Literary Portrayals of King Malcolm III Canmore (R
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From reformed barbarian to “saint-king”: literary portrayals of King Malcolm III Canmore (r. 1058-93) in Scottish historical narratives, c. 1100- 1449 by Marian Toledo Candelaria A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Marian Toledo Candelaria, May, 2018 ABSTRACT From reformed barbarian to “saint-king”: literary portrayals of King Malcolm III Canmore (r. 1058-93) in Scottish historical narratives, c. 1100- 1449 Marian Toledo Candelaria Advisor: University of Guelph, 2018 Professor Elizabeth Ewan This dissertation examines the historiographical evolution of the literary portrayal of King Malcolm III Canmore (r. 1058-93) in the main historical narratives produced in Scotland between c. 1100 and 1449. The study considers how fundamental King Malcolm’s portrayal was to new and developing notions of Scottish kingship, sovereignty and identity, focusing on the underlying political developments that caused his portrayal to be manipulated and amended during the central and late medieval periods. It examines how King Malcolm went from being considered a barbaric king of Scots reformed by the influence of his second wife, Saint Margaret of Scotland (d. 1093), to the Scottish prince exiled in England by Macbeth (r. 1040-1057/8). It identifies three key developmental stages in the portrayal of King Malcolm and ties their development to contemporary political and dynastic circumstances. King Malcolm’s portrayal evolved because of a need to assert the sovereignty of the Scottish crown in light of internal threats to dynastic hegemony and external threats against regnal independence. After the Scottish Wars of Independence of the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, historians were greatly focused on the manner in which Malcolm obtained his throne in order to assert the kingdom’s independence. Lastly, Malcolm was constantly refashioned in Scottish historical narratives to reflect changing notions of kingship and identity in the medieval period in Scotland. iii Acknowledgements The road to completing this research has been a long one—at least ten years in the making, since my master’s degree—and during this time I have benefitted from the generosity and guidance of colleagues, friends, family, and scholars. The first acknowledgement of gratitude is to my supervisor, Elizabeth Ewan, who has provided unconditional support since I was an applicant at Guelph. My committee members, James E. Fraser and R. Andrew McDonald, have also shown enthusiasm for this project since I met them. Chris Nighman and Steve Boardman provided excellent feedback on my thesis, which has improved the quality of its contents. Lastly, I would like to thank Sarah Salih, from King’s College London, who supervised my master’s dissertation and who introduced me to the wonderful world of medieval studies. Doctoral studies are often difficult because they tend to be isolating. However, I have found the process much more bearable thanks to my Guelph friends: Shayna Devlin, Mary Anne Gonzales, Chelsea Hartlen, Lisa Baer, Richard Griffin, Amy Poole, Christina Moss, Sierra Dye, Alice Glaze, Heather Parker, Katie McCullough, Marjorie Hopkins, Anne Vermeyden, and Jacqui McIsaac. Shayna, Mary Anne, and Chelsea are constant shoulders to lean on. Yet I have also made friends during my travels that have provided so much support and good vibes from abroad: Kylie Murray (who has given me considerable guidance, academia-wise), Kate Ash-Irisarri, Meg Oldman, Melissa Coll-Smith, Lucy Hinnie; Claire Harrill (who sent me a copy of her thesis and has provided me so many laughs!); Felicity Candy and Katie Har (my lovely friends from King’s!). A very special thank you goes to three of my closest friends: Diana Rodríguez (my best friend since third grade), Iva Yates, and José E. Toledo Vicéns. Despite being far away from each other, you are always in my heart. iv Conversations with several Scottish medievalists have improved the quality of my resesarch and arguments. I want to thank especially Alice Taylor, Lucinda Dean, Simon Taylor, Dauvit Broun, and Cynthia J. Neville for meeting with me during my research trip to Scotland. Likewise, I would like to thank the following organizations for their support: Guelph Centre for Scottish Studies and the Scottish Studies Foundation, St Andrews Society of Montréal, St Andrews Society of Toronto, and the Order of Alba. Additionally, I would like to thank the National Library of Scotland, the National Records of Scotland, the British Library, and Special Collections at the University of St Andrews Library for allowing me to conduct research of their collections, particularly of the different manuscripts of Andrew of Wyntoun’s Orygynale Cronikyl and the Dunfermline Compilation. Yet the most important support I have received has come from my family in Puerto Rico. Leaving one’s family behind is always a difficult thing to do, but the links of love and affection between my family and me are unbreakable. I have the strongest, most supportive family I know. Thank you to my mother, Miriam; my sisters Giovanna, Claritza, and Frances; my brother-in-law Angel Luis; and my grandparents, Guillermo and Olga, for understanding the reasons why I left home to pursue further studies. Sadly, my father, Neftalí Toledo, passed away several weeks before I finished my master’s degree, and he was never able to see me graduate, much less embark on my doctoral studies. But my mother told me recently that, when I initially left for England to study fashion, my father told her that he would have greatly preferred I did a PhD in History, because he believed I could do it. I did not know about this conversation until nearly finishing my PhD, but I suppose that my father did know me best. This thesis is, therefore, dedicated to his memory. v Table of Contents ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................................. III INTRODUCTION: MALCOLM III CANMORE IN MEDIEVAL SCOTTISH HISTORIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................1 Historiography ........................................................................................................................................4 Notes on scope and choice of historical narrative material .................................................................11 Chapter Organization and Methodology ..............................................................................................14 Contributions to scholarship on medieval Scotland .............................................................................19 CHAPTER 1. A BARBARIAN REFORMED: MALCOLM III IN TURGOT’S LIFE OF SAINT MARGARET (1100 X 07), ÆLRED OF RIEVAULX’S GENEALOGIA (1153-4), AND THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE (1173 X 4) .................................................................................................21 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................21 Turgot’s Life of St Margaret, Queen of Scots (1100 x 07) ...................................................................25 Ælred of Rievaulx’s Genealogia Regum Anglorum (1153 x 4) ............................................................43 Chronicle of Melrose Abbey, first phase (1173 x 4) .............................................................................51 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................66 CHAPTER 2: MALCOLM III IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY: CHRONICLE OF MELROSE, DUNFERMLINE COMPILATION AND THE GESTA ANNALIA I ..................................................69 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................69 Chronicle of Melrose Abbey, part 2 (ca. 1249 x 1285) ........................................................................73 The Dunfermline Compilation (c. 1249-1286) .....................................................................................81 Gesta Annalia I (c. 1285) ...................................................................................................................110 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................................115 CHAPTER 3: MALCOLM CANMORE IN JOHN OF FORDUN’S CHRONICA GENTIS SCOTORUM (CA. 1370S) ........................................................................................................................118 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................118 Fordun’s Sources ................................................................................................................................123 Fordun’s methodology ........................................................................................................................125 Malcolm’s virtue and charity: Fordun’s use of the Gesta Annalia I ..................................................129 Malcolm,