Duncan II (1094)

Duncan had been sent to England as a hostage in 1072 to guarantee the good behaviour of Malcolm Canmore. When Malcolm attacked England in 1079 William the Conqueror must have been tempted to execute his eldest son, Duncan. In fact he did not and in 1094 he helped Duncan to take Scotland as his kingdom. Donald Ban was overthrown by Duncan but in many ways he was now seen as more English than Scottish and was murdered at Mondynes by Mormaer Malpei of the Mearns. Although Duncan was only in power for a short time he issued the first Scottish royal charter that is still extant. For several generations Duncan's descendants pressed their claims to the throne of Scotland, with even less luck than their forebear.

History Books on this time period:

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Duncan, A. A. M.	Scotland: the Making of the Kingdom	1975	£16.99	Amazon.co.uk
Scotland: the Making of the Kingdom is the first "straight" history of Scotland from pre-history to 1286 to be published since 1862. It starts with the evidence on pre-historic and Roman Scotland and covers in some detail the incursions and amalgamations of races who made up the Celtic Kingdom, the impact of the Vikings and the forging of a single kingdom. Professor Duncan looks at the Anglo-Norman influence on Scotland and gives a full account of Anglo-Scottish relations up to 1214. The growth of towns is discussed together with the expansion of trade and the place of Scottish evidence in the evolution of rural and urban society in north-west Europe. The closing chapters narrate the progress which made possible the establishment of an efficient and unoppressive administrative system.
Barrow, G. W. S.	Kingship & Unity: Scotland 1000-1306	1989	£9.95 or $20.00	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Professor Barrow takes up the history of a Scotland which in the eleventh century already has the beginnings of a clear sense of identity, and a successful expansion policy. Emphasising in particular the kingdom's political growth and the evolution of a distinct Scottish nation, Professor Barrow narrates the story of Scotland's remarkable Medieval kings and their development of a kingship and the institutions of government which provided the unity and administration to fend off Edward I's onslaughts in the thirteenth century. This is a thoroughly readable and comprehensive account of the building of medieval Scotland, and a welcome reissue from the New History of Scotland series (formerly published by Edward Arnold).