Mormaer In early Middle Ages, medieval Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, a mormaer was the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the Kings of Scots, King of Scots, and the senior of a ''Toísech'' (chi ...

Maol Domhnaich (sometimes anglicized as ''Maldoven'') was the son of Mormaer Ailín II, and ruled Lennox 1217–1250. Like his predecessor Ailín II, he showed absolutely no interest in extending an inviting hand to oncoming French or English settlers. He has, moreover, gained a reputation amongst modern scholars as being one of the more conservative

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

rulers in thirteenth century Scotland. Despite that, he seems to have remained loyal to his royal overlord. There is no evidence that he participated in any of the western-oriented rebellions which were so frequent in the era. The Mormaer even sent his son Maol Choluim with the king's expedition to

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

in 1232. He was also a witness to the treaty between King

Alexander II of Scotland Alexander II (Medieval Gaelic: '; Modern Gaelic: '; 24 August 1198 – 6 July 1249) was King of Scotland from 1214 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of York (1237) which defined the boundary between England and Scotland, virtually unch ...

and his brother-in-law

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

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in 1237, concerning the much disputed northern counties of England. Nevertheless, in 1238 Alexander distrusted him sufficiently to remove the Castle of

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from his control, giving the Scottish king an important foothold in the Mormaerdom. As part of the same act, Alexander II regranted the Mormaerdom to Maol Domhnaich as a military fief, indicating perhaps that the Mormaerdom's prior status was ambiguous. He married Beatrix, the daughter of

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

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and had two known sons ( Maol Choluim and Donnchadh), and one daughter. Maol Domhnaich's reign came to an end with his death in 1250.

Notes

Bibliography

* Neville, Cynthia J., ''Native Lordship in Medieval Scotland: The Earldoms of Strathearn and Lennox, c. 1140-1365'', (Portland & Dublin, 2005) 1250 deaths People from Stirling Year of birth unknown Mormaers of Lennox 13th-century mormaers {{Scotland-earl-stub