Crínán of Dunkeld.

About Crínán of Dunkeld

Crínán of Dunkeld, also called Crinan the Thane, was the erenagh, or hereditary lay-abbot, of Dunkeld Abbey and, similarly to Irish "royal- and warrior-abbots" of the same period like the infamous case of Fedelmid mac Crimthainn, led armies into battle and was very likely also the Mormaer of Atholl during the events later fictionalized in William Shakespeare's verse drama The Tragedy of Macbeth. Although he does not appear in Shakespeare's play, he was the legitimately married son-in-law of King Malcolm II of Scotland, the father of King Duncan I of Scotland, and the grandfather of King Malcolm III of Scotland. Through his far more famous grandson, for whose claim to the throne of Scotland the abbot laid down his life in battle against his nephew, the Scottish High King Macbeth, Abbot Crínán is the ancestor of every subsequent monarch of the House of Dunkeld. His descendants would reign over the Kingdom of Scotland until the accidental death of King Alexander III in 1286, which ultimately precipitated a battle between 13 Competitors for the Crown of Scotland and an invasion of Scotland by King Edward Longshanks, which was followed by the Scottish Wars of Independence.