Mormaer Beth is a name of a

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 ...

mentioned in an unreliable charter granted to

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 ...

Priory, later

Scone Abbey Scone Abbey (originally Scone Priory) was a house of Augustinian canons located in Scone, Perthshire (Gowrie), Scotland. Dates given for the establishment of Scone Priory have ranged from 1114 A.D. to 1122 A.D. However, historians have long be ...

, by king Alexander I of Scotland. The charter (Lawrie XXXVI) says, merely, ''Beth comes'' (i.e. ''Mormaer Beth''). This could be a mistake for ''Heth'', a form often used for the Gaelic name ''Áed'', or perhaps ''MacBethad'', or even a real name as ''Beth'', meaning life. Alternatively, the name may have been made up by either the scribe or his overseer. The only reason for associating Beth with

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

is that he appears first in the witness list, an honour often but certainly not always given to the Mormaers of Fife amongst the other Scottish Mormaers. It is more probable that Beth this is the same person as Áed, either

Mormaer of Moray The title Earl of Moray, Mormaer of Moray or King of Moray was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until 1130 ...

or Mormaer of Ross, attested in two early charters of

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

. Áed disappears from the record ca. 1130. His identification as the ancestor of the

MacHeths __NOTOC__ The MacHeths were a Celtic kindred who raised several rebellions against the kings of Scotland in the 12th and 13th centuries. Their origins have long been debated. Origins The main controversy concerning the MacHeths is their origin. ...

is uncertain. Conflation with Ethelred of Scotland is spurious, and based on the unlikely idea that Ethelred ever was Mormaer of Fife.

Bibliography

*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 *Lawrie, Sir Archibald C., ''Early Scottish Charters Prior to A.D. 1153'', (Glasgow, 1905), no. XXXVI, pp. 28–31, pp. 283–84 *Duncan, A.A.M., ''The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence.'' Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. *McDonald, R. Andrew, ''Outlaws of Medieval Scotland: Challenges to the Canmore Kings, 1058–1266.'' Tuckwell Press, East Linton, 2003. * Oram, Richard, ''David I: The King Who Made Scotland.'' Tempus, Stroud, 2004. {{ISBN, 0-7524-2825-X Mormaers