Donnchad II (died 1204), anglicized as Duncan II or Dunecan II, succeeded his father

Duncan I Donnchad mac Crinain (; anglicised as Duncan I, and nicknamed An t-Ilgarach, "the Diseased" or "the Sick"; – 14 August 1040)Broun, "Duncan I (d. 1040)". was king of Scotland (''Alba'') from 1034 to 1040. He is the historical basis of the "K ...

Earl of Fife The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the re ...

in childhood. As a child of the previous

mormaer In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a '' Toísech'' (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continenta ...

, he was entitled to succeed his father through

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

, but not to lead his kin-group, Clann MacDuib. That probably fell to his cousin, Aed mac Gille Míchéil. Like previous mormaers of Fife, Duncan II was appointed

Justiciar of Scotia The Justiciar of Scotia (in Norman-Latin, ''Justiciarus Scotie'') was the most senior legal office in the High Medieval Kingdom of Scotland. ''Scotia'' (meaning Scotland) in this context refers to Scotland to the north of the River Forth and Riv ...

(i.e.

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

North of the

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotl ...

). Donnchad's minority also meant that Ferchar,

Mormaer of Strathearn Earl or Mormaer of Strathearn is a title of Scottish nobility, referring to the region of Strathearn in southern Perthshire. Of unknown origin, the mormaers are attested for the first time in a document perhaps dating to 1115. The first known mo ...

, took supreme place as head of the

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

nobility and guide for the boy-king

Malcolm IV Malcolm IV (; ), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 1141 – 9 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest son of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, Henry, Earl of Huntingdon ...

. The scholar

Geoffrey Barrow Geoffrey Wallis Steuart Barrow (28 November 1924 – 14 December 2013) was a Scottish historian and academic. The son of Charles Embleton Barrow and Marjorie née Stuart, Geoffrey Barrow was born on 28 November 1924, at Headingley near Leeds. ...

suggests that it was during Duncan's tenure that ''Beinn MacDuibh'' took its names, i.e. when Duncan II acquired land in that area (Barrow, 1980, 86). Duncan, like other mormaers of Fife, kept in close association with the king. His name is recorded, among other places, in a charter granted to the priory on the

Isle of May An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

. Duncan's person was required to be a hostage following the defeat of

William the Lion William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...

and the

Treaty of Falaise The Treaty of Falaise was a forced written agreement made in December 1174 between the captive William I, King of Scots, and Henry II, King of England. During the Revolt of 1173-1174, William joined the rebels and was captured at the Battle of ...

, although in fact he certainly sent someone else in his place (Barrow, 2003, 106). On Christmas Day 1160, he married Ada (Ela/Hela/Adela) who is named in official documents as a close relative of King Malcolm IV, translated as a half-sister by his father

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

or niece from the Latin text. Malcolm IV's father Henry is believed to have had children prior to his marriage. Duncan II had three sons, Malcolm, Duncan and David, two notably named for the Scottish kings. He had a fourth child, a daughter, whose name is unknown. The earls of Fife are considered to have been important allies of the Scottish kings from King David I onward. In 1152, on the death of Scottish king

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

's son

Henry of Scotland Henry of Scotland (''Eanric mac Dabíd'', 1114 – 12 June 1152) was heir apparent to the Kingdom of Alba. He was also the 3rd Earl of Northumbria and the 3rd Earl of Huntingdon. He was the son of King David I of Scotland and his wife, Maud, 2 ...

had escorted

, introducing him as the royal heir.Barrow, G. W. S. ''Earl's of Fife in the 12th Century'', (Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1952-53), p. 54. His son

Malcolm Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Malcom (footballer) (born 1997), Brazilian football forward * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerp ...

succeeded him in 1204.

Notes

Bibliography

* Bannerman, John, "MacDuff of Fife," in A. Grant & K.Stringer (eds.) ''Medieval Scotland: Crown, Lordship and Community, Essays Presented to G.W.S. Barrow'', (Edinburgh, 1993), pp. 20–38 *

Barrow, G. W. S. Geoffrey Wallis Steuart Barrow (28 November 1924 – 14 December 2013) was a Scottish historian and academic. The son of Charles Embleton Barrow and Marjorie née Stuart, Geoffrey Barrow was born on 28 November 1924, at Headingley near Leeds. ...

, ''The Anglo-Norman Era in Scottish History'', (Oxford, 1980). * Barrow, G. W. S. ''Earls of Fife in the 12th Century'', (Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1952–53), pp. 51–61. * Barrow, G. W. S., ''The Kingdom of the Scots: Government, Church and Society from the Eleventh to the Fourteenth Century'', (Edinburgh, 2003) * Paul, Sir James Balfour (ed.), Wood's Edition of David Douglas's ''Scots Peerage'' (Edinburgh, 1907). {{DEFAULTSORT:Fife, Donnchad 02, Earl of 12th-century births 1204 deaths Donnchad 02 Mormaers of Fife 12th-century mormaers 13th-century mormaers