bastard.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', p. 101; Purdie, 'Malcolm, Margaret, Macbeth and the Miller', pp. 45–63.</ref>

Duncan's reign ended violently; he was killed in battle in Moray on 15 August 1040, by a force under the command of [[Macbeth of Scotland|Macbeth]]. Duncan may have been young at the time of his death,<ref>The notice of Duncan's death in the ''[[Annals of Tigernach]]'', s.a. 1040, says he was "slain ... at an immature age"; Duncan, p. 33.</ref> and Malcolm and his brother [[Donald III of Scotland|Donald]] were probably children.<ref>Duncan, p. 33; Oram, ''David I'', p. 18. There may have been a third brother if [[Máel Muire of Atholl]] was a son of Duncan. Oram, ''David I'', p. 97 note 26, rejects this identification.</ref> Malcolm's paternal grandfather was killed in battle in 1045, possibly as part of some continuing conflict with Macbeth.<ref>Duncan, p. 41; ''[[Annals of Ulster]]'', s.a. 1045; ''Annals of Tigernach'', s.a. 1045.</ref>

According to later tradition, Duncan's two young sons were sent away for greater safety — exactly where is the subject of debate. According to one version, Malcolm's brother Donald was sent to the Isles;<ref>Ritchie, p. 3</ref><ref>Young, p. 30</ref> and Malcolm was sent to England; based on Fordun's account, it came to be assumed that Malcolm passed most of Macbeth's seventeen-year reign in the [[Kingdom of England]] at the court of [[Edward the Confessor]].<ref>Barrell, p. 13; Barrow, ''Kingship and Unity'', p. 25.</ref><ref>Ritchie, p. 3, states that it was fourteen years of exile, partly spent at Edward's Court.</ref> It is also possible that Malcolm went into exile at the court of [[Thorfinn Sigurdsson]], [[Earl of Orkney]], an enemy of Macbeth's family;<ref>Duncan, p. 42; Oram, ''David I'', pp. 18–20. Malcolm had ties to Orkney in later life. Earl Thorfinn may have been a grandson of Malcolm II and thus Malcolm's cousin.</ref> Ireland and Strathclyde may be other possible locations. But neither the place of exile, nor the fact of exile itself, are certainties.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', pp. 123–132</ref>

An English invasion in 1054, with [[Siward, Earl of Northumbria]] in command, had as its goal the installation of one "[[Máel Coluim, son of the king of the Cumbrians]]". This Máel Coluim was traditionally identified with the later Malcolm III.<ref>See, for instance, Ritchie, ''Normans'', p. 5; or Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 570; Ritchie, p. 5, states that Duncan placed his son, the future Malcolm III of Scotland, in possession of Cumbria as its Prince, and states that Siward invaded Scotland in 1054 to restore him to the Scottish throne. [[Hector Boece]] also says this (vol. XII p. 249), as does Young, p. 30.</ref> The interpretation derives from the ''Chronicle'' attributed to John of Fordun, as well as from earlier sources such as [[William of Malmesbury]].<ref>Broun, "Identity of the Kingdom", pp. 133–134; Duncan, ''Kingship'', p. 40</ref> The latter reported that Macbeth was killed in the battle by Siward, but it is known that Macbeth outlived Siward by two years.<ref>Oram, ''David I'', p. 29</ref> [[A.A.M. Duncan]] argued in 2002 that, using the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' entry as their source, later writers innocently misidentified "Máel Coluim" with the later Scottish king of the same name.<ref>Duncan, ''Kingship'', pp. 37–41</ref> A.A.M. Duncan's argument has been supported by several subsequent historians specialising in the era, such as [[Richard Oram]], [[Dauvit Broun]] and Alex Woolf.<ref>Broun, "Identity of the Kingdom", p. 134; Oram, ''David I'', pp. 18–20; Woolf, ''Pictland to Alba'', p. 262</ref> It has also been suggested that Máel Coluim may have been a son of [[Owain Foel]], British King of [[kingdom of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]]<ref>Duncan, ''Kingship of the Scots'', p. 41</ref> perhaps by a daughter of [[Malcolm II]], King of Scotland.<ref>Woolf, ''Pictland to Alba'', p. 262</ref>

In 1057, various chroniclers report the death of Macbeth, at Malcolm's hand on 15 August 1057 at [[Lumphanan]] in [[Aberdeenshire (historic)|Aberdeenshire]].<ref>Ritchie, p. 7</ref><ref>Anderson, ''ESSH'', pp. 600–602; [[The Prophecy of Berchán]] has Macbeth wounded in battle and places his death at [[Scone, Scotland|Scone]].</ref> Macbeth was succeeded by his stepson [[Lulach]], who was crowned at [[Scone, Scotland|Scone]], probably on 8 September 1057. Lulach was killed by Malcolm, "by treachery",<ref>According to the Annals of Tigernach; the Annals of Ulster say Lulach was killed in battle against Malcolm; see Anderson, ''ESSH'', pp. 603–604.</ref> near [[Huntly]] on 23 April 1058. After this, Malcolm became king, perhaps inaugurated on 25 April 1058, although only John of Fordun reports this.<ref>Duncan, pp. 50–51 discusses the dating of these events.</ref>

== Early reign ==
If [[Orderic Vitalis]] is to be relied upon, in the time of [[Edward the Confessor]], Malcolm was betrothed to the English king's kinswoman [[Saint Margaret of Scotland|Margaret]], and it is possible this happened when he visited England in 1059.<ref>Duncan, p. 43; Ritchie, pp. 7–8.</ref> If a marriage agreement was made in 1059, it did not stop the Scots from plundering [[Lindisfarne]] in 1061.<ref>Duncan, p. 43; Oram, ''David I'', p. 21.</ref> It was common practice in medieval Gaelic-speaking societies for kings to launch an invasion, the so-called ''crech ríg'', of a neighbour soon after taking power, and the [[Lindisfarne]] raid may have been used to boost the stability of the new regime.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', pp. 146, 213–219</ref> Since the invasion affected directly only the territory of the [[rulers of Bamburgh]], it is unlikely to have particularly bothered either King Edward or the [[Earl of Northumbria|ealdorman of Northumbria]] in York, [[Tostig Godwinson]], who at that time on [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage to Rome]] and who did not enjoy a good relationship with the Bamburgh family.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', pp. 213–219.</ref> Malcolm may have had specific political motives. For instance, it has been suggested that he may have been trying to advance the position of [[Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria|Gospatric]], his possible cousin, at the expense of the ruling [[Rulers of Bamburgh|Eadwulfing]] family.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', pp. 218–219.</ref> It has also been suggested that the raid may have been part of a dispute about the status of [[Strathclyde]].<ref>Oram, ''David I'', p. 21.</ref>

A tradition in the thirteenth-century ''[[Orkneyinga saga]]'' related that Malcolm married the widow of Thorfinn Sigurdsson, [[Ingibiorg Finnsdottir|Ingibiorg]], a daughter of [[Finn Arnesson]].<ref>''Orkneyinga Saga'', p. 33, Duncan, pp. 42–43.</ref> Ingibiorg may have died before Malcolm's marriage to Margaret.<ref>See Duncan, pp. 42–43, dating Ingibiorg's death to 1058. Oram, ''David I'', pp. 22–23, dates the marriage of Malcolm and Ingibiorg to c. 1065.</ref> Malcolm may also have discarded Ingibiorg when the opportunity to marry a higher-status lady arose in 1068.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', pp. 392–393.</ref> The ''Orkneyinga Saga'' also claimed that [[Duncan II of Scotland|Duncan]] (Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim), later king, was a product of this union. Some Medieval commentators, following [[William of Malmesbury]], claimed that Duncan was illegitimate. Still, this claim is propaganda reflecting the need of Malcolm and Margaret's descendants to undermine the claims of Duncan's descendants, the [[MacWilliam pretenders|MacWilliams]].<ref>Duncan, pp. 54–55; Broun, p. 196; Anderson, ''SAEC'', pp. 117–119.</ref> Similarly, however, the importance of the MacWilliams to the earls of Orkney around 1200 would have provided an incentive to strengthen the historical ties between the two families, thus Ingibiorg's marriage to Malcolm may have been created to fabricate common descent.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', p. 392, suggests this possibility but remains neutral.</ref>

The obituary of a certain Domnall, another son of Malcolm, is reported in 1085; since Domnall has no recorded mother, he may also have been born to Ingibiorg<ref>Duncan, p. 55; Oram, ''David I'', p. 23. Domnall's death is reported in the Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1085: "... Domnall son of Máel Coluim, king of Alba, ... ended [his] life unhappily." However, it is uncertain that Domnall's father was this Máel Coluim. M.O. Anderson, ''ESSH'', corrigenda p. xxi, presumes Domnall to have been a son of [[Máel Coluim of Moray|Máel Coluim mac Maíl Brigti]], King or Mormaer of Moray, who is called  "king of Scotland" in his obituary in 1029.</ref> or else to some other unrecorded woman.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', p. 391.</ref> If historical, Malcolm's marriage to Ingibiorg would have helped create a favourable political position in the north and west. The ''[[Heimskringla]]'' tells that her father Finn had been an adviser to [[Harald Hardrada]], [[Monarchy of Norway|king of Norway]], and, after falling out with Harald, was then made an Earl by [[Sweyn II of Denmark|Sweyn Estridsson]], [[Monarchy of Denmark|king of Denmark]], which may have been another recommendation for the match.<ref>''Saga of Harald Sigurðson'', p. 45ff; ''Saga of Magnus Erlingsson'', p. 30. See also Oram, ''David I'', pp. 22–23.</ref> Malcolm appears to have enjoyed a peaceful relationship  with the [[Earldom of Orkney]], ruled jointly by his possible stepsons, [[Paul and Erlend Thorfinnsson]]. The ''Orkneyinga Saga'' reports strife with Norway, but this may be misplaced as it associates this with [[Magnus Barefoot]], who became king of Norway only in 1093, the year of Malcolm's death.<ref>''Orkneyinga Saga'', pp. 39–41; McDonald, ''Kingdom of the Isles'', pp. 34–37.</ref>

Malcolm gave sanctuary to Tostig Godwinson when the Northumbrians drove him out in 1065 and appears to have offered indirect support to the ill-fated invasion of England by Harald Hardrada and Tostig in 1066,<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', pp. 222–225</ref> which ended in defeat and death at the [[battle of Stamford Bridge]].<ref>[[Adam of Bremen]] says that he fought at Stamford Bridge, but is alone in claiming this: Anderson, ''SAEC'', p. 87, n. 3.</ref> In 1068, he granted asylum to a group of English exiles fleeing from [[William the Conqueror|William of Normandy]], among them [[Agatha (wife of Edward the Exile)|Agatha]], widow of Edward the Confessor's nephew [[Edward the Exile]], and her children: [[Edgar Ætheling]] and his sisters Margaret and [[Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile)|Cristina]]. They were accompanied by Gospatric, by this time [[Rulers of Bamburgh|earl of Bamburgh]]. The exiles were disappointed, however, if they had expected immediate assistance from the Scots.<ref>Oram, ''David I'', p. 23; Anderson, ''SAEC'', pp. 87–90. Orderic Vitalis states that the English asked for Malcolm's assistance.</ref>

== Marriage to Margaret ==
[[File:Malcum Camnoir.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Malcolm and Margaret, from the Forman Armorial (1562)]]

In 1069, the exiles returned to England to join a spreading revolt in the north. Even though Gospatric and Siward's son [[Waltheof, 1st Earl of Northampton|Waltheof]] submitted by the end of the year, the arrival of a Danish army under Sweyn Estridsson seemed to ensure that William's position remained weak. Malcolm decided on war and took his army south into [[Cumbria]] and across the [[Pennines]], wasting [[Teesdale]] and [[Cleveland, Yorkshire|Cleveland]] then marching north, loaded with loot, to [[Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey|Wearmouth]], now part of the [[City of Sunderland]]. There, Malcolm met Edgar and his family, who were invited to return with him but did not. As Sweyn had by now been bought off with a large [[Danegeld]], Malcolm took his army home. Against the backdrop of [[Harrying of the North|William's scorched earth policy against the northern English rebels]], William sent Gospatric to raid Scotland through Cumbria as a further act of reprisal. In return, the Scots fleet raided the Northumbrian coast, where Gospatric's possessions were concentrated.<ref>Duncan, pp. 44–45; Oram, ''David I'', pp. 23–24.</ref> Late in the year, perhaps shipwrecked on their way to a European exile, Edgar and his family again arrived in Scotland, this time to remain. By the end of 1070, Malcolm had married Edgar's sister [[Saint Margaret of Scotland|Margaret]] (later known as Saint Margaret).<ref>Oram, ''David I'', p. 24; Clancy, "St. Margaret", dates the marriage to 1072.</ref>

The naming of their children represented a break with the traditional Scots regal names such as Malcolm, Cináed and Áed. The point of naming Margaret's sons — Edward after her father [[Edward the Exile]], [[Edmund of Scotland|Edmund]] for her grandfather [[Edmund Ironside]], [[Ethelred of Scotland|Ethelred]] for her great-grandfather [[Ethelred the Unready]] and [[Edgar of Scotland|Edgar]] for her great-great-grandfather [[Edgar I of England|Edgar]] and her brother, briefly the elected king, [[Edgar Ætheling]] — was unlikely to be missed in England, where William of Normandy's grasp on power was far from secure.<ref>Malcolm's sons by [[Ingibiorg Finnsdottir|Ingebiorg]] were probably expected to succeed to the kingdom of the Scots, Oram, ''David I'', p. 26.</ref> Whether the adoption of the classical Alexander for the future [[Alexander I of Scotland]] (either for [[Pope Alexander II]] or for [[Alexander the Great]]) and the biblical [[David]] for the future [[David I of Scotland]] represented a recognition that William of Normandy would not be easily removed, or was due to the repetition of Anglo-Saxon royal names — another Edmund had preceded Edgar — is not known.<ref>Oram, p. 26.</ref> Margaret also gave Malcolm two daughters, [[Matilda of Scotland|Edith]], who married [[Henry I of England]], and [[Mary of Scotland, Countess of Boulogne|Mary]], who married [[Eustace III, Count of Boulogne|Eustace III of Boulogne]].

In 1072, with the [[Harrying of the North]] completed and his position again secure, William of Normandy came north with an army and a fleet. Malcolm met William at [[Abernethy, Perth and Kinross|Abernethy]] and, in the words of the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', "became his man" and handed over his eldest son Duncan as a hostage and arranged peace between William and Edgar.<ref>Oram,  pp. 30–31; Anderson, ''SAEC'', p. 95.</ref> Accepting the overlordship of the king of the English was no novelty, as previous kings had done so without result. The same was true of Malcolm; his agreement with the English king was followed by further raids into Northumbria, which led to further trouble in the earldom and the killing of Bishop [[Walcher]] at [[Gateshead]]. In 1080, William sent his son [[Robert Curthose]] north with an army while his brother [[Odo of Bayeux|Odo]] punished the Northumbrians. Malcolm again made peace, and this time kept it for over a decade.<ref>Oram, ''David I'', p. 33.</ref>

Malcolm faced little recorded internal opposition, except for Lulach's son [[Máel Snechtai]]. In an unusual entry, as the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' contains little on Scotland, it says that in 1078:

{{Blockquote|Malcholom [Máel Coluim] seized the mother of Mælslæhtan [Máel Snechtai] ... and all his treasures, and his cattle; and he himself escaped with difficulty.<ref>Anderson, ''SAEC'', p. 100.</ref>}}

Whatever provoked this strife, [[Máel Snechtai]] survived until 1085.<ref>His death is reported by the Annals of Ulster amongst clerics and described as "happy", usually a sign that the deceased had entered religion.</ref>

== Malcolm and William Rufus ==
[[File:William II of England in miniature.jpg|thumb|left|William Rufus, "the Red", king of the English (1087–1100)]]

When [[William II of England|William Rufus]] became king of England after his father's death, Malcolm did not intervene in the rebellions by supporters of William's elder brother [[Robert Curthose]] that followed. In 1091, William Rufus confiscated Edgar Ætheling's lands in England, and Edgar fled north to Scotland. In May, Malcolm marched south, not to raid and take slaves and plunder, but to besiege [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], where the [[The Castle, Newcastle|New Castle]] had been built by Robert Curthose in 1080. This appears to have been an attempt to advance the frontier south from the [[River Tweed]] to the [[River Tees]]. The threat was enough to bring the English king back from [[Normandy]], where he had been fighting Robert Curthose. In September, learning of William Rufus's approaching army, Malcolm withdrew north, and the English followed. Unlike in 1072, Malcolm was prepared to fight, but a peace was arranged by Edgar Ætheling and Robert Curthose whereby Malcolm again acknowledged the overlordship of the English king.<ref>Oram, ''David I'', pp. 34–35; Anderson, ''SAEC'', pp. 104–108.</ref>

In 1092, the peace began to break down. Based on the idea that the Scots controlled much of modern [[Cumbria]], it had been supposed that William Rufus's new [[Carlisle Castle|castle at Carlisle]] and his settlement of English peasants in the locality was the cause. It is unlikely that Malcolm controlled Cumbria, and the dispute instead concerned the estates granted to Malcolm by William Rufus's father in 1072 for his maintenance when visiting England. Malcolm sent messengers to discuss the question, and William Rufus agreed to a meeting. Malcolm travelled south to [[Gloucester]], stopping at [[Wilton Abbey]] to visit his daughter Edith and sister-in-law Cristina. Malcolm arrived there on 24 August 1093 to find that William Rufus refused to negotiate, insisting that the dispute be decided by the English barons. This, Malcolm refused to accept and returned immediately to Scotland.<ref>Duncan, pp. 47–48; Oram, ''David I'', pp. 35–36; Anderson, ''SAEC'', pp. 109–110.</ref>

It does not appear that William Rufus intended to provoke a war,<ref>Oram, ''David I'', pp. 36–37.</ref> but, as the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' reports, war came:
{{Blockquote|For this reason therefore they parted with great dissatisfaction, and King Malcolm returned to Scotland. And soon after he came home, he gathered his army, and came harrowing into England with more hostility than behoved him ...<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/1092-94.html |title=Britannia: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle |website=www.britannia.com |access-date=9 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104025518/http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/1092-94.html |archive-date=4 January 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}Malcolm was accompanied by Edward, his eldest son by Margaret and probable heir-designate (or tánaiste), and by Edgar.<ref>Duncan, p. 54; Oram, ''David I'', p. 42.</ref> Even by the standards of the time, the ravaging of Northumbria by the Scots was seen as harsh.<ref>Anderson, ''SAEC'', pp. 97–113, contains a number of English chronicles condemning Malcolm's several invasions of Northumbria.</ref>

== Death ==
[[File:Malcolm's Cross, Broomhouse Hill, Alnwick, Northumberland.jpg|thumb|Memorial cross said to mark the spot where King Malcolm III of Scotland was killed while besieging Alnwick Castle in 1093.]]

While marching north again, Malcolm was confronted by the forces [[Robert de Mowbray]], [[Earl of Northumbria]], at [[Alnmouth]] on 13 November 1093.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', pp. 436–41</ref> During the [[Battle of Alnwick (1093)|encounter at Alnmouth]] he was killed by Robert's steward, Morel of [[Bamburgh Castle|Bamburgh]].<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', p. 335.</ref><ref>The [[Annals of Innisfallen]] say he "was slain with his son in an unguarded moment in battle".</ref> Edward was mortally wounded in the same fight. Margaret, it is said, died soon after receiving the news of their deaths from Edgar.<ref>Oram, pp. 37–38; Anderson, ''SAEC'', pp. 114–115.</ref> The Annals of Ulster say:
{{Blockquote|Mael Coluim son of Donnchad, over-king of Scotland, and Edward his son, were killed by the French [i.e. Normans] in Inber Alda in England. His queen, Margaret, moreover, died of sorrow for him within nine days.<ref>The notice in the Annals of Innisfallen ends "and Margaréta his wife, died of grief for him".</ref>}}

Malcolm's body was taken to [[Tynemouth Priory and Castle|Tynemouth Priory]] for burial. The king's body was sent north for reburial, in the reign of his son [[Alexander I of Scotland|Alexander]], at [[Dunfermline Abbey]], or possibly [[Iona]].<ref>Anderson, ''SAEC'', pp. 111–113. M. O. Anderson reprints three regnal lists, lists F, I and K, which give a burial place for Malcolm. These say Iona, Dunfermline, and Tynemouth, respectively.</ref> Although contemporary sources cite Malcolm's death location as Alnmouth, in subsequent centuries, the location of the encounter moved inland to Alnwick.<ref>McGuigan, ''Máel Coluim III'', pp. 438–41</ref>

On 19 June 1250, following the [[canonisation]] of Malcolm's wife Margaret by [[Pope Innocent IV]], Margaret's remains were disinterred and placed in a [[reliquary]]. It was claimed that as the reliquary was carried to the high altar of [[Dunfermline Abbey]], past Malcolm's grave, it became too heavy to move. As a result, Malcolm's remains were also disinterred and buried next to Margaret beside the altar.<ref>Dunlop, p. 93.</ref> The remains of Margaret and her husband were removed from Dunfermline by Abbot [[George Durie]] to safeguard them from the attacks of Protestant reformers; initially they went to the rural estate at Craigluscar then abroad, and by 1580 they were enshrined at the instigation of king [[Philip II of Spain]] in the royal monastery of St Lawrence near [[Madrid]], [[San Lorenzo de El Escorial]], where they remain.<ref>McGuigan, Máel Coluim III, pp. 342–343</ref>

== Issue ==
[[File:Malcolm III Engraving.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|18th century engraving of Malcolm III]]

Malcolm and Ingibiorg had three sons:<ref name="Paul">Paul, p. 2</ref>
# [[Duncan II of Scotland]], succeeded his father as [[King of Scotland]];
# Donald, died ca. 1094;
# Malcolm, died ca. 1085 (apocryphal).

Malcolm and Margaret had eight children, six sons and two daughters:<ref name="Paul" />
# Edward, killed 1093;
# [[Edmund of Scotland]];
# [[Ethelred of Scotland|Ethelred]], abbot of [[Dunkeld]];
# King [[Edgar of Scotland]];
# King [[Alexander I of Scotland]];
# [[Matilda of Scotland]], married [[Henry I of England]];
# [[Mary of Scotland (1082–1116)|Mary of Scotland]], married [[Eustace III of Boulogne]];
# [[David I of Scotland]].

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book|author-link=Alan Orr Anderson|last=Anderson|first= Alan Orr|title=Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500–1286|volume= 1|edition= 2nd|orig-year=1922|publisher= Paul Watkins|location= Stamford, UK|year= 1990|isbn=1-871615-03-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Anderson|first= Alan Orr| title=Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers|publisher= D. Nutt|location= London|year= 1908}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson|last=Anderson|first= Marjorie Ogilvie|title=Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland|publisher= Scottish Academic Press|location= Edinburgh|edition=Revised |year= 1980 |isbn=0-7011-1604-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Barrell|first= A. D. M.|title=Medieval Scotland|publisher= Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|year= 2000|isbn=0-521-58602-X}}
*{{cite book|author-link=G. W. S. Barrow|last=Barrow|first= G. W. S.|title=Kingship and Unity: Scotland, 1000–1306|edition= Reprinted with corrections|publisher= Edinburgh University Press|year= 1989|isbn=0-7486-0104-X}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Dauvit Broun|last=Broun|first= Dauvit|title=The Irish Identity of the Kingdom of the Scots in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries|publisher= Boydell|location= Woodbridge, UK |year=1999|isbn=0-85115-375-5}}
* {{cite book|author-link=John Hill Burton|last=Burton|first= John Hill|title=The History of Scotland|edition= New |volume=1|publisher=W. Blackwood|location= Edinburgh|year= 1876}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Thomas Owen Clancy|last=Clancy|first= Thomas Owen|chapter=St. Margaret|editor-first= Michael|editor-last= Lynch|title=The Oxford Companion to Scottish History|publisher= Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, UK|year= 2002|isbn=0-19-211696-7}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Archie Duncan (historian)|last=Duncan|first=Archie |title=The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence|publisher= Edinburgh University Press|location=Edinburgh, UK|year= 2002|isbn=0-7486-1626-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Dunlop|first= Eileen|title=Queen Margaret of Scotland|publisher= National Museums of Scotland|location= Edinburgh, UK|year= 2005|isbn=1-901663-92-2}}
* {{cite journal|last =Hammond|first= Matthew H.|title=Ethnicity and Writing of Medieval Scottish History|journal=The Scottish Historical Review|volume= 85|date= April 2006|pages=1–27}}
* {{cite book|last=Magnusson|first= Magnus|title=Scotland: The Story of a Nation|publisher= Atlantic Monthly Press|year= 2000|isbn=978-0871137982}}
* {{cite book|last=McDonald|first= R. Andrew|title=The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western Seaboard, c. 1100–1336|publisher= Tuckwell Press|location= East Linton, UK|year=1997|isbn=1-898410-85-2}}
* {{cite book|last=McDonald|first= R. Andrew|title=Outlaws of Medieval Scotland: Challenges to the Canmore Kings, 1058–1266|publisher= Tuckwell Press|location= East Linton, UK|year=2003|isbn=1-86232-236-8}}
* {{cite book |last=McGuigan |first=Neil |title=Máel Coluim, Canmore: An Eleventh-Century King |year=2021 |publisher=John Donald / Birlinn |isbn=978-1910900192}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Richard Oram|last=Oram|first= Richard|title=David I: The King Who Made Scotland|publisher= Tempus|location= Stroud, UK|year= 2004|isbn=0-7524-2825-X}}
* {{cite book|title=Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney| translator-first1= Hermann|translator-last1= Pálsson |translator-first2= Paul|translator-last2= Edwards|publisher= Penguin|location= London|year= 1978|isbn=0-14-044383-5}}
* {{Cite book |year=1904 |editor-last=Paul |editor-first=James Balfour |title=The Scots Peerage |location=Edinburgh
|publisher=David Douglas |volume=I }}
* {{cite journal|last=Purdie|first= Rhiannon|title=Malcolm, Margaret, Macbeth and the Miller|journal=Medievalia et Humanistica|series= New |volume= 41 |year=2015|pages=45–63}}
* {{cite book|last=Ritchie|first= R. L. Graeme|title=The Normans in Scotland|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|location=Edinburgh, UK|year= 1954}}
* {{cite book|editor-last= Young|editor-first= James|title=Notes on Historical References to the Scottish Family of Lauder|publisher=T. Duncan|location= Glasgow|year= 1884}}

==External links==
* [https://www.royal.uk/malcolm-iii-r-1058-1093 Malcolm III] at the official website of the [[British monarchy]].
* {{PASE|186321|Malcolm 5}}
* {{NPG name}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090706000257/http://www.northvegr.org/lore/orkney/ Orkneyinga Saga] at [http://www.northvegr.org/ Northvegr]
* [http://celt.ucc.ie/index.html CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts] at [[University College Cork]] includes the Annals of Ulster, Tigernach and Innisfallen, the Lebor Bretnach and the Chronicon Scotorum among others. Most are translated or translations are in progress.

{{s-start}}
{{S-hou|[[House of Dunkeld]]|name=Malcolm III of Scotland}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Lulach]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Scottish monarchs|King of Alba]]|years=1058–1093}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Donald III]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Pictish and Scottish Monarchs}}
{{English, Scottish and British monarchs}}
{{Macbeth}}
{{David I}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malcolm 03 Of Scotland}}
[[Category:1093 deaths]]
[[Category:11th-century Scottish monarchs]]
[[Category:House of Dunkeld]]
[[Category:Monarchs killed in action]]
[[Category:People from Alnwick]]
[[Category:Burials at Tynemouth Priory]]
[[Category:Burials at Dunfermline Abbey]]
[[Category:Scottish pre-union military personnel killed in action]]
[[Category:Gaelic monarchs in Scotland]]
[[Category:Royal reburials]]
[[Category:Children of Duncan I of Scotland]]
[[Category:Sons of kings]]