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Donnchadh IV, Earl of Fife [Duncan IV] (1289–1353) was a Scottish nobleman who was Guardian of Scotland and the last native Scottish Mormaer of Fife from 1289 until his death. He was born in late 1289, the same year as his father Donnchadh III's murder. He therefore inherited the Mormaerdom as a baby.
- Donnchad I, Earl of Fife
Donnchad, Earl of Fife (1113–1154), usually known in English...
- Donnchadh III, Earl of Fife
Donnchadh III or Duncan was Earl of Fife (or Mormaer) from...
- Donnchadh IV of Fife
Language links are at the top of the page across from the...
- Donnchad I, Earl of Fife
Apr 28, 2021 · Donnchadh IV, Earl of Fife [Duncan IV] (1289–1353) was sometime Guardian of Scotland, and ruled Fife until his death. He was the last of the native Scottish rulers of that province. He was born in late 1289, the same year as his father Donnchadh III's murder.
- Fifeshire
- Mary de Monthermer, Countess of Fife
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- Sources
- Geographic and Cultural Background
- Origins and Family
- Exile and Return
- Ruler of Carrick
- Relations with The Church
- Anglo-French World
- Ireland
- Death and Legacy
Donnchadh's career is not well documented in the surviving sources. Charters provide a little information about some of his activities, but overall their usefulness is limited; this is because no charter-collections (called cartularies) from the Gaelic south-west have survived the Middle Ages, and the only surviving charters relevant to Donnchadh's...
Donnchadh's territory lay in what is now Scotland south of the River Forth, a multi-ethnic region during the late 12th century. North of the Forth was the Gaelic kingdom of Scotland (Alba), which under its partially Normanised kings exercised direct or indirect control over most of the region to the south as far as the borders of Northumberland and...
Donnchadh was the son of Gille-Brighde, son of Fergus, king of the Gall-Gaidhil. Donnchadh's ancestry cannot be traced further; no patronymic is known for Fergus from contemporary sources, and when Fergus' successors enumerate their ancestors in documents, they never go earlier than he does. The name Gille-Brighde, used by Donnchadh's father (Fergu...
In 1160, Máel Coluim mac Eanric (Malcolm IV), king of the Scots, forced Fergus into retirement and brought Galloway under his overlordship. It is likely that from 1161 until 1174, Fergus' sons Gille-Brighde and Uhtred shared the lordship of the Gall-Gaidhil under the Scottish king's authority, with Gille-Brighde in the west and Uhtred in the east. ...
There is no record of any subsequent court hearing, but the Gesta Annalia I relates that Donnchadh was granted Carrick on condition of peace with Lochlann, and emphasises the role of King William (as opposed to Henry) in resolving the conflict. Richard Oram has pointed out that Donnchadh's grant to Melrose Abbey between 1189 and 1198 was witnessed ...
Records exist for Donnchadh's religious patronage, and these records provide evidence for Donnchadh's associates as well as the earl himself. Around 1200 Earl Donnchadh allowed the monks of Melrose Abbey use of saltpans from his land at Turnberry. Between 1189 and 1198 he had granted the church of Maybothelbeg ("Little Maybole") and the lands of Be...
In secular affairs one of the few important facts recorded about Donnchadh was his marriage to Avelina, daughter of Alan fitz Walter, lord of Strathgryfe and [northern] Kyle, and High Steward of Scotland. The marriage is known from Roger of Hoveden's Chronica, which recorded that in 1200 Donnchadh: The marriage bound Donnchadh closer to the Anglo-F...
The Anglo-Norman John de Courcy, whose early life was probably spent just across the Irish Sea in Cumbria, invaded the over-kingdom of Ulaid in north-eastern Ireland in 1177 with the aim of conquest. After defeating the region's king Ruaidhrí Mac Duinn Shléibhe, de Courcy was able to take control of a large amount of territory, though not without e...
Donnchadh was said by the Martyrology of Glasgow to have died on 13 June 1250. He was succeeded in the earldom by Niall. The traditional view, going back to the 19th century, is that Niall was Donnchadh's son. This view has been undermined with more recent research by genealogist Andrew MacEwen, who has argued that Niall was not the son of Donnchad...
Donnchadh IV, Earl of Fife [Duncan IV] (1289–1353) was a Scottish nobleman who was Guardian of Scotland and the last native Scottish Mormaer of Fife from 1289 until his death. He was born in late 1289, the same year as his father Donnchadh III's murder.
