Constantine III of Scotland

Constantine, son of Cuilén (Middle Gaelic: Causantín mac Cuiléin; Modern Gaelic: Còiseam mac Chailein), known in most modern regnal lists as Constantine III (c. 970–997), was king of Alba (Scotland) from 995 to 997. He was the son of King Cuilén. John of Fordun calls him, in Latin, Constantinus Calvus, which translates to Constantine the Bald. Benjamin Hudson notes that insular authors from Ireland and Scotland typically identified rulers by sobriquets, noting for example the similarly named Eugenius Calvus (Owen the Bald), an 11th-century King of Strathclyde. Background The 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 predecessor having a son of his own. The next two kings (Kenneth III, 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 reigns. 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. 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. 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".