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Rulers

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Rulers of Scotland (843 .. 1513)

Early Middle Ages

The Kings of Alba (843 - 1058)

From Date	Ruler	Relationship to Predecessor	To Date	Comments
843	Kenneth I	-	858	Kenneth 'MacAlpin' is tradionally regarded as the first ruler of the Scottish nation, known as Alba. He was the ruler of Dal Riata, an area of the west coast of Scotland, and the ruler of the Picts whose leaders were killed either be Kenneth or during Viking raids.
858	Donald I	Brother	862	Very little is know about the short reign of Donald.
862	Constantine I	Nephew	877	Viking raids increased greatly during Constantine's reign.
877	Aed	Brother	878	Aed'd reign only lasted for one year as it is believed he was killed by Giric who succeed him.
878	Giric / Eochaid	Eochaid was Aed's nephew	889	Giric and Eochaid shared the rule of Alba. Giric was older and may have acted as stepfather to Eochaid.
889	Donald II	-	900	Donald overthrew Giric and Eochaid to become the King of Alba.
900	Constantine II	Cousin	943	Constantine's reign was one of the longest of all the Scottish kings and lasted 43 years. In his old age he abdicated in favour of his nephew Malcolm.
943	Malcolm I	Nephew	954	Malcolm gave shelter to Vikings driven out of York by Edmund of Wessex. malcolm agreed to stop supporting the Vikings in exchange of land in northern England. A reign filled with conflicts resulted in his death in battle.
954	Indulph	-	962	Indulph abdicated and retired to a monastery after a reign of eight years full of conflict with Vikings and the English. He was called out of retirement to fight the Danes and was killed in battle.
962	Dubh/Duff	-	966	The reign of Duff is noted for civil war. When Duff favoured his cousin Donald rather than Cuilean as the next heir a civil was broke out. Duff was killed and Cuilean became king.
966	Culen/Cuilean/Colin	-	971	Cuilean's reign was short as he was killed in battle.
971	Kenneth II	-	995
995	Constantine III	-	997
997	Kenneth III	-	1005
1005	Malcolm II	-	1034
1034	Duncan I	Grandson	1040	Duncan was killed in battle fighting men led by Macbeth.
1040	Macbeth	Cousin	1057	Shakespeare's play is based on this Scottish King. Macbeth was killed by Malcolm, the son of Duncan.
1057	Lulach	Stepson	1058	Lulach was the stepson of Macbeth and became king of the Scots after Macbeth was killed by Malcolm. Lulach was assassinated and Malcolm became the next king. Lulach was known as the 'fool' or the 'simple'.

The Kings of Alba (843 - 1058)

Name:

Kenneth I

Reign:

843 to 858

Kenneth 'MacAlpin' is tradionally regarded as the first ruler of the Scottish nation, known as Alba. He was the ruler of Dal Riata, an area of the west coast of Scotland, and the ruler of the Picts whose leaders were killed either be Kenneth or during Viking raids.

Name:

Donald I

Reign:

858 to 862

Very little is know about the short reign of Donald.

Name:

Constantine I

Reign:

862 to 877

Viking raids increased greatly during Constantine's reign.

Name:

Aed

Reign:

877 to 878

Aed'd reign only lasted for one year as it is believed he was killed by Giric who succeed him.

Name:

Giric

/ Eochaid

Reign:

878 to 889

Giric and Eochaid shared the rule of Alba. Giric was older and may have acted as stepfather to Eochaid.

Name:

Donald II

Reign:

889 to 900

Donald overthrew Giric and Eochaid to become the King of Alba.;

Name:

Constantine II

Reign:

900 to 943

Constantine's reign was one of the longest of all the Scottish kings and lasted 43 years. In his old age he abdicated in favour of his nephew Malcolm.

Name:

Malcolm I

Reign:

943 to 954

Malcolm gave shelter to Vikings driven out of York by Edmund of Wessex. malcolm agreed to stop supporting the Vikings in exchange of land in northern England. A reign filled with conflicts resulted in his death in battle.

Name:

Indulph

Reign:

945 to 962

Indulph abdicated and retired to a monastery after a reign of eight years full of conflict with Vikings and the English. He was called out of retirement to fight the Danes and was killed in battle.

Name:

Dubh/Duff

Reign:

962 to 966

The reign of Duff is noted for civil war. When Duff favoured his cousin Donald rather than Cuilean as the next heir a civil was broke out. Duff was killed and Cuilean became king.

Name:

Culen/Cuilean/Colin

Reign:

966 to 971

Cuilean's reign was short as he was killed in battle.

Name:

Kenneth II

Reign:

971 to 995

Name:

Constantine III

Reign:

995 to 997

Name:

Kenneth III

Reign:

997 to 1005

Name:

Malcolm II

Reign:

1005 to 1034

Name:

Duncan I

Reign:

1034 to 1040

Name:

Macbeth

Reign:

1040 to 1057

Name:

Lulach

Reign:

1057 to 1058

Lulach was the stepson of Macbeth and became king of the Scots after Macbeth was killed by Malcolm. Lulach was assassinated and Malcolm became the next king. Lulach was known as the 'fool' or the 'simple'.

High Middle Ages

The House of Canmore (1058 - 1290)

From Date	Ruler	Relationship to Predecessor	To Date	Comments
1058	Malcolm III	Cousin of Macbeth	1093	Malcolm took the Scottish throne after killing the previous two rulers. He married Margaret, the daughter of Edmund of England. He was killed at Alnwick as he tried to invade England.
1093	Donald III	Brother	1094	Donald was Malcolm's younger brother and took the throne by deposing Malcolm's sons. Donald himself was deposed by Duncan, his nephew with help from the English.
1094 May	Duncan II	Nephew	1094 November	Duncan was killed by Edmund, his half-brother.
1094	Donald III (restored)	-	1097	Once restored to the Scottish throne, Duncan ruled togther with Edmund.
1097	Edgar	Nephew of Duncan II	1107	Edgar was placed on the Scottish thone with help from the English and became a vassal of William Rufus, the English king.
1107	Alexander I	Brother	1124	Another Scottish king with ties to the English. He married an illegitimate daughter of Henry I of England.
1124	David I	Brother	1153	David forged strong ties with England. His sister married King Henry I of England. David supported the claim of Matilda, the daughter of Henry, to the English throne. David gave large donations to the Scottish Church.
1153	Malcolm IV	Grandson	1165	Malcolm handed back Northumbria and Cumbria back to the English under Henry II. He did not marry but is thought to have had an illegitimate son.
1165	William I (The Lyon)	Brother	1214	William tried to invade England and supported France and the rebellious sons of King Henry II. William was captured and had to pay homage to the English King for his freedom.
1214	Alexander II	Son	1249	Alexander married the daughter of King John of England and after a failed attempt to regain lost land renounced claims to the north of England.
1249	Alexander III	Son	1286	Alexander reclaimed land that had been lost to Norway. He died without a male heir and succession fell to the ill-fated Maid of Norway.
1286	Margaret (Maid of Norway)	Granddaughter	1290	As granddaughter of Alexander III, Margaret was chosen as heir to the Scottish throne. She died during the voyage from Norway.

The House of Canmore (1058 - 1290)

Name:

Malcolm III

Reign:

1058 to 1093

Name:

Donald III

Reign:

1093 to 1094

Name:

Duncan II

Reign:

1094 May to 1094 November

Name:

Donald III

Reign:

1094 to 1097

Name:

Edgar

Reign:

1097 to 1107

Name:

Alexander I

Reign:

1107 to 1124

Name:

David I

Reign:

1124 to 1153

Name:

Malcolm IV

Reign:

1153 to 1165

Name:

William I (The Lyon)

Reign:

1165 to 1214

Name:

Alexander II

Reign:

1214 to 1249

Name:

Alexander III

Reign:

1249 to 1286

Name:

Margaret (Maid of Norway)

Reign:

1286 to 1290

Time of Conflict (1290 - 1371)

From Date	Ruler	Relationship to Predecessor	To Date	Comments
1290	First Interregnum	-	1292	During this period of time when Scotland had no monarch the country was governed by several influential bishops and earls.
1292	John Balliol	-	1296
1296	Second Interregnum	-	1306
1306	Robert I (The Bruce)	-	1329
1329	David II	-	1332
1332	Edward Balliol	-	Nov to Dec
1332 Dec	David II	-	1333 Jun
1333	Edward Balliol	-	1336
1336	David II	-	1371

Time of Conflict (1290 - 1371)

Name:

First Interregnum

Reign:

1290 to 1292

Name:

John Balliol

Reign:

1292 to 1296

Name:

Second Interregnum

Reign:

1296 to 1306

Name:

Robert I (The Bruce)

Reign:

1306 to 1329

Name:

David II

Reign:

1329 to 1332

Name:

Edward Balliol

Reign:

1332 to Nov to Dec

Name:

David II

Reign:

1332 Dec to 1333 Jun

Name:

Edward Balliol

Reign:

1333 to 1336

Name:

David II

Reign:

1336 to 1371

The (partial) House of Stewart (1371 - 1625)

From Date	Ruler	Relationship to Predecessor	To Date	Comments
1371	Robert II	-	1390
1390	Robert III	-	1406
1406	James I	-	1437
1437	James II	-	1460
1460	James III	-	1488
1488	James IV	-	1513
1513	James V	-	1542
1542	Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots	-	1567