William fitz Duncan (a modern
anglicisation
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
of the
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
Guillaume fils de Duncan and the
Middle Irish
Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Engli ...
Uilleam mac Donnchada) was a Scottish prince, the son of King
Duncan II of Scotland
Donnchad mac Máel Coluim ( Modern Gaelic: ''Donnchadh mac Mhaoil Chaluim'';''Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim'' is the Mediaeval Gaelic form. anglicised as Duncan II; c. 1060 – 12 November 1094) was king of Scots. He was son of Malcolm III (Máel Col ...
by his wife
Ethelreda of Dunbar. He was a territorial magnate in northern Scotland and northern England and a military leader.
In 1094, his father King Duncan II was killed by
Mormaer
In early Middle Ages, medieval Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, a mormaer was the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the Kings of Scots, King of Scots, and the senior of a ''Toísech'' (chi ...
Máel Petair of Mearns
Máel Petair of Mearns is the only known Mormaer of the Kincardineshire, Mearns. His name means "tonsured one of (Saint) Saint Peter, Peter".
Professor Dauvit Broun of the University of Glasgow identifies his father as a man called Loren. Little i ...
, supporting the claims of King
Domnall (Donald) III Bán. It is probable that his mother Ethelreda took the infant William and fled Scotland to the safety of
Allerdale
Allerdale is a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with borough status. Its council is based in Workington and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 96,422 at the 2011 Census.
The Bor ...
in
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
where her brother
Waltheof of Allerdale
Waltheof of Allerdale was an 11th- and 12th-century Anglo-Saxon noble, lord of Allerdale in modern Cumbria. Brother of Dolfin of Carlisle and Gospatric of Dunbar, Waltheof was son of Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria.Hamilton, ''Mighty Subjects'', p ...
was lord. William, an only child, grew up there among his cousins. A decade or so later, he ventured to the court of his half-uncle.
Under the reign of his half-uncle
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
, it is highly likely that William was regarded as a viable ''
tánaiste
The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...
'' (i.e. "designated heir"), but
Henry I of England
Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...
supported
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. When David succeeded, William, as the legitimate king under the rules of
primogeniture
Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
was certainly bought off by David, probably being made ''tánaiste''. William repeatedly leads the lists of witnesses appearing in Scottish royal
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
s in the reigns of Alexander I and David I.
A 13th century northern English source claims that William was Mormaer of Moray. As this source had no reason to deceive, it is highly likely that William was made the
ruler of Moray after the defeat of King
Óengus of Moray
Óengus of Moray (''Oenghus mac inghine Lulaich, ri Moréb'') was the last king of Moray of the native line, ruling Moray in what is now northeastern Scotland from an unknown date until his death in 1130.
Óengus is known to have been the son of ...
in 1130. It is feasible that this grant had something to do with the coming of age of David's son,
Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to:
People
*Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father
*Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460)
*Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...
and may also be a factor in his marriage to a daughter of Óengus. As well as being the ruler of
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 ...
, William controlled the English lands of Allerdale,
Skipton
Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...
and
Craven, making him one of the greatest barons of northern England.
William was a great warrior. His uncle, King David, frequently tasked William with leading his armies in battle.
He frequently led Scottish armies. In the campaign of 1138, he led an army of Gaels that defeated a Norman English army at the
Battle of Clitheroe
The Battle of Clitheroe was a battle between a force of Scots and English knights and men at arms which took place on 10 June 1138 during the period of The Anarchy. The battle was fought on the southern edge of the Bowland Fells, at Clitheroe, ...
, raising the hopes for the success of the royal army, hopes which failed to materialize at the
Battle of the Standard
The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire, England. English forces under William of Aumale repelled a Scottish army led by King David ...
.
William had several marriages. His first marriage was over, presumably through death, by the year 1137, when he married
Alice de Rumilly
Alice may refer to:
* Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname
Literature
* Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll
* ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
, daughter of
William Meschin
William Meschin (sometimes William le Meschin; died between 1130 and 1135) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and baron. The brother of the earl of Chester, Meschin participated in the First Crusade. After returning to England, he acquired lands both ...
.
Houses of Benedictine monks - The priory of St Bees , British History Online
/ref> By the latter, he had a son, also called William (William of Egremont or William the Atheling), who died in 1160, and three daughters, including Cicely, Lady of Skipton, who married William le Gros, 1st Earl of Albemarle
William le Gros, William le Gras, William d'Aumale, William Crassus (died 20 August 1179) was Earl of York and Lord of Holderness in the English peerage and the Count of Aumale in France. He was the eldest son of Stephen, Count of Aumale, and his ...
. His marriage to Alice de Rumilly brought him the lordship of Copeland, to which his wife was co-heiress.
He also had a large number of bastards, probably including Wimund of the Isles. It is now presumed that Domnall mac Uilleim
__NOTOC__
The Meic Uilleim (MacWilliams) were the Gaelic descendants of William fitz Duncan, grandson of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, king of Scots. They were excluded from the succession by the descendants of Máel Coluim's son David I during the 1 ...
, and the Meic Uilleim
__NOTOC__
The Meic Uilleim (MacWilliams) were the Gaelic descendants of William fitz Duncan, grandson of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, king of Scots. They were excluded from the succession by the descendants of Máel Coluim's son David I during the 1 ...
clan that repeatedly rebelled against later Scottish kings in their quest to gain the Scottish throne, were legitimate descendants of a marriage to a daughter of Óengus of Moray
Óengus of Moray (''Oenghus mac inghine Lulaich, ri Moréb'') was the last king of Moray of the native line, ruling Moray in what is now northeastern Scotland from an unknown date until his death in 1130.
Óengus is known to have been the son of ...
. This daughter was a granddaughter and heir general
In English law, heirs of the body is the principle that certain types of property pass to a descendant of the original holder, recipient or grantee according to a fixed order of kinship. Upon the death of the grantee, a designated inheritance such ...
of King Lulach
Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin ( Modern Gaelic: ''Lughlagh mac Gille Chomghain'', known in English simply as Lulach, and nicknamed Tairbith, "the Unfortunate" and Fatuus, "the Simple-minded" or "the Foolish"; before 1033 – 17 March 1058) was King of ...
. Domnall mac Uilleim was killed on 31 July 1187 in an uprising against King William the Lion
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 ...
.
William fitz Duncan died in 1147, whereupon Moray reverted back into the hands of David.
Bibliography
* Oram, Richard, ''David I: The King who made Scotland'', (Gloucestershire, 2004)
* Dalton, Paul. 2002. ''Conquest, Anarchy & Lordship: Yorkshire 1066-1154.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:William Fitz Duncan
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
11th-century births
1147 deaths
People of The Anarchy
12th-century mormaers
Mormaers of Moray
Heirs apparent who never acceded
Sons of kings