Editing Donald II of Scotland

{{Short description|King of Alba from 889 to 900}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name            = Donald II
| image           = Domnall Dásachtach.jpg
| succession      = [[King of the Picts]] / [[King of Alba]]
| reign           = 889 – April 900
| predecessor     = [[Giric]]
| successor       = [[Constantine II of Scotland|Constantine II]]
| birth_date      = {{circa|30 June 862}} [[Fordoun]], [[Aberdeenshire]]
| death_date      = April 900
| death_place     = [[Forres]], [[Moray]]
| issue           = [[Malcolm I of Scotland]]
| house           = [[House of Alpin|Alpin]]
| father          = [[Causantín mac Cináeda]], King of the Picts
| place of burial = [[Iona]]
}}

'''Domnall mac Causantín''' ([[Scottish Gaelic language|Modern Gaelic]]: {{lang|gd|Dòmhnall mac Chòiseim}}, IPA:[ˈt̪oːvnəɫ̪ˈmaʰkˈxoːʃɪm]),<ref>''Domnall mac Causantín'' is the Mediaeval Gaelic form.</ref> [[anglicised]] as '''Donald II''' (died 900), was [[King of the Picts]] or [[King of Alba]] in the late 9th century. He was the son of [[Causantín mac Cináeda|Constantine I]] (Causantín mac Cináeda). Donald is given the [[epithet]] '''Dásachtach''', "the Madman", by ''[[The Prophecy of Berchán]]''.<ref>''ESSH'', p. 358; Kelly, ''Early Irish Law'', pp. 92–93, 308: "The ''dásachtach'' is the person with manic symptoms who is liable to behave in a violent and destructive manner." The ''dásachtach'' is not responsible for his actions. The same word is used for enraged cattle.</ref>

Donald usurped the throne from his cousin, [[Giric]] in 889 who killed his uncle Àed Mac Cináeda(r. 877–879). He continuously fought the Vikings in The North, winning victories but would be killed in 900 at war, possibly against King [[Harald Fairhair]]. He was succeeded by his cousin Caustantín Mac Àeda (Constantine II)

== Life ==
Donald became king on the death or deposition of [[Giric]] (Giric mac Dúngail), the date of which is not certainly known but usually placed in 889. The ''[[Chronicle of the Kings of Alba]]'' reports:
{{blockquote|Doniualdus son of Constantini held the kingdom for 11 years [889–900]. The [[Northmen]] wasted [[Pictland]] at this time. In his reign, a battle occurred between Danes and Scots at Innisibsolian where the Scots had victory. He was killed at Opidum Fother [modern [[Dunnottar]]] by the Gentiles.<ref>''ESSH'', pp. 395–397.</ref>}}

It has been suggested that the attack on [[Dunnottar]], rather than being a small raid by a handful of pirates, may be associated with the ravaging of [[Scotland]] attributed to [[Harald Fairhair]] in the ''[[Heimskringla]]''.<ref>''ESSH'', p. 396, note 1; p. 392, quoting ''St Olaf's Saga'', c. 96.</ref> The Prophecy of Berchán places Donald's death at Dunnottar, but appears to attribute it to Gaels rather than Norsemen; other sources report he died at [[Forres]].<ref>''ESSH'', pp. 395–398.</ref> Donald's death is dated to 900 by the [[Annals of Ulster]] and the [[Chronicon Scotorum]], where he is called ''[[king of Alba]]'', rather than ''[[king of the Picts]]''. He was buried on [[Iona]]. Like his father, Constantine, he died a violent death at a premature age.

The change from ''king of the Picts'' to ''king of Alba'' is seen as indicating a step towards the [[kingdom of the Scots]], but historians, while divided as to when this change should be placed, do not generally attribute it to Donald in view of his epithet.<ref>Smyth, pp. 217–218, disagrees.</ref> The consensus view is that the key changes occurred in the reign of [[Constantine II of Scotland|Constantine II]] (Causantín mac Áeda),<ref>Thus Broun and Woolf, among others.</ref> but the reign of [[Giric]] has also been proposed.<ref>Duncan, pp. 14–15.</ref>

The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba has Donald succeeded by his cousin Constantine II. Donald's son [[Malcolm I of Scotland|Malcolm]] ([[Malcolm I of Scotland|Máel Coluim mac Domnall]]) was later king as Malcolm I. The Prophecy of Berchán appears to suggest that another king reigned for a short while between Donald II and Constantine II, saying "half a day will he take sovereignty". Possible confirmation of this exists in the Chronicon Scotorum, where the death of  "Ead, king of the Picts" in a battle against the [[Uí Ímair]] is reported in 904. This, however, is thought to be an error, referring perhaps to [[Eadwulf I of Bamburgh|Ædwulf]], the ruler of [[Bernicia]], whose death is reported in 913 by the other [[Irish annals]].<ref>''ESSH'', p. 304, note 8; however, the Annals of Ulster, s.a. 904, report the death of [[Ímar ua Ímair]] (Ivar grandson of Ivar) in [[Fortriu]] in 904, making it possible that Ead (Áed ?) was a king, if not the High King.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Kingdom of Alba]]
* [[Origins of the Kingdom of Alba]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Alan Orr Anderson|Anderson, Alan Orr]]; ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections, Stamford: Paul Watkins, 1990. {{ISBN|1-871615-03-8}}
* [[Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson|Anderson, Marjorie Ogilvie]]; ''Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland'', Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, revised edition 1980. {{ISBN|0-7011-1604-8}}
* [[Dauvit Broun|Broun, Dauvit]]; "National identity: 1: early medieval and the formation of Alba" in Michael Lynch (ed.), ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'', Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001. {{ISBN|0-19-211696-7}}
* [[A. A. M. Duncan|Duncan, A. A. M.]]; ''The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence'', Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. {{ISBN|0-7486-1626-8}}
* {{Cite GEIL}}
* Smyth, Alfred P.; ''Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80–1000'', Reprinted, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1998. {{ISBN|0-7486-0100-7}}
* [[Sturluson, Snorri]]; ''Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway'', tr. Lee M. Hollander. Reprinted University of Texas Press, Austin, 1992. {{ISBN|0-292-73061-6}}
* [[Alex Woolf|Woolf, Alex]]; "Constantine II" in Michael Lynch (ed.) op. cit.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://celt.ucc.ie/index.html CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts] at [[University College Cork]] includes the ''Annals of Ulster'', ''Tigernach'', ''the Four Masters'' and ''Innisfallen'', the ''Chronicon Scotorum'', the ''Lebor Bretnach'' (which includes the ''Duan Albanach''), Genealogies, and various Lives of Saints. Most are translated into English or translations are in progress.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070606150144/http://www.arts.ed.ac.uk/scothist/booklets/sh1/documents-alba.html (CKA) The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba]
* [https://www.royal.uk/donald-ii-r-889-900 Donald II] at the official website of the [[British monarchy]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou | [[House of Alpin]]}}
{{s-reg | }}
{{succession box |
  title=[[King of Alba]] |
  before=[[Giric]]<br />'''with''' [[Eochaid of Scotland|Eochaid]] ? |
  after=[[Constantine II of Scotland|Constantine II]] | years=889–900}}
{{s-end}}

{{Pictish and Scottish Monarchs}}
{{English, Scottish and British monarchs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald 02 of Scotland}}

[[Category:9th-century births]]
[[Category:900 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:House of Alpin]]
[[Category:9th-century Scottish monarchs]]
[[Category:Burials at Iona Abbey]]
[[Category:Gaelic monarchs in Scotland]]