http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Máel_Coluim_mac_DonnchadaMáel Coluim mac Donnchada ,
[2] called in most
Anglicised regnal lists
Malcolm III, and in later centuries nicknamed
Canmore, "Big Head"
[3] [4] or
Long-neck [5] , was
King of Scots. It has also been argued recently that the real "Malcolm Canmore" was this Malcolm's great-grandson
Malcolm IV, who is given this name in the contemporary notice of his death.
[6] He was the eldest son of King
Duncan I . Malcolm's long reign, lasting 35 years, preceded the beginning of the
Scoto-Norman age.
Malcolm's Kingdom did not extend over the full territory of modern
Scotland: the north and west of Scotland remained in
Scandinavian,
Norse-Gael and
Gaelic control, and the areas under the control of the Kings of Scots would not advance much beyond the limits set by
Malcolm II until the 12th century. Malcolm III fought a succession of wars against the
Kingdom of England, which may have had as their goal the conquest of the English earldom of
Northumbria. However, these wars did not result in any significant advances southwards. Malcolm's main achievement is to have continued a line which would rule
Scotland for many years,
[7] 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.
[8]Malcolm's second wife,
Saint Margaret of Scotland, was later
beatified and is Scotland's only royal saint. However, Malcolm himself gained no reputation for piety. With the notable exception of
Dunfermline Abbey he is not definitely associated with major religious establishments or ecclesiastical reforms.