Crínán of Dunkeld, also called Crinan the Thane (c. 975–1045), was the

erenagh The medieval Irish office of erenagh (Old Irish: ''airchinnech'', Modern Irish: ''airchinneach'', Latin: '' princeps'') was responsible for receiving parish revenue from tithes and rents, building and maintaining church property and overseeing t ...

, or hereditary lay-

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

, of Dunkeld Abbey and, similarly to Irish "royal- and warrior-abbots" of the same period like the infamous case of

Fedelmid mac Crimthainn Fedelmid mac Crimthainn was the Kings of Munster, King of Munster between 820 and 846. He was numbered as a member of the Culdee, Céli Dé, an abbot of Cork Abbey and Clonfert, Clonfert Abbey, and possibly a bishop. After his death, he was late ...

, led armies into battle and was very likely also the

Mormaer of Atholl 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 ...

during the events later fictionalized in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

verse drama Verse drama is any drama written significantly in poetry, verse (that is: with line endings) to be performed by an actor before an audience. Although verse drama does not need to be ''primarily'' in verse to be considered verse drama, significan ...

'' The Tragedy of Macbeth''. Although he does not appear in Shakespeare's play, he was the legitimately married son-in-law of King

Malcolm II of Scotland Máel Coluim mac Cinaeda (; anglicised Malcolm II; c. 954 – 25 November 1034) was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1005 until his death in 1034. He was one of the longest-reigning Scottish Kings of that period. He was a son of Cinaed mac Maíl ...

, the father of King

Duncan I of Scotland Donnchad mac Crinain (; anglicised as Duncan I, and nicknamed An t-Ilgarach, "the Diseased" or "the Sick"; – 14 August 1040)Broun, "Duncan I (d. 1040)". was king of Scotland (''Alba'') from 1034 to 1040. He is the historical basis of the " ...

, and the grandfather of King

Malcolm III of Scotland Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...

. Through his far more famous grandson, for whose claim to the throne of Scotland the abbot laid down his life in battle against his nephew, the Scottish High King

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

, Abbot Crínán is the ancestor of every subsequent monarch of the

House of Dunkeld The House of Dunkeld (in or "of the Caledonians") is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the clear succession of Scottish kings from 1034 to 1040 and from 1058 to 1286. The line is also variously referred to by historian ...

. His descendants would reign over the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...

until the accidental death of King Alexander III in 1286, which ultimately precipitated a battle between 13 Competitors for the Crown of Scotland and an invasion of Scotland by King Edward Longshanks, which was followed by the

Scottish Wars of Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

Family

In the year 1000, Crínán was married to Bethóc, daughter of

(reigned from 1005 to 1034). As Malcolm had no surviving sons, this allowed a hereditary claim to the Scottish throne to descend to Crínán and Bethóc's son, Duncan I, who reigned from 1034 to 1040. Two additional children have been attributed to Crínán: a daughter who was mother of Moddan, Earl of Caithness, and a son Maldred. The latter is said by '' De obsessione Dunelmi'' to have been son of ''Crinan, tein'' (

thegn In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were ...

Crínán). He was identified as Crínán of Dunkeld by historian W. F. Skene, though this identity has been challenged as insufficiently supported or erroneous by some scholars, such as G. W. S. Barrow. Maldred married Ealdgyth, daughter of

Uhtred the Bold Uhtred of Bamburgh (Uhtred the Bold—sometimes Uchtred; died ca. 1016), was ruler of Bamburgh and from 1006 to 1016 the ealdorman of Northumbria. He was the son of Waltheof I, ruler of Bamburgh (Bebbanburg), whose family, the Eadwulfingas, ...

and granddaughter of King

Æthelred the Unready Æthelred II (,Different spellings of this king's name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern dialect word . ; ; 966 � ...

, and was father of

Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria Gospatric or Cospatric (from the Cumbric "Servant of aint Patrick"), (died after 1073), was Earl of Northumbria, or of Bernicia, and later lord of sizable estates around Dunbar. His male-line descendants held the Earldom of Dunbar, later known ...

and ancestor of the

Earls of Home Earl of Home ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for Alexander Home wikt:of that ilk, of that Ilk, 6th Lord Home. The Earl of Home holds, among others, the subsidiary titles of Lord Home (created 1473) and Lord Dun ...

and the Earls of Dunbar. Crínán may have spent some time in exile in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

under the patronage of Æthelred and/or

Cnut Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

before becoming abbot of Dunkeld. Neil McGuigan suggests that he may be the moneyer named Crínán who appears on some of the coinage during Cnut's reign, between 1017 and 1023. It may have been during this period that the marriage of Maldred and Ealdgyth was arranged. In 1045, Crínán of Dunkeld rose in rebellion against

in support of his 14-year-old grandson,

Malcolm III Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...

's claim to the throne.Knox, James. ''The topography of the basin of the Tay'', Andrew Shorteed, Edinburgh, 1831
/ref> Malcolm was the elder son of Crínán's son, the late King Duncan, who predeceased his father. However, Crínán, by then an elderly man, was killed in a battle at Dunkeld, as was his son Maldred of Allerdale.

Abbot of Dunkeld

The

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

was founded as a daughter foundations of

Iona Abbey Iona Abbey is an abbey located on the island of Iona, just off the Isle of Mull on the West Coast of Scotland. It is one of the oldest History of early Christianity, Christian religious centres in Western Europe. The abbey was a focal point ...

on the north bank of the

River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...

in the 6th century or early 7th century following the missionary expeditions of

St Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

into the land of the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

. It may have continued to draw its hierarchy from the

Cenél Conaill Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history *Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...

of Donegal.

Iain Moncreiffe Sir Rupert Iain Kay Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 11th Baronet, (9 April 1919 – 27 February 1985), Chief of Clan Moncreiffe, was a British Officer of Arms, historian and genealogist. Biography Moncreiffe was the son of Lieutenant-Commander Gerald ...

argued that Crinán belonged to a Scottish sept of the Irish

royal dynasty. Alternatively, Christopher Cairney proposed a

Cenél nEógain Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history * Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...

descent for the House of Dunkeld. While the title of Hereditary Abbot (''coarb'' in Gaelic) was a

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

position that was often exercised in name only, Crinán does seem to have acted as Abbot in charge of the monastery in his time. He was thus a man of high position in both clerical and secular society. The magnificent semi-ruined

Dunkeld Cathedral Dunkeld Cathedral is a Church of Scotland place of worship which stands on the north bank of the River Tay in Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Built in square-stone style of predominantly grey sandstone, the cathedral proper began in 1260 a ...

, built in stages between 1260 and 1501, stands today on the grounds once occupied by the monastery. The Cathedral contains the only surviving remains of the previous monastic society: a course of red stone visible in the east

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

wall that may have been re-used from an earlier building, and two stone ninth – or tenth-century cross-slabs in the Cathedral Museum.

Walter Bower Walter Bower (or Bowmaker; 24 December 1449) was a Scottish canon regular and abbot of Inchcolm Abbey in the Firth of Forth, who is noted as a chronicler of his era. He was born about 1385 at Haddington, East Lothian, in the Kingdom of Scotl ...

and

John of Fordun John of Fordun (before 1360 – c. 1384) was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th ...

do not identify Crínán as abbot of Dunkeld but accord him the offices of abbot of Dull and

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

of the Isles.Fordun, John of, ''Chronica Gentis Scotorum'' I, p. 181

References

External Source

Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crinan of Dunkeld 1045 deaths People from Perth and Kinross House of Dunkeld 11th-century Scottish people Scottish pre-union military personnel killed in action Year of birth unknown 11th-century mormaers