Máel Brigte of Perth ( fl. 1128) was an important figure in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in the reign of King

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Malcolm ...

. He is known only because the Church of the Holy Trinity in

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 ...

preserved written instructions from King David to Máel Brigte informing the latter that he had granted the church a

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...

of his house in Perth. Máel Brigte thus may have been David's stewart in the town, or perhaps even the local ''

toísech A ''toísech'' or ''toísech clainne'' was the head of a local kin-group in medieval Scotland. The word, meaning "first" or "leader" in Scottish Gaelic, is first attested in the property records written into the '' Book of Deer'' some time betwee ...

''. The instruction was given at nearby

Scone A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component of th ...

, and it has been suggested that it was originally in

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

. The document calls him "Malbride Mac Congi", which probably means that his father had the name Congus, a rare but attested Scoto-

Pictish Pictish is the extinct language, extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited num ...

name.e.g., there was a late 7th century/early 8th century Pict with the name Congus.

Notes

References

* Lawrie, Sir Archibald, ''Early Scottish Charters Prior to A.D. 1153'', (Glasgow, 1905), charter no. LXXVII, p. 65; notes, p. 328 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mael Brigte Of Perth Medieval Gaels from Scotland 12th-century Scottish people People from Perth and Kinross