Domnall mac Causantín ( Modern Gaelic: , IPA: �t̪oːvnəɫ̪ˈmaʰkˈxoːʃɪm,

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

as Donald II (died 900), was

King of the Picts The list of kings of the Picts is based on the Pictish Chronicle king lists. These are late documents and do not record the dates when the kings reigned. The various surviving lists disagree in places as to the names of kings, and the lengths ...

King of Alba The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, Kenneth I MacAlpin () was the founder and first King of the Kingdom of Scotland (although he never held the title historically, being King of th ...

in the late 9th century. He was the son of

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

(Causantín mac Cináeda). Donald is given the

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

Dásachtach, "the Madman", by ''

The Prophecy of Berchán ''The Prophecy of Berchán'' is a relatively long historical poem written in the Middle Irish language. The text is preserved in the Royal Irish Academy as MS 679 (23/G/4), with a few early modern copies. It is a prophecy made in the Early Middle ...

''. Donald usurped the throne from his cousin,

Giric Giric mac Dúngail ( Modern Gaelic: ''Griogair mac Dhunghail''; fl. c. 878–889), in modern English his name is Gregory or Greg MacDougal and nicknamed Mac Rath ("Son of Fortune"), was a king of the Picts or the king of Alba. The Irish ann ...

in 889 who killed his uncle Àed Mac Cináeda(r. 877–879). He continuously fought the Vikings in The North, winning victories but would be killed in 900 at war, possibly against King

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

. He was succeeded by his cousin Caustantín Mac Àeda (Constantine II)

Life

Donald became king on the death or deposition of

(Giric mac Dúngail), the date of which is not certainly known but usually placed in 889. The ''

Chronicle of the Kings of Alba The ''Chronicle of the Kings of Alba'', or ''Scottish Chronicle'', is a short written chronicle covering the period from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín) (d. 858) until the reign of Kenneth II (Cináed mac Maíl Coluim) (r. 971� ...

'' reports: It has been suggested that the attack on Dunnottar, rather than being a small raid by a handful of pirates, may be associated with the ravaging of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

attributed to

in the ''

Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...

''. The Prophecy of Berchán places Donald's death at Dunnottar, but appears to attribute it to Gaels rather than Norsemen; other sources report he died at

Forres Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...

. Donald's death is dated to 900 by the

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luin� ...

and the

Chronicon Scotorum ''Chronicon Scotorum'', also known as ''Chronicum Scotorum'', is a medieval Irish chronicle. Overview According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is "a collection of annals belonging to the ' Clonmacnoise group', covering the period from prehistoric ...

, where he is called ''

king of Alba The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, Kenneth I MacAlpin () was the founder and first King of the Kingdom of Scotland (although he never held the title historically, being King of th ...

'', rather than ''

king of the Picts The list of kings of the Picts is based on the Pictish Chronicle king lists. These are late documents and do not record the dates when the kings reigned. The various surviving lists disagree in places as to the names of kings, and the lengths ...

''. He was buried on

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

. Like his father, Constantine, he died a violent death at a premature age. The change from ''king of the Picts'' to ''king of Alba'' is seen as indicating a step towards the

kingdom of the Scots 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 land bo ...

, but historians, while divided as to when this change should be placed, do not generally attribute it to Donald in view of his epithet. The consensus view is that the key changes occurred in the reign of Constantine II (Causantín mac Áeda), but the reign of

has also been proposed. The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba has Donald succeeded by his cousin Constantine II. Donald's son

Malcolm Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Malcom (footballer) (born 1997), Brazilian football forward * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerp ...

( Máel Coluim mac Domnall) was later king as Malcolm I. The Prophecy of Berchán appears to suggest that another king reigned for a short while between Donald II and Constantine II, saying "half a day will he take sovereignty". Possible confirmation of this exists in the Chronicon Scotorum, where the death of "Ead, king of the Picts" in a battle against the

Uí Ímair The Uí Ímair (; meaning ‘''scions of Ivar’''), also known as the Ivar dynasty or Ivarids, was a Norse-Gael dynasty which ruled much of the Irish Sea region, the Kingdom of Dublin, the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides and ...

is reported in 904. This, however, is thought to be an error, referring perhaps to Ædwulf, the ruler of

Bernicia Bernicia () was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England. The Anglian territory of Bernicia was approximately equivalent to the modern English cou ...

, whose death is reported in 913 by the other

Irish annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ti ...

.''ESSH'', p. 304, note 8; however, the Annals of Ulster, s.a. 904, report the death of

Ímar ua Ímair Ímar ua Ímair ( , died 904); also known as Ivar II, was a Norse-Gaels, Norse-Gaelic Kingdom of Dublin, King of Dublin. He was a grandson of Ímar, Ivar Gudrødsson and a member of the powerful Uí Ímair. Biography Ímar ua Ímair became King ...

(Ivar grandson of Ivar) in

Fortriu Fortriu (; ; ; ) was a Pictish kingdom recorded between the 4th and 10th centuries. It was traditionally believed to be located in and around Strathearn in central Scotland, but is more likely to have been based in the north, in the Moray and ...

in 904, making it possible that Ead (Áed ?) was a king, if not the High King.

Notes

References

Anderson, Alan Orr Alan Orr Anderson (1879–1958) was a Scottish historian and compiler. The son of Rev. John Anderson and Ann Masson, he was born in 1879. He was educated at Royal High School, Edinburgh, and the University of Edinburgh. In 1908, after fiv ...

; ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections, Stamford: Paul Watkins, 1990. * Anderson, Marjorie Ogilvie; ''Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland'', Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, revised edition 1980. * Broun, Dauvit; "National identity: 1: early medieval and the formation of Alba" in Michael Lynch (ed.), ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'', Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001. * Duncan, A. A. M.; ''The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence'', Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. * * Smyth, Alfred P.; ''Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80–1000'', Reprinted, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1998. * Sturluson, Snorri; ''Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway'', tr. Lee M. Hollander. Reprinted University of Texas Press, Austin, 1992. * Woolf, Alex; "Constantine II" in Michael Lynch (ed.) op. cit.

External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

includes the ''Annals of Ulster'', ''Tigernach'', ''the Four Masters'' and ''Innisfallen'', the ''Chronicon Scotorum'', the ''Lebor Bretnach'' (which includes the ''Duan Albanach''), Genealogies, and various Lives of Saints. Most are translated into English or translations are in progress.
(CKA) The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba

Donald II
at the official website of the

British monarchy The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald 02 of Scotland 9th-century births 900 deaths Year of birth unknown House of Alpin 9th-century Scottish monarchs Burials at Iona Abbey Gaelic monarchs in Scotland

Life

See also

Notes

References

External links