Mael Coluim III, 'Canmore': An Eleventh-Century Scottish King

Malcolm Canmore, the legendary Scottish king, was a newcomer and his legitimacy and status were far from secure at the beginning of his rule. His long reign from 1058 until 1093 coincided with the Norman Conquest of England, which presented opportunities and dangers. The book argues that his interventions in post-Conquest England were crucial to his success as both king and dynasty-builder, creating internal stability and facilitating the takeover of Strathclyde and Lothian. He left to his successors a territory that stretched far to the south of the kingships heartland north of the Forth, similar to the Scotland we know today. The book explores the wider political and cultural world in which Máel Coluim lived, guiding the reader through the pitfalls and possibilities offered by the sources that mediate access to that world.

Format: Hardback
Length: 624 pages
Publication date: 03 June 2021
Publisher: John Donald Publishers Ltd

Winner of the Frank Watson Book Prize for the best book published on Scottish History, Shortlisted for the Saltire Society History Book of the Year, The legendary Scottish king Máel Coluim III, also known as 'Malcolm Canmore,' is often held to epitomize Scotland's 'ancient Gaelic kings.' However, Máel Coluim and his dynasty were newcomers, and their legitimacy and status were far from secure at the beginning of his rule. Máel Coluim's long reign from 1058 until 1093 coincided with the Norman Conquest of England, a revolutionary event that presented great opportunities and terrible dangers. Although his interventions in post-Conquest England eventually cost him his life, the book argues that they were crucial to his success as both king and dynasty-builder, creating internal stability and facilitating the takeover of Strathclyde and Lothian. As a result, Máel Coluim left to his successors a territory that stretched far to the south of the kingships heartland north of the Forth, similar to the Scotland we know today.

The book explores the wider political and cultural world in which Máel Coluim lived, guiding the reader through the pitfalls and possibilities offered by the sources that mediate access to that world. Our reliance on so few texts means that the eleventh century poses problems that historians of later eras can avoid. Nevertheless, Scotland in Máel Coluim's time generated unprecedented levels of attention abroad and more vernacular literary output than at any time prior to the Stewart era.

Weight: 1186g
Dimension: 170 x 241 x 57 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781910900192