Kings of ScotlandSearch this site: The kings of Scotland number more than 30, if you start counting from the formation of the kingdom of Scotland until the time of the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Here is a list of these kings of Scotland, with a few comments only on the more interesting ones. Still, I don’t know, some of these early Celtic rulers could have been a laugh-a-minute at state banquets. But I’m going to rush through these anyway……Early KingsKenneth I, MacAlpin, became in 843 first King of Scots. He defeated the Picts and united the country. Oddly enough, one former Pictish territory is still referred to today in the phrase 'The Kingdom of Fife'. Kenneth and his successors were crowned at Scone near Perth and buried on the island of Iona, sometimes called the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland.OK, here goes with the list. Are you sure about this? You’ll only need to know these if you’re doing a school project on the Kings of Scotland or something. Or if the coffee by your keyboard is really hot, so you’ve time to read all the way to the end, where you’ll find Mary, Queen of Scots. Donald I 860-63 Macbeth, 1040-57, killed Duncan in battle near Elgin, though the Shakespearian version of his accession to the throne is better known. Macbeth in turn was killed in battle with his successor at Lumphanan, north of Royal Deeside, between Banchory and Aboyne. The local woods are said to mark the battle site. Shakespeare's version gives the setting as Dunsinane, in the Sidlaw Hills north-east of Perth. Malcolm III: 1057-93 Known as Canmore (Gaelic Ceann-mor - great head or chief.) This king from the Celtic dynasty married a refugee Saxon Princess, fleeing from the Norman Conquest in England. Queen Margaret was the sister of Edgar, King Elect of England. Under her influence, the Royal court moved from Dunfermline to Edinburgh in the Lothians, which was disputed land, not under Celtic influence. Her chapel still stands as St Margaret’s Chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh Castle. Margaret and Malcolm were buried at Dunfermline. Historians like to portray Margaret as a softening influence on Malcolm’s Celtic ways, making him drink French wine instead of home-brewed ale. She was terribly virtuous – obviously one of the boxes to be ticked if you’re going to become a saint. Donald Bane 1093-94 (restored 1094-97). Increasing Anglo-Norman influence meant that Donald, brother of Malcolm, was the last of the Celtic Kings of Scotland to be buried in Iona, the island sacred to the kings of Scotland from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin. Iona is still a place of pilgrimage for visitors – almost a ‘must see’, I reckon. But make sure you take in the beaches on the west side of the island, not just the restored Iona Abbey, worthy though it is. Duncan II 1094 David I 1124-53. The door, as it were, having been opened by the saintly Queen Margaret, from about this king's time onwards, new Anglo-Norman families were encouraged to settle in Scotland. From David through to William the Lion, this process of moving away from the old Celtic habit towards the feudal Anglo-Norman ways of organising society continued. King David I, for instance, ruthlessly suppressed rebellion by Celtic folk in Moray. After their defeat he granted lands to a Fleming called Freskin who built the original Duffus Castle, 5 miles north of Elgin, in the Norman style. The castle mound, called a motte, remains to this day as one of the best examples of its type in Scotland. The four great Border abbeys, Kelso, Dryburgh, Jedburgh and Melrose, also date from David’s time. Malcolm IV 1153-65 Known as 'The Maiden' from his celibate life and gentleness. William I 'The Lion' 1165-1214 Associated with the symbol of Scotland, the heraldic ‘Lion Rampant’. He is one of the kings of Scotland who reigned longest, though in his old age he still must have been spry enough to clamber into a boat when a mighty flood on the River Tay washed his castle away in Perth during the winter of 1209-10. He escaped and probably thought ‘That does it, from now on no more
mottes and wooden castles
for me....and, Zounds! I do believe I'm the first Scottish monarch ever to speak a text link!'
Alexander II 1214-49. There was, however, a small problem. King Alexander was childless. However, he had a new(ish) wife, Yolande de Dreux. He left her in Fife to attend to business in Edinburgh. It was the late winter of 1286 and the weather was bad. However, he was determined to get back to her that night and ordered a reluctant ferryman to get him north across the estuary of the River Forth. Then, outpacing his bodyguards in the darkness of the night, he rode ahead, but was killed by a fall from his horse on the cliffs near Aberdour in Fife. A memorial by the roadside marks the spot. The crown passed to his grand-daughter, Margaret, Maid of Norway. Later, she was to die before reaching Scotland from Norway – as perhaps loosely told in the Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens. This left several claimants in Scotland as well as the ambitious King Edward I of England. (He was particularly ambitious because Alexander III's first wife, Margaret of England, had been Edward's sister - another example of intermarriage between the royal houses of Scotland and England.) In short, things were getting really messy. The English Edward was asked to mediate in the dispute of succession. He chose John Balliol who swore fealty to him. Edward invaded in 1296 after the Scots persuaded the weak Balliol to side with France in a French/English dispute. The many fortifications that were besieged by English forces included Dunbar and Dirleton Castle in East Lothian. Linlithgow and Stirling likewise fell into Edward's hands. Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness and Kildrummy Castle, near Alford, were also of importance and King Edward himself stayed at Lochindorb Castle south of Nairn, as well as many other Scottish castles. It was to free the land from this English domination that the Scottish Wars of Independence were fought, culminating at the Battle of Bannockburn, 1314. OK, now where were we? Oh, yes, approaching the end of the 13th century and things are starting to look a bit dramatic…… Guardians ruling in the name of Margaret, Maid of Norway 1286-89 Bruce's daughter Marjory married Walter the High Steward of Scotland whose son Robert II became the first 'Stewart' king of Scotland in 1390, founding a dynasty that was to last for the next three hundred years. (David II, who ruled between Robert the Bruce and Robert II, was Marjory's brother. He died childless. The crown then passed to his nephew, ie Robert II and hence started the Stewart line.) James II 1437-60. He was killed by a bursting cannon at siege of Roxburgh Castle, south west of Kelso. Only faint traces survive today of this castle (and of the nearby once important early Royal Burgh which gave its name to the county). Today's Floors Castle is close to the site and a holly tree in its grounds is said to mark the spot where James II met his death. James III 1460-88. Scotland reached its present day shape on the marriage of this James - as Orkney and Shetland were part of the dowry of James's wife Margaret, daughter of King Christian I of Denmark and Norway, who owned the islands. James III is traditionally said to have been more interested in arts and culture than warfare - he is associated with an episode called 'bell the cat' when one of the nobles, Archibald, Earl of Angus, took it upon himself to hang the King's favourites (a selection of low-born folk) from the bridge at Lauder near present-day Thirlestane Castle. Eventually, James was murdered after his defeat at Sauchieburn near Falkirk and buried at Cambuskenneth Abbey by the River Forth at Stirling. The Stewarts really didn’t have a lot of luck, did they? James IV 1488-1513 Killed at Flodden Field when the Scots were defeated by English. (Again – see what I mean?) James V 1513-42. This monarch is associated with many building works of the Renaissance, among them the Palace at Stirling Castle, with its extraordinary facade, richly carved with figures (one of whom is said to represent the king himself) and gargoyles. Also of note is Falkland Palace, favourite seat of James V and likewise showing French renaissance styling of the exterior. The king died here, weeks after the birth of his daughter Mary. Mary, Queen of Scots 1542-1587Born at Linlithgow Palace, an unstable and factional Scotland resulted in Mary, Queen of Scots being taken to Inchmahome Priory on the Lake of Menteith on the southern edge of The Trossachs for safety, before leaving from Dumbarton Castle for France aged 6 years. Educated in France, she returned to Scotland, already widowed, in 1561. The Protestant Reformers actively opposed her Catholicism. For the next seven years her stormy reign took her to many parts of Scotland. She journeyed through her kingdom on stately 'progresses' visiting abbeys, great castles and grand houses. Other places have less happy associations as rebellion grew and she sought refuge in some of Scotland's most dramatic fortresses.Notable among the profusion of places associated with her are: Hermitage Castle near Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders, where Mary made her famous ride from Jedburgh (where there is a Queen Mary's House) to visit her wounded lover Bothwell; Craigmillar Castle in Edinburgh where the plot to murder her second husband Darnley was hatched (Mary is also associated very closely with Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse); Stirling Castle where Mary spent much of her early childhood; Dunfermline Abbey and Palace where Mary stayed in 1561 and where her grandchild King Charles I was born; Loch Leven Castle near Kinross, island prison of Mary; Blair Castle, Blair Atholl, north of Pitlochry, where Mary was entertained in 1564 with a deer hunt. Lochmaben, Crichton, Hailles, Tantallon, Crookston, Huntingtower, Glamis, Edzell and Dunnottar are just some of the other castles which she visited. Glenluce, Whithorn, Dundrennan, Balmerino, Arbroath and Beauly are some of the abbeys and priories at which she stayed. Rebellion finally forced her to flee to England to face nearly twenty years of imprisonment and eventual execution. James VI 1567-1603. He ruled Scotland only, then became King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1603 to 1625. He started as a pawn in the political struggle that followed Mary's abdication. He became king of England in 1603 as he was a descendant of James IV and his English wife Margaret Tudor. After the royal court moved to London the king only came back to Scotland once, in 1617. The King's move to London is known as the Union of the Crowns and it signified the approaching end of Scotland's independence, finally sealed in the Union of Parliaments in 1707. After that, Kings and Queens of Scotland were also the rulers of the United Kingdom. No monarch visited Scotland between King Charles II in 1650 and King George IV in 1822, though the Duke of Cumberland ('Butcher' Cumberland) was King George's great uncle and had certainly made an impression during his visit in 1746, commanding the Hanoverian army at the
Battle of Culloden.
Superb interpretative visitor centre on the site today. As you walk round the exhibition you were certainly learn more about the kings of Scotland here too. Return to the Scotland in a Week Home Page |
Robert the Bruce(1306-29) Step forward this hero and opportunist from a powerful Scottish family (originally Norman - Bruce is from Brix, a place in Normandy). Though at one stage a 'bought man' of the English King Edward, he rose in rebellion against English domination. The story of the
