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The House Of Dunkeld |
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Malcolm IV 'the Maiden'
1153-1165
Malcolm IV, or Máel Coluim mac Eanric was born around 1141, and was the eldest son of Prince Henry of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon
and Ada de Warenne, daughter of William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey and Elizabeth de Vermandois.
Malcolm's father, Earl Henry, the only son of David I, had been seriously ill for a prolonged period and died on 12 June, 1152, but left three sons. As the eldest of these and the new heir to the Scottish throne, his grandfather sent Malcolm on a circuit of the kingdom, accompanied by Donnchad, Mormaer of Fife, who was styled rector, possibly an indication that he was to hold the regency for Malcolm on David's death. As it turned out, Donnchad did not long survive David, holding the regency for a year before his death in 1154.
After the death of his grandfather on 24 May, 1153, Malcolm suceeded to the Scottish throne. Aged only eleven when he came to the throne, he was fated to be referred to thereafter as 'the Maiden'. Malcolm bears the distinction of being the last King of Scotland to bear a Gaelic name.
He met his second cousin Henry II at Chester in 1157, when he ratified the Treaty of Chester and relinquished Scots claims to Cumbria, Westmorland and Northumbria. He later fought with the English King in France and was present at the siege of Toulouse.
Malcolm faced a rebellion lead by the pretender to the Scottish throne, Malcolm Mac Heth. Mac Heth was aided by Somerled, Lord of Argyle. the uprising errupted in Moray and the town of Glasgow was sacked by Somerled. Somerled, fearing for his own safety, attempted a pre-emptive strike at Renfrew with a large army he had gathered in Ireland, but was betrayed and he and his son murdered.
Malcolm never married or had issue. Pious and frail, he is purported to have taken a vow of celibacy. He reigned for only twelve years and died of undefined causes at the age of twenty-three on 9th, December 1165. He was buried at Jedburgh Abbey, which had been founded by his grandfather, David I and was succeeded by his more martial younger brother, William the Lion.