Donnchadh III or Duncan was

Earl 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 ...

(or

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 ...

) 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 :''See also William Wishart (disambiguation)'' William Wishart (or Wischard) (died 28 May 1279) was a 13th-century Bishop of St. Andrews. He was postulated to the see of St. Andrews (''Cell Rígmonaid'' or ''Cill Rìmhinn'') while holding the ...

, Bishop of St Andrews, 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 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 ...

society. Later, King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

ordered the

Guardians of Scotland The Guardians of Scotland were regents who governed the Kingdom of Scotland from 1286 until 1292 and from 1296 until 1306. During the many years of minority in Scotland's subsequent history, there were many guardians of Scotland and the post was ...

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 Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester (2 September 1243 – 7 December 1295) was a powerful English noble. He was also known as "Red" Gilbert de Clare or "The Red Earl", probably because of his hair colour or fiery temp ...

by his first wife Alice de Lusignan (div. 1271)Richardson, Douglas, ''Plantagenet Ancestry'', Baltimore, 2004, p. 505 and had at least two sons, Duncan 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 Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, who married

John Comyn, Earl of Buchan John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan (circa 1260 – 1308) was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch ...

. 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, the seat of Scottish government at that time, by some of his kinsmen in September. The Chronicle of Lanercost called the mormaer "cruel and greedy beyond the average" (Barrow, ''Robert Bruce'', p. 332, n. 33). He was buried at Cupar Abbey.

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