Duncan

Duncan, the name of two Scottish kings.

Duncan I. (d. 1040) was a son of Crinan or Cronan, lay abbot of Dunkeld, and became king of the Scots in succession to his maternal grandfather, Malcolm II., in 1034, having previously as rex Cumbrorum ruled in Strathclyde. His accession was “the first example of inheritance of the Scottish throne in the direct line.” Duncan is chiefly known through his connexion with Macbeth, which has been immortalized by Shakespeare. The feud between these two princes originated probably in a dispute over the succession to the throne; its details, however, are obscure, and the only fact which can be ascertained with any certainty is that Duncan was slain by Macbeth in 1040. Two of Duncan’s sons, Malcolm III. Canmore and Donald V. Bane, were afterwards kings of the Scots.

Duncan II. (d. 1094) was a son of Malcolm III. and therefore a grandson of Duncan I. For a time he lived as a hostage in England and became king of the Scots after driving out his uncle, Donald Bane, in 1093, an enterprise in which he was helped by some English and Normans. He was killed in the following year.

See W.F. Skene, Celtic Scotland (1876-1880), and A. Lang, History of Scotland, vol. i. (1900).

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