Malcolm III of Scotland

Máel Coluim mac Donnchada (anglicised Malcolm III) (1030x1038–13 November 1093) was King of Scots. He was the eldest son of Donnchad mac Crínáin. While often known as Malcolm Canmore or Malcolm Ceanmor, the earliest epithet applied to him is Long-Neck. It appears that the real "Malcolm Canmore" was this Máel Coluim's great-grandson Máel Coluim IV.

Máel Coluim's long reign, spanning five decades, did not mark the beginning of the Scoto-Norman age, nor can Máel Coluim's reign be seen as extending the authority of Alba's kings over the Scandinavian, Norse-Gael and Gaelic north and west of Scotland. The areas under the control of the Kings of Scots did not advance much beyond the limits set by Máel Coluim mac Cináeda until the 12th century and 13th century. Máel Coluim's wars against the kingdom of England, which may have had as their goal the conquest of the rump of the earldom of Northumbria which remained under direct English rule, did not result in any significant advances southwards. Máel Coluim's main achievement is often thought to match that of Cináed mac Ailpín, in continuing a line which would rule Scotland for many years, although his role as "founder of a dynasty" has more to do with the propaganda of his youngest son David, and his descendants, than with any historical reality.

While Máel Coluim's second wife, Saint Margaret of Scotland, was beatified, Máel Coluim himself is not regarded as being of notable piety, which distinguishes him from his predecessors and successors.citation needed] Few, if any, religious reforms can be dated to his reign, and he is not definitely associated with major religious establishments except Dunfermline Abbey.