Editing Constantine III of Scotland (section)

== Background ==
The [[List of Scottish monarchs|Scottish monarchy]] of this period based its succession system on the rule of [[tanistry]]. All adult male descendants of previous monarchs were eligible for the throne. The kingship regularly switched from one line of royal descendants to another, though they were all closely related. Constantine was able to rise to the throne, despite his cousin and predecessors having a son of his own. The next two kings (Kenneth III and Malcolm II) were his cousins and killed their respective predecessor to gain the throne. The succession rule had the benefit of ensuring that there would always be an adult king on the throne, avoiding the usual problems of [[minority reign]]s. The various kings had their lands and power bases in different areas of Scotland, preventing any single region from claiming full domination of the others. This may have helped the country avoid significant [[secession]] movements. The downside was that any single king had to face adult rivals for the throne. His kinsmen had their own ambitions and would not wait for his death from natural causes to achieve them. The succession was often decided through acts of warfare and murder, resulting in early deaths and high casualty rates in the extended royal family.<ref name="Mitchison">[https://books.google.com/books?id=ptklKx05AQ0C&pg=PA13 Mitchison, A History of Scotland, p. 13]</ref>

During the 10th century, there were dynastic conflicts in Scotland between two rival lines of royalty. One descended from [[Causantín mac Cináeda]] (Constantine I, reigned 862–877), the other from his brother [[Áed mac Cináeda]] (reigned 877–878).  Constantine III belonged to the second line. His royal ancestors included Áed himself, [[Constantine II of Scotland]] (reigned 900–943), [[Indulf]] (reigned 954–962), and [[Cuilén]] (reigned 967–971).  [[Amlaíb of Scotland]] (reigned 973–977) was his paternal uncle.<ref name="Smyth">[https://books.google.com/books?id=mxxwmg48bFgC&pg=PA226 Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80–1000, p. 223-224]</ref> The alternation between the two royal lines seems to have been peaceful for a long time; [[Alfred P. Smyth]] regards this early phase as  "a century of kingly coexistence". The armed conflict between the lines seems to have started in the 960s when Cuilén challenged the rule of his cousin [[Dub, King of Scotland]] (962–967). The initial motivation behind the conflict is unclear. Smyth speculates that control over the [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]] might have been a major factor.<ref name="Smyth"/>