Máel Muire, Earl of Atholl
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Máel Muire of Atholl was Mormaer
of Atholl
at the beginning of the 12th century, until sometime perhaps in the 1130s. According to the Orkneyinga Saga
, Máel Muire was a son of king Donnchad I
and a younger brother of King Máel Coluim III
. A Malmori d' Athótla is mentioned in a charter relating to a year after 1130, contained within the Book of Deer
. If the first part is true, and the second part refers to the same Máel Muire, then this Máel Muire lived for more than 90 years, between the death of King Donnchad I in 1040 and the 1130s. It seems likely that his paternal grandfather Crínán
was also Mormaer of Atholl. Máel Muire then probably inherited the Mormaerdom in compensation for not inheriting the Kingship.
Mormaer
The title of Mormaer designates a regional or provincial ruler in the medieval Kingdom of the Scots. In theory, although not always in practice, a Mormaer was second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a toisech.-Origin:...
of Atholl
Atholl
Atholl or Athole is a large historical division in the Scottish Highlands. Today it forms the northern part of Perth and Kinross, Scotland bordering Marr, Badenoch, Breadalbane, Strathearn, Perth and Lochaber....
at the beginning of the 12th century, until sometime perhaps in the 1130s. According to the Orkneyinga Saga
Orkneyinga saga
The Orkneyinga saga is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200...
, Máel Muire was a son of king Donnchad I
Duncan I of Scotland
Donnchad mac Crínáin was king of Scotland from 1034 to 1040...
and a younger brother of King Máel Coluim III
Malcolm III of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...
. A Malmori d' Athótla is mentioned in a charter relating to a year after 1130, contained within the Book of Deer
Book of Deer
The Book of Deer is a 10th-century Latin Gospel Book from Old Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with early 12th-century additions in Latin, Old Irish and Scottish Gaelic. It is most famous for containing the earliest surviving Gaelic literature from Scotland...
. If the first part is true, and the second part refers to the same Máel Muire, then this Máel Muire lived for more than 90 years, between the death of King Donnchad I in 1040 and the 1130s. It seems likely that his paternal grandfather Crínán
Crínán of Dunkeld
Crínán of Dunkeld was the lay abbot of the diocese of Dunkeld, and perhaps the Mormaer of Atholl. Crínán was progenitor of the House of Dunkeld, the dynasty which would rule Scotland until the later 13th century....
was also Mormaer of Atholl. Máel Muire then probably inherited the Mormaerdom in compensation for not inheriting the Kingship.