Gartnait of Buchan is the first
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 Continental c ...
of
Buchan
Buchan is an area of north-east Scotland, historically one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by ...
to be known by name. He was married to a woman named Ete (or Ite), the daughter of a Gille Míchéil, whom he appears alongside in a grant to
Deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
recorded in the
Gaelic Notes on the
Book of Deer. This is surely
Gille Míchéil,
mormaer 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 ...
. The same source tells us that Gartnait was the son of Cainnech, although it does not tell us if this Cainnech had previously been mormaer.
He had a daughter Éva, whom he married to
Colbán, his successor.
The Foundation for Medieval Genealogy states he died after 1132 and that Colban succeeded in 1135, therefore it is likely Gartnait died in or before 1135.
Bibliography
* Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500-1286'', 2 Vols (Edinburgh, 1922)
* Roberts, John L., ''Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages'', (Edinburgh, 1997), pp. 49–50
References
External links
Gaelic Notes on the Book of Deer
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People from Aberdeenshire
12th-century mormaers
Mormaers of Buchan
1130s deaths
Year of birth unknown
Year of death uncertain