Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People < Previous Next >

MAC CRINAN Duncan I
Birth:          ABT 1001 of Atholl, Perthshire, England
Death:          14 Aug 1040 Iona, Scotland
Cause of Death: killed by Macbeth
Burial:         Iona, Scotland

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan_I_of_Scotland
Donnchad mac Crinain (Modern Gaelic: Donnchadh mac Crìonain;[2] anglicised as 
Duncan I, and nicknamed An t-Ilgarach, "the Diseased" or "the Sick";[3] ca. 1001 – 
14 August 1040)[1] was king of Scotland (Alba) from 1034 to 1040. He is the historical 
basis of the "King Duncan" in Shakespeare's play Macbeth.

Life[edit]

He was son of Crínán, hereditary lay abbot of Dunkeld, and Bethóc, daughter of king 
Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (Malcolm II).

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.[4] 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.[5]

An earlier source, a variant of the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba (CK-I), gives 
Duncan's wife the Gaelic name Suthen.[6] Whatever his wife's name may have been, 
Duncan had at least two sons. The eldest, Malcolm III (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada) 
was king from 1058 to 1093, the second Donald III (Domnall Bán, or "Donalbane") 
was king afterwards. Máel Muire, Earl of Atholl is a possible third son of Duncan, 
although this is uncertain.[7]

The early period of Duncan's reign was apparently uneventful, perhaps a 
consequence of his youth. Macbeth (Mac Bethad mac Findláich) is recorded as having 
been his dux, today rendered as "duke" and meaning nothing more than the rank 
between prince and marquess, but then 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.[8]

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, apparently on a punitive expedition against Moray.[9] There 
he was killed in action, at Bothnagowan, now Pitgaveny, near Elgin, by the men of 
Moray led by Macbeth, probably on 14 August 1040.[10] He is thought to have been 
buried at Elgin[11] before later relocation to the Isle of Iona.

Depictions in fiction[edit]

Duncan is depicted as an elderly King in Macbeth by William Shakespeare. He is 
killed in his sleep by the protagonist, Macbeth.

In the historical novel Macbeth the King by Nigel Tranter, Duncan is portrayed as a 
schemer who is fearful of Macbeth as a possible rival for the throne. He tries to 
assassinate Macbeth by poisoning and then when this fails, attacks his home with an 
army. In self-defence Macbeth meets him in battle and 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 even tries to 
assassinate Macbeth. However like in actual history he is killed in battle.

Parents
DE MORMAER Crinan "the Thane" (Albanock) (Grimus) ( 978 - 1045)
____ Bethoc (Beatrix) (ABT  984 - )

Siblings
____ Maldred (ABT 1000 - ABT 1045)
MAC CRINAN Duncan I (ABT 1001 - 14 Aug 1040)
----- ----- (daughter of Crinan) (ABT 1010 - )

Marriage To FITZSIWARD Sibyl (ABT 1017 - 1070) m. 1030 Scotland Notes Parents BJORNSSON Sigurd (Siward) "Digera" (ABT 996 - 1055) OF NORTHUMBERLAND (OF BERNICIA) Aelfleda (ABT 1000 - ) Children by FITZSIWARD Sibyl ABT 1017 - 1070
____ Malcolm III "Ceanmor" (ABT 1033 - 13 Nov 1093) ____ Duncan (ABT 1035 - ) ____ Donald III "Bane" (1039 - 1099)
Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017