Mormaer Maol Choluim II of Lennox (anglicised Malcolm II of Lennox) (died 19 July 1333) was

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 Continenta ...

(the Celtic equivalent of an

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

) of Lennox from 1303 to his death. Maol Cholium's father, Maol Choluim I embraced the cause of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

as early as 1292. As a result, the English king bestowed the Lennox earldom on Sir John Menteith, who was holding it in 1307 while the real earl was with King Robert in his wanderings in the Lennox country. He was allowed to succeed to the Mormaerdom only on giving homage to 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 (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

and attending Edward's court. It was perhaps to ease this process, that his mother Marjorie became an informant of the English crown. Maol Choluim assisted Edward initially by raising men from his Mormaerdom. Nevertheless, Maol Choluim's Bruce loyalties were the same as his father Maol Choluim I's, and this was keenly displayed when he attended Robert's coronation. He was one of the signatories of the

Declaration of Arbroath The Declaration of Arbroath (; ; ) is the name usually given to a letter, dated 6 April 1320 at Arbroath, written by Scottish barons and addressed to Pope John XXII. It constituted King Robert I's response to his excommunication for disobey ...

in 1320. Maol Choluim was in fact one of the most loyal followers of Bruce, and was rewarded by both Bruce and by later pro-Bruce writers such as John Barbour 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 ...

, who wrote much praise of him. Robert even retired in Lennox country, at the settlement of Cardross. Maol Choluim died in 1333 fighting for the Bruce cause against the Anglo-Balliol alliance at

Battle of Halidon Hill The Battle of Halidon Hill took place on 19 July 1333 when a Scottish army under Sir Archibald Douglas attacked an English army commanded by King Edward III of England () and was heavily defeated. The year before, Edward Balliol had seized ...

. He had two known sons by an unknown wife, his successor

Domhnall Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a ...

and Muireadhach.

Notes

Bibliography

* Neville, Cynthia J., ''Native Lordship in Medieval Scotland: The Earldoms of Strathearn and Lennox, c. 1140-1365'', (Portland & Dublin, 2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Maol Choluim 2, Earl Of Lennox 1333 deaths Year of birth unknown Nobility from West Dunbartonshire Scottish deaths at the Battle of Halidon Hill Signatories to the Declaration of Arbroath 14th-century Scottish earls Mormaers of Lennox