View source for Duncan I of Scotland

{{Short description|King of Alba from 1034 to 1040}}
{{redirect|Duncan I|the later Scottish nobleman|Donnchad I, Earl of Fife}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox monarch
| name            = Duncan I
| succession      = [[King of Alba (Scotland)]]
| reign           = 25 November 1034 –<br />14 August 1040
| coronation      = 
| predecessor     = [[Malcolm II]]
| successor       = [[Macbeth, King of Scotland|Macbeth]]
| spouse          = Suthen 
| issue           = {{ubl|[[Malcolm III]]|[[Donald III]]|[[Máel Muire, Earl of Atholl]]}}
| house           = [[House of Dunkeld|Dunkeld]]
| father          = [[Crínán of Dunkeld]]
| mother          = [[Bethóc]]
| birth_date      = {{c.|1001}}
| birth_place     = [[Atholl]], [[Kingdom of Scotland]]
| death_date      = {{Death date and given age|1040|8|14|around 38|df=y}}
| death_place     = Pitgaveny, near [[Elgin, Moray|Elgin]]
| place of burial = Elgin, later relocated to [[Iona]]
}}

'''Donnchad mac Crinain''' ({{langx|gd|Donnchadh mac Crìonain}};<ref>''Donnchad mac Crínáin'' is the [[Middle Irish|Mediaeval Gaelic form]].</ref> [[anglicised]] as '''Duncan I''', and nicknamed '''An t-Ilgarach''', "the Diseased" or "the Sick";<ref>{{cite book |last=Skene |first=William Forbes |title=Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and Other Early Memorials of Scottish History|location=Edinburgh|publisher=H.M. Register House |date=1867 |url=https://archive.org/details/chroniclesofpict00sken/page/466/mode/2up |pages=101, 467}}</ref> {{c.|1001}} – 14 August 1040)<ref name=Broun>Broun, "Duncan I (d. 1040)".</ref> was king of Scotland (''[[List of Scottish monarchs|Alba]]'') from 1034 to 1040. He is the historical basis of the "[[King Duncan]]" in [[Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Macbeth]]''.

== Life ==
The ancestry of King Duncan is not certain. In modern texts, he is the son of [[Crínán of Dunkeld|Crínán]], hereditary [[lay abbot]] of [[Bishop of Dunkeld|Dunkeld]], and [[Bethóc]], daughter of King [[Malcolm II of Scotland|Malcolm II]]. However, in the late 17th century the historian Frederic Van Bossen, after collecting historical accounts throughout Europe, identified King Duncan as the first son of Abonarhl ap Crinan (the grandson of Crinan) and princess Beatrice, the eldest daughter to King [[Malcolm II of Scotland|Malcom II]], and [[Gunnor]] who was the daughter of the "[[Duke of Normandy|2nd Duke of Normandy]]".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Van Bossen |first1=Frederic |title=The Royall Cedar |date=1688}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cunningham |first1=Derek |title=The Lost Queens of Scotland: Extracts from Frederic van Bossen's The Royal Cedar |date=2022}}</ref>

Unlike the "King Duncan" of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Macbeth]]'', the historical Duncan appears to have been a young man. He succeeded 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 ''[[Tánaiste]]'' as the succession appears to have been uneventful.<ref>Duncan, ''Kingship of the Scots'', p. 33.</ref> Earlier histories, following [[John of Fordun]], supposed that Duncan had been [[List of kings of Strathclyde|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,<ref>Duncan, ''Kingship of the Scots'', p. 40.</ref> although it is supported by the [[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]].<ref>Broun, D. "Duncan I [Donnchad ua Maíl Choluim]", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/8209}}</ref>

An earlier source, a variant of the ''[[Chronicle of the Kings of Alba]]'' (CK-I), gives Duncan's wife the [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]] name ''Suthen'',<ref>Duncan, ''Kingship of the Scots'', p. 37.</ref> and John of Fordun suggests that she may have been a relative of [[Siward, Earl of Northumbria]].<ref>Marshall, Rosalind K. (2019), ''Scottish Queens 1034–1714'', Birlinn, p. 1.</ref> This differs from the review by Frederic van Bossen who wrote in 1688 that King Duncan was twice married, his first wife being Wonfrida (Unfrida) the daughter of Gigurt ([[Siward, Earl of Northumbria|Earl Siward]]?) the [[Earl of Northumberland]] and [[Earl of Huntingdon|Huntingtoun]] and "By them was espoused two sons Malcome and Donald". Then, after her decease, he married Astrida the daughter of "Sigfrid, the "[[Kingdom of Dublin|King of Dublin]]".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cunningham |first1=Derek |title=Scotland & Shakespeare's Third Prophecy: King Edition |date=2021 |page=13}}</ref>

Whatever his wife's name and family connections may have been, Duncan had at least two sons. The eldest, [[Malcolm III]] (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada) was king from 1058 to 1093 after assassinating and usurping [[Lulach]], Macbeth's stepson. The second son [[Donald III of Scotland|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.<ref>Oram, ''David I'', p. 233, n. 26: the identification is from the [[Orkneyinga saga|''Orkneyinga saga'']] but Máel Muire's grandson Máel Coluim, Earl of Atholl is known to have married Donald III's granddaughter Hextilda.</ref>

The early period of Duncan's reign was apparently uneventful, perhaps a consequence of his youth. [[Macbeth, King of Scotland|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 dynasty|Carolingian]] [[List of Frankish kings|kings of the Franks]] and in England the over-mighty [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex|Godwin of Wessex]] was called a ''dux'' — this suggests that Macbeth may have been the [[power behind the throne]].<ref>Duncan, ''Kingship of the Scots'', pp. 33–34.</ref>

In 1039, Duncan led a large Scots army south to besiege [[Durham, England|Durham]], but the expedition ended in disaster. Duncan survived, but the following year he led an army north into [[Province of Moray|Moray]], Macbeth's domain, apparently on a [[punitive expedition]] against Moray.<ref>G. W. S. Barrow, ''Kingship and Unity: Scotland 1000–1306'', Edinburgh University Press, 1981, p. 26.</ref> There he was [[killed in action]], at the [[battle of Pitgaveny|battle of Bothnagowan]], now [[Battle of Pitgaveny|Pitgaveny]], near [[Elgin, Moray|Elgin]], by the men of Moray led by Macbeth, probably on 14 August 1040.<ref>Broun, "Duncan I (d. 1040)"; the date is from [[Marianus Scotus]], and the killing is recorded by the [[Annals of Tigernach]].</ref> He is thought to have been buried at Elgin<ref>Christopher Winn, ''I Never Knew That About Scotland'', p. 165.</ref> before later relocation to the island of [[Iona]].

== Family ==
The 14th century chronicler [[John of Fordun]] would write that Duncan's wife was a kinswoman of the [[Danelaw|Anglo-Danish]] [[Siward, Earl of Northumbria]], who would help restore her son Malcolm to the throne. However, this is seemingly belied by a kings list that gives Malcolm's mother the Gaelic name Suthen.<ref>Duncan, ''Kingship of the Scots'', p. 37.</ref> Duncan had three sons:
* [[Malcolm III of Scotland]], also known as Máel Coluim mac Donnchada and Malcolm Canmore, died 1093;
* [[Donald III of Scotland]], also known as Domnall mac Donnchada and Donalbain, died 1099;
* [[Máel Muire, Earl of Atholl]], also known as Melmare.

== Depictions in fiction ==
[[File:Donnchad_mac_Crinain,_King_of_Scotland.jpg|thumb|An oil painting by Jacob Jacobsz de Wet II]]

Duncan is depicted as an elderly king in the play ''[[Macbeth]]'' (1606) by [[William Shakespeare]]. He is killed in his sleep by the protagonist, Macbeth.

In the historical novel ''[[Historical novels by Nigel Tranter set before 1286|Macbeth the King]]'' (1978) 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 wounds him, and he dies of bleeding, for he is bad-blooded, or [[Haemophilia|haemophiliac]].

In the animated television series ''[[Gargoyles (TV 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 [[List of Gargoyles characters#The Weird Sisters|the Weird Sisters]] gave to Macbeth to defeat Duncan.{{Episode needed|date=June 2025}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==

* [[Alan Orr Anderson|Anderson, Alan Orr]]; ''Early Sources of Scottish History AD 500–1286 volume one'', Republished with corrections, Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. {{ISBN|1-871615-03-8}}
* [[Dauvit Broun|Broun, Dauvit]]; "Duncan I (d. 1040)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8209, accessed 15 May 2007]
* [[Archie Duncan (historian)|Duncan, A. A. M.]]; ''The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence'', Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. {{ISBN|0-7486-1626-8}}
* [[Richard Oram|Oram, Richard]]; ''David I: The King Who Made Scotland'', Tempus, Stroud, 2004. {{ISBN|0-7524-2825-X}}

== Further reading ==

* [[Bernard Burke]], Ashworth P. Burke. ''A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage, and Companionage'', 1934. [https://books.google.com/books?id=vpHySDcAmU8C&hl=en&redir_esc=y#pli=1 Online]
* Frederick Lewis Weis, Walter Lee Sheppard, William Ryland Beall, Kaleen E. Beall. ''Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists who Came to America Before 1700: Lineages from Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, Malcolm of Scotland, Robert the Strong, and Other Historical Individuals'', 2004. {{ISBN|9780806317526}}. [https://books.google.ru/books/about/Ancestral_Roots_of_Certain_American_Colo.html?id=3F9nG8aFJ7MC&redir_esc=y Online]

== External links ==
* [https://www.royal.uk/duncan-i-r-1034-1040 Duncan I] at the official website of the [[British monarchy]].

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{{s-bef|before=[[Malcolm II]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Scottish monarchs|King of Scots]]|years=1034–1040}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Macbeth of Scotland|Macbeth]]}}
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{{Pictish and Scottish Monarchs}}
{{English, Scottish and British monarchs}}
{{Macbeth}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan 01 of Scotland}}

[[Category:Monarchs killed in action]]
[[Category:House of Dunkeld]]
[[Category:1000s births]]
[[Category:1040 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:11th-century Scottish monarchs]]
[[Category:Burials at Iona Abbey]]
[[Category:Scottish pre-union military personnel killed in action]]
[[Category:Gaelic monarchs in Scotland]]