Donnchadh III or Duncan was
Earl of Fife (or
Mormaer) from 1270/2 to 1288.
He succeeded as only a child, the son of the previous Mormaer
Colbán, who died young. During his minority,
William Wishart,
Bishop of St Andrews
The Bishop of St. Andrews ( gd, Easbaig Chill Rìmhinn, sco, Beeshop o Saunt Andras) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews ( gd, Àrd-easbaig ...
, became ''custos'' of the Mormaerdom. Perhaps owing to a power-struggle within the Mormaerdom, the Bishop confiscated some lands from the
MacDuib chief, head of Fife's
Gaelic society. Later, King
Edward I of England ordered the
Guardians of Scotland to restore these lands. Donnchadh himself was one of these guardians, responsible for supervising the government of Scotland in the absence of the King. He had in 1284 joined with other Scottish noblemen who acknowledged Margaret of Norway as the heir of
Alexander III.
Donnchadh married Johanna (or Joan), daughter of
Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester by his first wife Alice de Lusignan (div. 1271)
[Richardson, Douglas, ''Plantagenet Ancestry'', Baltimore, 2004, p. 505] and had at least two sons,
Duncan
Duncan may refer to:
People
* Duncan (given name), various people
* Duncan (surname), various people
* Clan Duncan
* Justice Duncan (disambiguation)
Places
* Duncan Creek (disambiguation)
* Duncan River (disambiguation)
* Duncan Lake (d ...
and an anonymous ''MacDuibh'' (=''MacDuff''). The latter's first name is unknown, but the style implies he was head of ''Clann mac Duib''. He also had a daughter,
Isabella, who married
John Comyn, Earl of Buchan.
The Mormaer's last historical appearance is in a document (possibly after his death) dated August, 1289. He was murdered in his prime at
Pittillock near
Falkland, while on his way to
Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...
, the seat of Scottish government at that time, by some of his kinsmen in September. The
Chronicle of Lanercost
The ''Lanercost Chronicle'' is a northern English history covering the years 1201 to 1346. It covers the Wars of Scottish Independence, but it is also highly digressive and as such provides insights into English life in the thirteenth century as we ...
called the mormaer "cruel and greedy beyond the average" (Barrow, ''Robert Bruce'', p. 332, n. 33). He was buried at
Cupar Abbey
Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in F ...
.
Notes
References
* 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., ''Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland'', (Edinburgh, 1988)
*
Rymer, Thomas,''Foedera Conventiones, Literae et cuiuscunque generis Acta Publica inter Reges Angliae''. London. 1745. (Latin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fife, Donnchad 03, Earl of
1288 deaths
Donnchad 03
Guardians of Scotland
Scottish murder victims
Year of birth unknown
Mormaers of Fife
13th-century mormaers