Kenneth III of Scotland

Kenneth III
King of Alba (Scotland)
Reign997 – c. 25 March 1005
PredecessorConstantine III
SuccessorMalcolm II
Bornc. 966
Diedc. 25 March 1005(1005-03-25) (aged 38–39)
Monzievaird
Burial
Iona
IssueBoite mac Cináeda ?
Gille Coemgáin ?
Giric mac Cináeda
Suibne ?
HouseAlpin
FatherDub, King of Alba

Cináed mac Duib (Modern Gaelic: Coinneach mac Dhuibh;[1] c. 966 – c. 25 March 1005), anglicised as Kenneth III, and nicknamed An Donn ("the Chief" or "the Brown"),[2] was King of Alba (Scotland) from 997 to 1005. He was the son of Dub (Dub mac Maíl Coluim). Many of the Scots sources refer to him as Giric son of Kenneth son of Dub, which is taken to be an error.[3] An alternate explanation is that Kenneth had a son, Giric, who ruled jointly with his father.[4][5]

  1. ^ Cináed mac Duib is the Mediaeval Gaelic form.
  2. ^ The former is probable because later English-speaking sources called him "Grim"; Old Irish donn has similar meaning to Old English greimm, which means "power" or "authority"; see Skene, Chronicles, p. 98; Hudson, Celtic Kings, p. 105.
  3. ^ Duncan, p. 22;
  4. ^ Smyth, pp. 220–221, 225; also ESSH, p. 522 note 4.
  5. ^ Bannerman, MacDuff of Fife, p. 25–26