Scotland

Robert Sewell    This page was set up by Robert Sewell in JUne 2006 to show the descent of the Kings of Scotland.  Robert Sewell graduated from McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) in 1967 with a B.Sc. degree in chemistry.  After a year of studies at the University of Toronto's College of Education, he taught high school science in Collingwood, Ontario for a year and then taught chemistry, physics and general science in Hamilton, Ontario for twenty-nine years.  Robert Sewell retired from teaching in June 1998.

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Please visit the Sewell Genealogy Site Map for other pages in this series.


 
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The material presented here has been drawn from numerous sources:

A special ackowledgement is extended to
Sewell Vincent Sample
and
Carma Kathleen Wallace
who have provided much information and encouragement.

Some information came from sites which are no longer readily accessable including:

Map of Early Scotland
    In the early middle ages, Scotland consisted of four separate kingdoms:     Scottish and Pictish families began intermarrying in the 8th century, and their kingdoms were often ruled by the same king.  The monarchy of Scotland evolved from this union, known as the Kingdom of Alba.  By the late 9th century, the Kingdom of Alba began absorbing the kingdoms of the Britons and Angles. Thus, through intermarriage and conquest, the Scottish Kings of Dalriada emerged as the overall Kings of Scotland.
    The Scots of Dalriada claimed a legendary antiquity beginning with Gaythelos, son of a King of Greece who went to Egypt during the time of Moses where he married the eponymous Scoti, daughter of the Pharaoh.  Gaythelos, Scoti, and their family emigrated to Spain and eventually several groups of their descendants emigrated to Ireland; the final group under Simon Brek, whose grandson led a colony from Ireland to northern Britain and named it "Scotia".  In the year 330 BC, these Scots elected as their king Fergus, son of Ferehard; and they remained in Scotland until 360 AD when they were driven back to Ireland by the Picts and Britons.  In the 5th century, they returned to Scotia under the leadership of Fergus, son of Erc.  Or so the story goes.
    History knows nothing of the Scots earlier than about 500 AD, but at this point, the name of Fergus MorMacErc (Fergus, son of Erc) emerges from the mists of legend as the King of Scots in Dalriada.  Thus, it is with Fergus that we will begin this genealogical record.
 
 
Kings of Dalriada
Generation One
Fergus MorMacErc
Acceded circa 490
Died (killed) 501		 Generation Seven
Domongart (II) macDomnaill
Did not reign.
Died (killed) circa 673
Generation Two
Domangart (I) macFergusso
Married Feldelm Foltchain
Died circa 506		 Generation Eight
Eochaidh "Crook Nose"
Ruled for about three years
Died (killed) circa 697 
Generation Three
Gabhran macDomangairt
Married to Ingenach or Lleian
Died circa 559		 Generation Nine
Eochaidh (III) macEchdach
Acceded circa 721
Died circa 733
Generation Four
Aedan macGabhran
Acceded circa 574, Died circa 608
Consecrated by his cousin St. Columba		 Generation Ten
Aedh Find "The White"
Ruled for 30 years
Died in 778
Generation Five
Eochaidh Buidhe macAidan
Died circa 630		 Generation Eleven
Eochaid "The Venemous"
Acceded in 780
Married to Unuistice, Princess of the Picts.
Generation Six
Domnall Brecc
Died at the Battle of Strathcarron circa 642		 Generation Twelve
Alpin of Kintyre
Acceded in 834 
Died (killed fighting the Picts) circa 837

    The information in the Generations One to Twelve is taken from Frederick Lewis Weis: Ancestral Roots, Baltimore, 1999 and from Brian Tompsett, Royal Genealogical Data, University of Hull, 2005.  Please refer any additional sources, information, corrections and so on to Robert Sewell.

    It should be noted that in early mediæval Scotland, it was the eldest and/or ablest male of the royal house, and not the heir of line, that inherited the throne. This meant that any energetic male connected with the royal line could assert a claim to the throne.  Thus, Kenneth (I) MacAlpin (838 - 858) was followed as king by his brother Donald (I) (858 - 862).  Kenneth's son Constantine (I) did not become king until 862.  The following is a genealogical record, and not a list of Scotland's Kings.  For the actual Kings and Queens of Scotland, see:
Scotland's Kings and Queens, a brief sketch of each monarch from 843 to 1603.
Scottish Royal Lineage, a true genealogical account (from Burke's Peerage) from 844 to date.
Scottish Royal Dynasties, a neat chart (using Adobe Acrobat Reader) from 842 to 1625.
The History of the Scottish Crown, from the Queen's web site.
 

Generation Thirteen
Kenneth (I) MacAlpin who united the Scots and the Picts with the establishment of the Kindom of Alba, which comprised Dalriada and the Kingdom of the Picts.
Acceded: 839
Died: 859 at Forteviot, Perthshire and interred at the Isle of Iona, Scotland
Kenneth MacAlpin had the following children:


Generation Fourteen
Constantine (I) who was King of Alba and was beheaded or killed in a battle against the Danes at Inverdorat, the Black Cove, Angus.
Acceded: 863
Died: 877 and interred at the Isle of Iona, Scotland
Constantine had a son:


Generation Fifteen
Donald (II) who was King of Alba and fought the Viking invaders
Acceded: 889
Died: 900 at Dun-fother in battle and interred at the Isle of Iona, Scotland. To learn more about mediæval weaponry, click on Swords.
Donald had a son:


Generation Sixteen
Malcolm (I) who was King of Alba and was killed in battle by rebels from Moray
Acceded: 943
Died: 954 in battle and interred at the Isle of Iona, Scotland
Malcolm had the following children:


Generation Seventeen
Kenneth (II) who was King of Alba.  He acknowledged Edgar as King of England, and was in return given Lothian.  However, Kenneth invaded Northumbria in 994, was defeated, and lost Lothian.  He killed his third cousin Culen and was in turn killed by Culen's son Constantine (III) who then ruled as King of Alba 995 - 997.
Acceded: 971
Died: 995, killed at Finela's Castle, Fettercain and interred at the Isle of Iona, Scotland
Kenneth married a princess of Leinster and had the following children:


Generation Eighteen
Malcolm (II) who was King of Alba.  He formed an alliance with King Owen the Bald of Strathclyde, and with Owen's help he regained Lothian in 1018.  Malcolm didn't have any sons; and to ensure the succession of his grandson Duncan, he killed all the sons of his cousin Kenneth (III) who had been King of Alba 997 - 1005.
Born: about 954
Acceded: March 25, 1005
Died: November 25, 1034 at Glamis Castle, Angus and interred at the Isle of Iona, Scotland.
Malcolm is said by some internet sources to have married an Irishwoman from Ossory; while others suggest that she was Ægifu (or Edith) Sigurdsdottir, a daughter of Siguar of Ossary. Note that Ossary was an Irish Kingdom located between Munster and Leinster; and was the location of Waterford, a Viking settlement. Ritson states that "an old anonymous manuscript" mentions that Malcolm's wife was a daughter of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland. (Joseph Ritson:  Annals of the Caledonians, Picts and Scots, Volume II, Page 112, Edinburgh, 1828)

Regardless of his wife's exact identity, Malcolm and she had the following daughters:


Generation Nineteen
Bethoc, Heiress of Scone
Bethoc married before 1008 to Crinan, Mormaær of Atholl and Abbot of Dunkeld, and they had the following children:


Generation Twenty
Duncan I the Gracious, King of Scotland,  added Strathclyde to the kingdom, and is thus considered to be the first king of a united Scotland.  His reign, however, was a period of disatrous wars and internal strife; and ended in 1040 when he was defeated and killed in battle by Macbeth, Mormær of Ross and Moray who then became king.
    Despite Shakespeare's depiction to the contrary, Macbeth was an honest monarch who was generous to the church; and as a grandson of Malcolm (II), had as legitimate a claim to the throne as did Duncan.   As well, Macbeth's wife Gruoch was a greatX2 granddaughter of Malcolm (I).  Duncan's wife, on the other hand, was a relative of Siward, the Viking Earl of Northumbria; which helps explain why Siward assisted Duncan's sons in defeating Macbeth.
    Click on Macbeth for Shakespeare's version of this period of Scotland's history.  In all fairness, it should be borne in mind that Shakespeare based his work on Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles and that he did not intend Macbeth to be an historical documentary, but rather an entertaining play.
Born: circa 1001
Acceded:  November 25, 1034
Died: August 14, 1040 at Bothganowan, Elgin in battle and interred at the Isle of Iona, Scotland
Married circa 1030 to Ælflaed (Sybil) of Northumbria
Duncan and Ælflaed had the following children:


Generation Twenty-one
Malcolm III Cænnmor, King of Scotland was also known as Malcolm MacDuncan.  "Cænnmor" means "big head" or "big chief".  Malcolm defeated and killed MacBeth in 1057, but Lulach, Lady MacBeth's son by her first marriage, ruled for a few months before Malcolm killed him, too. During Malcolm's reign the Norman Conquest of England ocurred, and feudal society migrated northwards into Scotland.
Born: about 1031
Acceded:  April 25,  1058 at Scone Abbey, Perthshire
Died:  November 13, 1093 at Alnwick Castle and interred at Escorial, Madrid, Spain

Malcolm married first about 1066 to Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, a daughter of Jarl Finn Arnason and widow of Thorfinn, Earl of Caithness.
Malcolm and Ingibiorg had the following children:


Malcolm married second in 1068 at Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland to St. Margaret the Exile who was descended from the Saxon Kings of Wessex and England including Ælfred the Great.  It is through this marriage that later kings and queens of Scotland and England can claim descent from the Saxon Kings of Wessex.
Click on Wessex and England for the descent of St. Margaret from the Saxon Kings of Wessex.
Click on St. Margaret for details of the life of this remarkable queen.
Malcolm and St. Margaret had the following children:


Generation Twenty-two
King David (I)David (I) the Saint of Scotland, King of Scotland, under whose reign and the reigns of his brothers Edgar and Alexander before him, the Anglo-Norman feudal system and culture became more established in Scotland.  The traditional system of tribal land tenure was abolished during the reign of David.  He is known as "Saint David of Scotland", and his feast day in May 24.
Click on St. David for more about David (I).
Born about 1084
Acceded on April 23, 1124
Died on May 24, 1153, at Carlisle, Cumbria and interred at Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland
Married in 1113 to Matilda (Maud) of Huntington, a great niece of William the Conqueror.  Please click on Mathilda of Huntington for her descent from the Dukes of Normandy. Mathilda had a previous marriage to Simon de Saint Liz, Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton who died in 1111.

David and Matilda had the following children:


Generation Twenty-three
Henry, Earl of Huntingdon and Northumberland who died before his father, King David (I)
Born: about 1114
Died:  June 12, 1152 and interrred at Kelso Abbey, Roxburghshire
Married in 1139 to Adelaide de Warren, daughter of William de Warenne, Earl of Warren and Surrey.  Click for Adelaide de Warren's descent from the Carolingian and Capetian Kings of France, and on Warren for that line.
Henry and Adelaide had the following children:


Generation Twenty-four
David, Earl of Huntingdon, Northumberland, Lennox, Carlise, Doncaster, Garioch and Cambridge.
Born about 1144
Died on June 17, 1219
Married on August 26, 1190 to Matilda de Keveliock of Chester
David and Matilda had the following children:


Generation Twenty-five
Isobella le Scot
Born: 1206
Died: 1251
Married to Robert de Bruce, Lord Annandale; and they had the following children:


Generation Twenty-six
Robert de Bruce, Lord of Annandale who was one of the 13 claimants to the Throne in 1291
Born:  1210 

Note:  Sir James Balfour Paul indicates that Robert de Bruce was born in 1210, only 4 years after the birth of his mother, Isobella le Scot, in 1206.  (See Sir James Balfour Paul, The Scots Peerage, Edinburgh, 1905, Vol. 2, pg. 430) 
Obviously, this could not be so.
Perhaps Isobella was born earlier than 1206. Her parents are said to have married in 1190.
Or, perhaps her son Robert was born later than 1210.  He was one of the claimants to the throne in 1291. A birth date of 1210 would make him an unrealistic 81 years of age by 1291.

Died: 1295
Married first on May 12, 1240 to Isabel de Clare, daughter of Magna Charta Surety Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester.
Click on De Clare for the descent of Isabel de Clare.
Robert and Isabel had a son:


Robert de Bruce married second to Christina de Ireby. They had no issue.

Generation Twenty-seven
Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick and Lord of Annadale
Died: 1304
Married in 1271 at Turnberry Castle to Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, daughter and heiress of Neil, 2nd Earl of Carrick and Margaret Stewart.  Click on Marjorie of Carrick for her descent.
Robert and Marjorie had the following children:

Generation Twenty-eight
King Robert (I) the BruceRobert the Bruce, King of Scotland who was the victor of Bannockburn in 1314, established Scottish independence from England and is revered as one of Scotland's great national heroes.
Click on Robert the Bruce for more on Robert the Bruce and his family.
Born on July 11, 1274 at Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex
Acceded on March 27, 1306 at Scone Abbey, Perthshire
Died on June 7, 1329 at Cardoss Castle, Firth of Clyde, Scotland
Interred at Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland
Armorial Bearings of the Kings of Scotland
Robert the Bruce married first to Isabel (also Isabella and Matilda) of Mar, daughter of Donald, Earl of Mar and granddaughter of Llwelyn Fawr "the Great" ap Iorwerth, Prince of Wales.
Click on Wales for the descent of Isabel of Mar.
Robert the Bruce and Isabel of Mar had a daughter: Robert the Bruce married second by licence dated September 19, 1295 to Maud Fitz Alan, widow of Philip Burnell, Knight (died June 16, 1294) of Holgate, Shropsire; and daughter of John Fitz Alan, of Clun and Oswestry, Shropshire and his wife Isabel, daughter of Roger de Mortimer, Knight. They had no issue; this being perhaps the reason why this second marriage is not mentioned in some genealogies. This marriage was dissolved by divorce or annulment, presumably on the grounds of consanguinity as both Robert the Bruce and Maud Fitz Alan were descended from William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Clare.

Robert the Bruce married third in 1302 to Elizabeth de Burgh and they had the following children:

 
For further details of the line from Maud (or Matilda) Bruce ot Sir Alexander Livingston, see:
Frederick Lewis Weis:  The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215. Baltimore, 1999, Line 42.
Douglas Richarson: Magna Carta Ancestry, Balitmore, 2005, Scotland and Stewart.
Robert the Bruce also had a number of natural children:
Note:
The marriages and children of Robert the Bruce, while generally agreed upon, seem to vary slightly from source to source.
The details presented here are from Douglas Richarson: Magna Carta Ancestry, Balitmore, 2005
and Frederick Lewis Weis:  The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215. Baltimore, 1999

Generation Twenty-nine
Princess Marjorie Bruce
Died on March 2,  1316 at Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland after falling from her horse. Her only child, Robert, was born on March 2, 1316 and it seems strange that Marjorie would be have been out riding around on a horse on the same day. Marjorie is said to have been a head strong young lady who really wanted to go horseback riding even though she was "expecting." Her son Robert was born prematurely as a result of his mother's fall from the horse.
Married in 1315 to Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, a descendant of Magna Charta Sureties Roger and Hugh Bigod.
Click on Bigod and Stewart for the descent of Walter Stewart.
Princess Marjorie Bruce and Walter Stewart had a son:


Generation Thirty
King Robert (II) StuartRobert (II) Stewart, King of Scotland who was in command of the second division of the Scottish Army at Halidon Hill, and was one of the few who escaped the carnage of that disastrous day.
Born on March 2, 1316 at Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Acceded on March 26, 1371 at Scone Abbey, Perthshire
Died on April 19, 1390 at Dundonald Castle, Ayrshire
Robert Stewart married about 1347 to Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan and they had the following children:

Robert Stewart married second to his first cousin once removed, Eupheme Ross, widow of John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray and a daughter of Hugh, Earl of Ross and his wife Maud Bruce. Robert and Eupheme had the following children:

Robert (II)  Stewart  also had a number of natural children, eight of whom are named in the records of the time:

Note:
The above list of the natural (i.e., illegitimate) children of Robert (II) Stewart is copied from 
Sir James Balfour Paul:  The Scots Peerage,  Edinburgh, 1904, Volume I,  page  17.

Generation Thirty-one
Robert Stewart of Fife, Duke of Albany, Earl of Menteith, Atholl, Buchan and Fife was the Governor of Scotland, Prime Minister to Robert (III), and Regent to James I.
Born about 1339
Died on September 3, 1420 at Stirling Castle
Robert Stewart married first about 1361 to Mary (Margaret) Graham, Countess of Menteith and they had the following children:

Robert Stewart married second after May 4, 1380 to Muriella de Keith and they had the following children:
  • John Stewart, Earl of Buchan
  • Andrew Stewart
  • Robert Stewart, Earl of Ross
  • Elizabeth Stewart
  • Marjory Stewart


    • Generation Thirty-two
    Elizabeth Stewart
    Married before June 28, 1413 to Sir Malcolm Fleming of Cumbernauld who was executed (beheaded) a few days after the Black Dinner of 1440.  Click on The Black Dinner for details.
    Elizabeth and Malcolm had the following children:


    Generation Thirty-three
    Robert Fleming, 1st Lord Fleming
    Died: 1491
    Robert married first to Lady Janet Douglas, daughter of James Douglas "The Gross", 7th Earl of Douglas.

    For Lady Janet Douglas' descent from descent
    from Prince Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, click on Sinclair.

    Robert Fleming and Janet Douglas had the following daughter::

    Robert married second to Margaret Lindsay.
     

    Generation Thirty-four
    Beatrice Fleming
    Beatrice married to James Livington 3rd Lord Livingston of Callendar and they had a son:


    For the continuation of this line, click on Livingston of Callendar
     

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