Gille Coluim the Marischal was an official of the
Scottish crown in the second half of the 12th century. His name occurs in the witness lists of two extant charters, both issued by King
William of Scotland
William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; 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 Scots from 11 ...
at
Perth, which indicates that he was probably a native of somewhere in southern
Perthshire
Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...
. He seems in fact to have been the lord of
Madderty in
Strathearn. In either 1172 or 1173 he witnessed King William's grant of
Ardross to Merleswain mac Cholbaín, a relative of the
mormaer of Fife.; and somewhere between 1178 and 1185 he witnessed the king's grant of lands in
Inverness-shire to
Gille Brigte,
Mormaer of Strathearn. In both of these charters, the grants are to
native Scots
The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...
and Gille Coluim appears alongside other native Scots, such as (in both cases) Gille Críst mac ingine Samuel ("Gillecrist mac inien Samüel") and Gille Míchéil mac Donnchada ("Gillemichel mac Dunecan"). Gille Coluim in both cases appears with the title "Marescal", meaning that he was the king's military commander. It appears to be in this role that Gille Coluim was given control of the castle at
Auldearn ("Heryn") in
Moray
Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
Between 1975 ...
during a rebellion by the
Meic Uilleim, a royal kindred who were claiming the throne of
Scotland. A charter issued by King William at
Linlithgow, between 1187 and 1189 grants Gille Brigte,
mormaer of Strathearn, the land of Madderty and states that neither Gille Coluim nor his heirs have any right to the land after giving up Auldearn to the ''Meic Uilleim''. In the charter, King William declares that Gille Coluim
"feloniously surrendered my castle of Heryn and then went over to my mortal enemies in the manner of a wicked traitor and stood with them against me to do as much harm as he could".
We can be certain then that Gille Coluim surrendered the castle during the insurrection of Domnall MacUilleim ("Donald MacWilliam") which took place between 1179 and 1187. Nothing more is heard of Gille Coluim. The charter indicates that Gille Coluim was not dead at the time of issue (no later than 1190)
[Barrow, ''The Acts of William I'', p. 292.] and his death is not otherwise reported.
Notes
References
*
Barrow, G.W.S., ''The Acts of William I: King of Scots, 1165-1214'', (= ''Regesta Regum Scottorum'', volume ii), (Edinburgh, 1971)
* McDonald, R. Andrew, ''Outlaws of Medieval Scotland: Challenges to the Canmore Kings, 1058–1266'', (East Linton, 2003)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gille Coluim The Marischal
Medieval Gaels from Scotland
Military personnel from Perth and Kinross
Scottish rebels
Scottish generals
12th-century Scottish people
Scottish politicians
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown