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{{More citations needed|date=May 2008}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2008}}
The '''House of Moray''' is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the succession of rulers whose base was in [[Province of Moray|Moray]] and who ruled sometimes a larger kingdom. It is much the same as [[Cenél Loairn]] (although not necessarily exactly), an originally Gaelic concept to express one of the two rivalling leader clans of early medieval Scotland.
The '''House of Moray''' or '''Clann Ruaidrí'''{{sfn|McGuigan|2021|p=xxxv}}{{efn|Not to be confused with the 13th–14th-century [[Clann Ruaidhrí]].}} is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the succession of rulers whose base was in [[Province of Moray|Moray]] and who ruled sometimes a larger kingdom, mainly the [[Kingdom of Scotland]]. An important feature of Scottish politics throughout the 11th century, they reached the height of their power with the reign of [[Macbeth, King of Scotland|Macbeth]] between 1040 and 1057.{{sfn|McGuigan|2021|p=50}}


Clann Ruaidrí first appears in the documentary record in 1020 with the killing of [[Findláech mac Ruaidrí]] by his nephews, the sons of [[Máel Brigte of Moray|Máel Brigte]].{{sfn|Woolf|2000|p=149}} Findláech's death is recorded in both the ''[[Annals of Tigernach]]'', where he is described as [[Mormaer of Moray]], and the ''[[Annals of Ulster]]'', where he is described as [[King of Alba]].{{sfn|Woolf|2000|p=149}}
The so-called house of Loairn or of Moray was distantly related to the [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scottish]] [[House of Alpin]], its rival, and claiming descent from the [[eponym]]ous founder [[Loarn mac Eirc]]. Some of its members became the last kings of the [[Picts]] while three centuries later, two members succeeded to the [[King of Scots|Scottish throne]] ruling Scotland from 1040 until 1058.


Clann Ruaidri has been claimed to have been descended in the male line from the [[Cenél Loairn]], one of the ruling kindreds of Gaelic [[Dál Riata]], based on a genealogy of [[Máel Snechtai]] reproduced in four Irish manuscripts.{{sfn|Woolf|2000|p=148}} This genealogy has now been shown to be a clear and chronologically impossible fabrication made in the 11th or 12th centuries, constructed by joining three existing genealogies together.{{sfn|Ross|2011|pp=86-87}}{{sfn|McGuigan|2021|p=58}}{{sfn|Woolf|2000|pp=148-149}}{{sfn|Broun|2019|pp=232-234}} The pedigree lists only one further name beyond the ancestors of Máel Snechtai already identifiable from annalistic sources - that of Domnall, the father of Ruaidrí, who was the father of [[Findláech of Moray]].{{sfn|Woolf|2000|p=148}} The immediate ancestor of Domnall is given as Mongán mac Domnaill, who in fact died {{circa|700}}, over three centuries before the death of Findláech in 1020.{{sfn|Woolf|2000|pp=148-149}}
⚫
At the times when the rival house held the throne, the Loairn leaders usually had their effectively independent state of Moray, where a succession of kings (kinglets) or [[mormaer]]s ruled.


⚫
At the times when the rival house held the throne, the Moray leaders usually had their effectively independent state of Moray, where a succession of kings (kinglets) or [[mormaer]]s ruled.
⚫
The Loairn succession followed quite loyally the rules of [[tanistry]], resulting in practice to outcomes where branches of the leaders' extended family rotated on the rulership, possibly keeping a balance between important branches. This is quite typical for tribal societies, where [[primogeniture]] is much less usual than [[agnatic seniority]] or turns on the throne. For example, [[Macbeth, King of Scotland]] descended from one branch, and his stepson [[Lulach]] from another.


⚫
The succession followed quite loyally the rules of [[tanistry]], resulting in practice to outcomes where branches of the leaders' extended family rotated on the rulership, possibly keeping a balance between important branches. This is quite typical for tribal societies, where [[primogeniture]] is much less usual than [[agnatic seniority]] or turns on the throne. For example, [[Macbeth, King of Scotland]] descended from one branch, and his stepson [[Lulach]] from another.
Not much nor convincing evidence survives that the House of Loairn followed in any way the postulated Pictish tradition of matrilineal succession. Rather, their succession seems to follow quite fully the Irish-Celtic tradition of agnatic clan.


==Genealogy and recorded titles==
==Kings of Dal Riata from among the Cenél Loairn==
{{chart top|Clann Ruaidrí or the "House of Moray"{{sfn|McGuigan|2021|p=xxxv}}}}
{{main|List of Kings of Dál Riata}}
{{Tree chart/start|align=center}}

{{Tree chart| | | | | | RUA | | | |RUA=Ruaidrí ({{fl.|{{c.|1000}}}})}}
Following [[kings of Dál Riata]] are recorded to have been members of the Cenél Loairn:
{{Tree chart| | | |,|-|-|^|-|-|.| }}
*[[Ferchar Fota]]
{{Tree chart| | | MBG | | | | FIN |MBG=[[Máel Brigte of Moray|Máel Brigte]] ({{fl.|{{c.|1000}}}})|FIN=[[Findláech of Moray|Findláech]] ({{died-in|1020}})<br>''King of Scotland''}}
*[[Ainbcellach mac Ferchair]]
{{Tree chart| |,|-|^|-|.| | | |!| }}
*[[Selbach mac Ferchair]]
{{Tree chart| MCM | | GCM | | MCB |MCM=[[Máel Coluim of Moray|Máel Coluim]] ({{died-in|1029}})<br>''King of Scotland''|GCM=[[Gille Coemgáin of Moray|Gille Coemgáin]] ({{died-in|1032}})<br>''Mormaer of Moray''|MCB=[[Macbeth, King of Scotland|Mac Bethad]] ({{died-in|1057}})<br>''Over-king''}}
*[[Dúngal mac Selbaig]]
{{Tree chart| | | | | |!| | | | | }}
*[[Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig]]
{{Tree chart| | | | | LUL | | | | |LUL=[[Lulach]] ({{died-in|1058}})<br>''Over-king''}}

{{Tree chart| | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | }}
Cenél Loairn kings, in particular the descendants of [[Ferchar Fota]], competed successfully for control of Dál Riata in the early 8th century, prior to the Pictish conquest of the kingdom by [[Óengus I of the Picts|Óengus mac Fergusa]].
{{Tree chart| | | MSN | | DAU | | |MSN=[[Máel Snechtai]] ({{died-in|1085}})<br>''King of Moray''|DAU=''Daughter'' ({{fl.|1080}})<br>''m. unknown''}}

{{Tree chart| | | | | | | |!| | | }}
==Kings of Scots==
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | OGS | | |OGS=[[Óengus of Moray|Óengus]] ({{died-in|1130}})<br>King of Moray}}
{{See also|Rí}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
Following the death of [[Duncan I of Scotland|Donnchad mac Crínáin]] in 1040, two members of the kindred ruled as [[Kings of Scots]].
{{chart bottom}}
* [[Macbeth of Scotland|Mac Bethad mac Findláich]] (1040&ndash;1057), ardri Alban<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=PSAR.075.0129A
|title=PEP Web - Doubling, Mythic Difference, and the Scapegoating of Female Power in MACBETH
|publisher=www.pep-web.org
|access-date=2008-05-12
}}
</ref>
* [[Lulach of Scotland|Lulach mac Gillai Comgain]] (1057&ndash;1058), ri Alban
Additionally, [[Giric of Scotland|Giric mac Dúngail]] (878&ndash;889) may have been a member of this kindred.

Already MacBeth's father and cousin (Lulach's uncle) had been "kings of Alba":
* [[Findláech of Moray|Findlaich mac Ruaidhri]], ri Alban, killed 1020
* [[Máel Coluim of Moray|Mael Coluim mac Mael Brighdi mac Ruaidrí]], rí Alban (1020-1029)

Lulach's son and grandson were, however, titled kings of Moray, not of Alba:
* [[Máel Snechtai of Moray|Mael Snechtai mac Lulaich]], ri Muireb
* [[Óengus of Moray|Oengus mac inghine Lulaich]], ri Moréb (killed 1130)

==Mormaers of Moray==
{{main|Mormaer of Moray}}
[[Óengus of Moray]] (died 1130), who has no attestation of descending in male line from Cenel Loairn clan (he was son of daughter of Lulach), is the last known member of the kindred to have ruled Moray, after which it (supposedly) passed to [[William fitz Duncan]] of the Cenél nGabráin descended royal family. While the [[Meic Uilleim]] and [[MacHeths]] are sometimes associated with Moray, it is no longer widely supposed that they were claiming the Mormaerdom or that they belonged to this kindred, except possibly through female descent.


==See also==
==See also==
Line 53: Line 33:
* [[Scottish monarchs family tree]]
* [[Scottish monarchs family tree]]
* [[Style of the monarchs of Scotland]]
* [[Style of the monarchs of Scotland]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==Bibliography==
⚫
{{Royal houses of Europe}}
* {{cite book |last=Broun |first=Dauvit |chapter=The genealogy of the king of Scots as charter and panegyric |editor1-last=Davies |editor1-first=John Reuben |editor2-last=Bhattacharya |editor2-first=Swapna |title=Copper, Parchment, and Stone - Studies in the sources for landholdingand lordship in early medieval Bengal and medieval Scotland |year=2019 |location= Glasgow |publisher=University of Glasgow Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies |isbn=9780852619575 |pages=209–260}}
* {{cite book |last=McGuigan |first=Neil |date=2021 |title=Máel Coluim III, 'Canmore': An Eleventh-Century King |location=Edinburgh |publisher=John Donald |isbn=9781910900192 }}
* {{cite book |last=Ross |first=Alasdair |year=2011 |title=The Kings Of Alba: c.1000-c.1130 |publisher=John Donald |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9781906566159}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Woolf |first1=Alex |date=2000 |title=The 'Moray Question' and the Kingship of Alba in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries |journal=Scottish Historical Review |volume=79 |issue=2 |pages=145–164 |doi=10.3366/shr.2000.79.2.145|s2cid=162334631 }}
* {{cite book |last=Woolf |first=Alex |year=2007 |title=From Pictland to Alba 789–1070 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9780748612345}}


⚫
{{Royal houses of Britain and Ireland}}
{{authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Moray}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moray}}

Latest revision as of 06:14, 28 February 2024

The House of Moray or Clann Ruaidrí[1][a] is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the succession of rulers whose base was in Moray and who ruled sometimes a larger kingdom, mainly the Kingdom of Scotland. An important feature of Scottish politics throughout the 11th century, they reached the height of their power with the reign of Macbeth between 1040 and 1057.[2]

Clann Ruaidrí first appears in the documentary record in 1020 with the killing of Findláech mac Ruaidrí by his nephews, the sons of Máel Brigte.[3] Findláech's death is recorded in both the Annals of Tigernach, where he is described as Mormaer of Moray, and the Annals of Ulster, where he is described as King of Alba.[3]

Clann Ruaidri has been claimed to have been descended in the male line from the Cenél Loairn, one of the ruling kindreds of Gaelic Dál Riata, based on a genealogy of Máel Snechtai reproduced in four Irish manuscripts.[4] This genealogy has now been shown to be a clear and chronologically impossible fabrication made in the 11th or 12th centuries, constructed by joining three existing genealogies together.[5][6][7][8] The pedigree lists only one further name beyond the ancestors of Máel Snechtai already identifiable from annalistic sources - that of Domnall, the father of Ruaidrí, who was the father of Findláech of Moray.[4] The immediate ancestor of Domnall is given as Mongán mac Domnaill, who in fact died c. 700, over three centuries before the death of Findláech in 1020.[7]

At the times when the rival house held the throne, the Moray leaders usually had their effectively independent state of Moray, where a succession of kings (kinglets) or mormaers ruled.

The succession followed quite loyally the rules of tanistry, resulting in practice to outcomes where branches of the leaders' extended family rotated on the rulership, possibly keeping a balance between important branches. This is quite typical for tribal societies, where primogeniture is much less usual than agnatic seniority or turns on the throne. For example, Macbeth, King of Scotland descended from one branch, and his stepson Lulach from another.

Genealogy and recorded titles

[edit]
Clann Ruaidrí or the "House of Moray"[1]
Ruaidrí (fl. c. 1000)
Máel Brigte (fl. c. 1000)Findláech (d. 1020)
King of Scotland
Máel Coluim (d. 1029)
King of Scotland		Gille Coemgáin (d. 1032)
Mormaer of Moray		Mac Bethad (d. 1057)
Over-king
Lulach (d. 1058)
Over-king
Máel Snechtai (d. 1085)
King of Moray		Daughter (fl. 1080)
m. unknown
Óengus (d. 1130)
King of Moray

See also

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Not to be confused with the 13th–14th-century Clann Ruaidhrí.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b McGuigan 2021, p. xxxv.
  2. ^ McGuigan 2021, p. 50.
  3. ^ a b Woolf 2000, p. 149.
  4. ^ a b Woolf 2000, p. 148.
  5. ^ Ross 2011, pp. 86–87.
  6. ^ McGuigan 2021, p. 58.
  7. ^ a b Woolf 2000, pp. 148–149.
  8. ^ Broun 2019, pp. 232–234.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Broun, Dauvit (2019). "The genealogy of the king of Scots as charter and panegyric". In Davies, John Reuben; Bhattacharya, Swapna (eds.). Copper, Parchment, and Stone - Studies in the sources for landholdingand lordship in early medieval Bengal and medieval Scotland. Glasgow: University of Glasgow Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies. pp. 209–260. ISBN 9780852619575.
  • McGuigan, Neil (2021). Máel Coluim III, 'Canmore': An Eleventh-Century King. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 9781910900192.
  • Ross, Alasdair (2011). The Kings Of Alba: c.1000-c.1130. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 9781906566159.
  • Woolf, Alex (2000). "The 'Moray Question' and the Kingship of Alba in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries". Scottish Historical Review. 79 (2): 145–164. doi:10.3366/shr.2000.79.2.145. S2CID 162334631.
  • Woolf, Alex (2007). From Pictland to Alba 789–1070. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748612345.
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