Donnchadh of Mar (

Anglicized 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 Duncan) is the fifth known

Mormaer of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. Th ...

, 1203–1244. Donnchadh was the son of Morggán and Agnes. Donnchadh benefited from the introduction of feudal

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

as a custom, as it enabled him and his kin to exclude the descendants of Gille Críst, whose contemporary leader was

Thomas de Lundin Thomas de Lundin, often referred to as Thomas l'Ussier or Thomas Durward (), was a 13th-century Scottish nobleman. Thomas takes his name from the villa of Lundie in Angus (not to be confused with Lundie in Fife), and was one of two known sons o ...

, from the succession. Perhaps in gratitude, he named his oldest son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

after King

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

, the probable source of the innovation in Mar's inheritance custom. He married Orabillis of Nessius, by whom he fathered William, and died in 1244.

Bibliography

* Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500-1286'', 2 Vols (Edinburgh, 1922), p. 493, n. 1 * Oram, Richard D., "The Earls and Earldom of Mar, c1150-1300," Steve Boardman and Alasdair Ross (eds.) ''The Exercise of Power in Medieval Scotland, c.1200-1500'', (Dublin/Portland, 2003), pp. 46–66 * Roberts, John L., ''Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages'', (Edinburgh, 1997), pp. 55–6 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mar, Donnchadh, Earl of 1203 births 1244 deaths Nobility from Aberdeenshire 13th-century mormaers Mormaers of Mar