MALCOLM MACBETH, THE FIRST EARL OF ROSS

INCLUDING THE MORAY REBELLIONS

TIME CAPSULE FOR MALCOLM MACBETH
1058	King Malcolm III (Ceann-mor) was crowned on April 25, 1058. During his reign (1058 - 1093), he proposed that clan chiefs be named from (or give their names to) their duthus; the land of Ross already had a St. Duthus and the people at the heartland of the clan became named from the land; Malcolm's second wife, Margaret, is almost single-handedly responsible for the disappearance of the ancient Culdees of the Scottish Columban Church, for which she was made a saint by the Church of Rome; the form of patrilineal inheritance and succession is established with difficulty in the face of northern rebellions and with the sacrifice of Scottish independence through feudal subservience to an English King
1066	the Norman invasion of England; concepts of feudalism spread rapidly
1093	King Malcolm III (Canmore) was ambushed and killed at Alnwick, Northumbria. Queen Margaret died in Edinburgh during the same year. Succeeded by Donald Bane (1093-94, 1094-97).
1094	King Duncan II died at Battle of Monthechin, Kincardine in the first year of his reign.
1097	King Edgar ruled until 1107.
1107	King Alexander I was crowned. . (d. 1124 at Stirling Castle, and was succeeded by David I)
*1116*	*Moray rebellion during the reign of Alexander I, arising from the death of Duncan II (son of Ingibjorg and Malcolm III CeannMor). A large tract of territory in Moray was confiscated.*
1138	Battle of the Standard at Northallerton (August 22) in which King David I was defeated by the English.
1139	Second Treaty of Durham in which David I is recognised as King of an independent Scotland by King Stephen of England. (d. 1153 at Carlisle)
*1153*	Malcolm IV crowned at Scone. The Earldom of Moray was forfeited after a rebellion from 1153 to 1157.
*1157*	*Malcolm Macbeth, who was imprisoned with his son Donald in Roxburgh dungeon, made peace with King Malcolm IV.*
*1160*	*Somerled made peace with King Malcolm IV, and the MacHeth line in Moray was dispersed to Strathnaver on the North coast of Sutherland.*
*1160*	There had been many challenges to the MacAlpin dynasty from the Mormaerdom of Moray until the Clan Ross was established in 1160 as the first erected clan in the time of Malcolm Macbeth. The clan was raised in status from one of the seven ancient paired districts of Alba by Malcolm IV.
1165	Malcolm IV died at Jedburgh Castle, succeeded by William I
*1165*	King William I (Lion) crowned at Scone. The "Revolt of the Maister Men" in Moray, Ross and Galloway occurred upon the return of King William from his continental expedition to the siege of Toulouse.
*1168*	*Malcolm Macbeth, first Earl of Ross, died and he was succeeded by a Countess of Ross.*
1174	King William was surprised and captured by the English at Alnwick on July 13. (d. 1214 at Stirling Castle and was succeeded by his son Alexander II.)
*1187*	*Donald MacWilliam, a grandson of Duncan II, was slain at the Battle of Mamgarvie near Inverness after a rebellion against King William I.*
*1202*	*The Royal Castles of Dunskaith and Redcastle were built to secure the king's authority in the north.*
*1211*	*A rebellion led by Guthred, son of Donald MacWilliam, was squashed. He was beheaded and hung by the feet in 1212. More castles were built in the north by the king.*
1214	King Alexander II crowned at Scone. (d. 1249 on Isle of Kerrara, Oban Bay)
*1215*	*Fearchar Mac an t'Sagairt was made a Norman knight for his services during further trouble in the north with rebels led by Donald Bane, another son of Donald MacWilliam.*
1226	By 1226 Fearchar Mac an t'Sagairt inherited the title, Earl of Ross, from Malcolm Macbeth through the female line to the O'Beolan hereditary Abbott of Applecross. [The Scottish Clans and Their Tartans, Op. cit.] There is no general agreement among historians about this date. Some suggest formal confirmation of the title by the king a few years later.
1230	In this year, Earl Fearchar/Farquhar founded the Abbey of Fearn to promote Christianity and civilization within the land of Ross. [Donald MacKinnon, Op. cit.] In the year 1230, he founded the Abbey of Ferne (Fearn) in the Parish of Edderton. The Abbey, not long after its foundation, was removed to a site several miles distant, and in subsequent years it was known as the "Abbacia de Nova Farina." [Alexander Ross, Op. cit.]
*1230*	*There was another final, brief uprising led by Gillescop MacWilliam against the Royal line.*
1234	During the Galloway Campaign to bring the independent region under Scottish control, the second Earl of Ross received a grant of land in Galloway for his services.
1249	King Alexander III crowned at Scone
1251	Fearchar, second Earl of Ross, died in his Castle of Delney and was buried in the Abbey of Fearn which he had built.