Malcolm III

Malcolm III (Malcolm Canmore), d. 1093, king of Scotland (1057–93), son of Duncan I; successor to Macbeth (d. 1057). It took him some years after Macbeth's death to regain the boundaries of his father's kingdom. About 1068, Edgar Atheling, pretender to the English throne, took refuge with Malcolm, who soon married Edgar's sister Margaret (see Margaret of Scotland, Saint). On behalf of Edgar, Malcolm invaded N England, but in 1072 William I of England invaded Scotland, and Malcolm made peace with him. In the reign of William II, Edgar joined Malcolm in his raid into England in 1091, but William forced both men to submit and to do homage. Malcolm was killed at Alnwick on still another raid into England. His frequent wars insured the independence of his kingdom, which made possible the great ecclesiastical reorganization initiated by his wife, Margaret. Malcolm was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald Bane, but later four of Malcolm's sons were kings of Scotland—Duncan II (reigned 1093–94), Edgar (reigned 1097–1107), Alexander I, and David I. Malcolm's daughter Edith (renamed Matilda) married Henry I of England, and another daughter was mother to the wife of King Stephen of England.

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