550:
422:
changed dramatically over the course of the late 12th century, and by the early 13th century the position had evolved into one that was inherited, normally through the male line, and whose power was largely limited to a territorial "earldom", managed and exploited in a manner similar to that of other
350:: although sons did sometimes succeed their fathers, often they did not, and the position seems to have been occupied by the most powerful member of the most powerful kin-group within a province, sometimes alternating between different branches of a family or switching between different kin-groups.
386:
did not necessarily hold a large proportion of the land within the province in their own right: land was also held by the King, was granted out by the King to secular vassals, or was held by large religious foundations or other powerful lords. Land held by a
315:
was responsible for raising and leading the army of the province, offered protection to those within the province beyond that afforded by their kin-groups, heard and decided upon accusations of theft, and had the right to collect
328:
was the ultimate head of the provincial community and a focal point of its power, his authority was not absolute and could only be exercised in cooperation with other powerful local figures, including
521:
dynasties: Cataidh/Caithness, Charraig/Carrick, Dunbarra/Dunbar and
Moireabh/Moray. After the 12th century, eight other dynasties are known to be hereditary, continuous and no longer fragmentary.
565:, which was a Norwegian Earldom, and became ruled by Scotland in the 15th century. Sutherland might be included, but it was created only late (circa 1230), and for a possibly foreign family (see
529:
A mormaerdom was not simply a regional lordship, it was a regional lordship with official comital rank. This is why other lordships, many of them more powerful, such as those of
371:
is listed at 150 kine, behind a king at 1,000 kine and equal to the value of a king's son, but only 50% higher than that of a thane at 100 kine. While this implies that a
478:, came to be viewed as a single entity; and land rather than kinship became the main determinant of secular power. The proportion of a province directly controlled by a
131:
in the later Middle Ages as Scots became the language of record. This gradual change in language use from Gaelic to Scots did not mean that
359:– a law code reflecting customs in the Kingdom of Alba in the 10th or 11th centuries – lists socio-legal ranks within society and their
1310:
1193:
1125:
1106:
1080:
375:
was behind only the King of Scots in rank, it also shows that they were closer in status to a thane than to a king, and that both
355:
260:
450:
held their earldom from the King and were not permitted to enter the land of any other lord. An exception was made for the
123:
as Scots replaced Gaelic as the dominant vernacular language between the late 12th and late 13th centuries, and the word
150:
compound form, as despite being a Gaelic form it was used only to refer to nobles of the former
Pictish areas of the
474:
estates, previously split between those he controlled as head of a kindred and those controlled in his capacity as
251:
311:. This remained their primary role, with military, fiscal and judicial elements, until the late 12th century. The
554:
588:
1146:
104:
1305:
1186:
664:
424:
304:
1229:
505:
s of each province are generally only hazily, if at all, known until the 12th century, by which time
281:
255:
649:
238:
219:
23:
1284:
1279:
566:
538:
324:) from settlements within the province as a source of revenue for their activities. Although the
293:
74:
1171:
732:"Approaching the Pictish language: historiography, early evidence and the question of Pritenic"
111:
when listed as a witness in a document recorded in the Gaelic language in 1130 or 1131, and as
1315:
1259:
1141:
1121:
1102:
1076:
644:
634:
602:
583:
578:
530:
1264:
1179:
1052:
654:
573:
329:
265:
247:
224:
147:
1234:
659:
629:
607:
534:
495:
436:
308:
229:
151:
31:
1249:
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1224:
1219:
1156:
639:
624:
593:
562:
483:
463:
428:
285:
78:
35:
1161:
1151:
1299:
1269:
1214:
491:
1274:
1244:
451:
379:
and thane were considered to be a noble rank, neither were simply royal officials.
731:
1254:
347:
338:
20:
242:, which listed them as fighting in Ireland in 976. The first individual named
40:
135:
was a new title, however, and it was unrelated to changes in the role of the
1166:
1056:
443:, as Scots gradually replaced Gaelic as the dominant vernacular language.
34:
name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the
186:
177:
meaning "steward", but the first element could be either "great" (Gaelic
549:
619:
317:
155:
557:. The map is a rough guide only, and not intended to be 100% accurate.
1142:
The
Complete Peerage, 2nd edition, Volume I, Page 140 'Earl of Angus'
615:
487:
364:
333:
1041:"Statehood and lordship in 'Scotland' before the midtwelfth century"
395:, or from their role of leader of their own kin-group. In Latin the
236:
s are named, though without their provinces being specified, in the
1040:
510:
87:
82:
49:
367:
to the kin of a victim of that rank in the event of a killing. A
158:. As late as the 15th century Irish sources were using the word
69:
45:
1175:
115:
in a charter recorded in Latin between 1127 and 1131. The word
201:
could therefore mean either "great steward" or "sea steward".
382:
Despite being the leading power within their province, the
52:, and the term is often translated into English as 'earl'.
454:, but this right was expressly separated from his role as
541:, are not, and were not, called mormaerdoms or earldoms.
342:, the leaders of powerful local kin-groups. The role of
889:
887:
838:
836:
823:
821:
517:. Prior to the 12th century, there were four 'ancient'
280:
to be documented in connection to a specific province.
1099:
The Shape of the State in
Medieval Scotland, 1124–1290
796:
794:
754:
752:
750:
748:
713:
711:
709:
696:
694:
692:
402:– the broad regional division of the kingdom that the
95:), which originally meant "companion". That the words
769:
767:
458:, being held "not as an earl but as the king’s third
303:
was established as the leading figure of each of the
250:, one of the companions of Amlaib, the son of King
553:This map pertains to the Scotland of the reign of
482:could vary considerably: by 1286 for example, the
127:was exclusively used within Scotland to translate
1091:Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages
44:(chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English
427:of the same name. The 13th century also saw the
232:"did not lose a king or mormaer". Another three
81:words used for the position also referred to in
1019:Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286
1187:
1031:Broun, Dauvit, "Mormaer," in J. Cannon (ed.)
8:
139:that took place over the same time-period.
103:were equivalent can be seen in the case of
1194:
1180:
1172:
346:at this time does not appear to have been
1120:. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
391:could derive either from their status as
254:(Constantine II). Dubacan's death at the
218:is first mentioned in the context of the
548:
435:increasingly used at the expense of the
162:for Scottish earls, instead of the word
1033:The Oxford Companion to British History
676:
977:
965:
953:
941:
905:
878:
866:
854:
842:
827:
717:
700:
683:
166:they used for Irish or English earls.
1001:
989:
929:
917:
893:
812:
800:
785:
773:
758:
466:inheritance meant that succession to
7:
423:lords, and not coterminous with the
1101:. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
494:covered only a small proportion of
410:– the land he controlled directly.
189:form of the word for "sea" (Gaelic
119:was increasingly used in place of
14:
406:led – was distinguished from his
173:comes from the Gaelic or Pictish
154:, and was never used to refer to
1205:or Earldoms attested before 1286
1167:Gaelic Notes on the Book of Deer
1118:From Pictland to Alba 789–1070
356:Leges inter Brettos et Scottos
261:Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
146:may represent a survival of a
1:
470:became linear and stable; a
228:describe how the men of the
1021:, 2 Vols, (Edinburgh, 1922)
655:Mormaerdom/Kingdom of Moray
561:This list does not include
292:recording his death at the
264:, where he is described as
1332:
258:in 937 is recorded in the
1210:
1311:Scottish Gaelic language
1026:The Kingdom of the Scots
665:Mormaerdom of Strathearn
509:is being referred to in
299:By the 10th century the
1073:Scotland: A New History
1071:Lynch, Michael (1992).
612:For the Anglo-Scottish
589:Mormaerdom of Caithness
1097:Taylor, Alice (2016).
1039:Broun, Dauvit (2015).
650:Mormaerdom of Menteith
645:? Mormaerdom of Mearns
558:
462:of Fife". The rise of
363:, the payments due in
169:The second element of
107:, who is described as
73:were respectively the
38:, and the senior of a
1147:Thanes & Thanages
1057:10.3366/inr.2015.0084
739:University of Glasgow
552:
1116:Woolf, Alex (2007).
1017:Anderson, Alan Orr,
635:Mormaerdom of Lennox
584:Mormaerdom of Buchan
579:Mormaerdom of Atholl
414:Territorial earldoms
256:Battle of Brunanburh
16:Scottish noble title
1152:Annals of Tigernach
1093:, (Edinburgh, 1997)
1075:. London: Pimlico.
1028:, (Edinburgh, 2003)
574:Mormaerdom of Angus
239:Annals of Tigernach
220:Battle of Corbridge
105:RuadrĂ, Earl of Mar
1162:Chronicon Scotorum
1089:Roberts, John L.,
908:, pp. 39, 56.
660:Mormaerdom of Ross
630:Mormaerdom of Fife
567:Earl of Sutherland
559:
294:Battle of Clontarf
222:in 918, where the
1293:
1292:
932:, pp. 18–19.
869:, pp. 40–41.
857:, pp. 39–40.
686:, pp. 34–35.
640:Mormaerdom of Mar
531:lords of Galloway
484:Earldom of Atholl
282:Domnall mac EimĂn
1323:
1196:
1189:
1182:
1173:
1157:Annals of Ulster
1131:
1112:
1086:
1067:
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1063:
1035:, (Oxford, 1997)
1024:Barrow, G.W.S.,
1005:
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545:List of mormaers
492:Earldom of Angus
486:covered most of
418:The role of the
290:Annals of Ulster
284:is described as
266:Mormaer of Angus
248:Dubacan of Angus
225:Annals of Ulster
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527:
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309:Kingdom of Alba
270:Mormair Oengusa
230:Kingdom of Alba
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152:Kingdom of Alba
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1136:External links
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625:Earl of Dunbar
614:Mormaerdom of
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594:Earl of Orkney
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286:Mormaer of Mar
274:Mormaer Ă“engus
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36:King of Scots
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1306:Noble titles
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1098:
1090:
1072:
1060:. Retrieved
1048:
1045:Innes Review
1044:
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1018:
1012:Bibliography
997:
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555:Alexander II
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490:, while the
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1203:Mormaerdoms
1051:(1): 1–71.
978:Taylor 2016
966:Taylor 2016
954:Taylor 2016
942:Taylor 2016
906:Taylor 2016
879:Taylor 2016
867:Taylor 2016
855:Taylor 2016
843:Taylor 2016
828:Taylor 2016
718:Taylor 2016
701:Taylor 2016
684:Taylor 2016
468:mormaership
464:patrilinear
193:or Pictish
181:or Pictish
1300:Categories
1285:Sutherland
1280:Strathearn
1002:Broun 2015
990:Broun 2015
930:Broun 2015
918:Woolf 2007
894:Woolf 2007
813:Woolf 2007
801:Woolf 2007
786:Woolf 2007
774:Lynch 1992
759:Woolf 2007
671:References
539:Innse Gall
348:hereditary
1230:Caithness
472:mormaer's
408:comitatus
400:provincia
397:mormaer's
305:provinces
296:in 1014.
268:(Gaelic:
142:The word
19:In early
1316:Mormaers
1265:Menteith
448:mormaers
446:By 1221
425:province
339:tòiseach
187:genitive
185:), or a
30:was the
24:Scotland
21:medieval
1235:Carrick
1062:26 June
620:Lothian
603:Carrick
519:mormaer
507:mormaer
503:mormaer
480:mormaer
476:mormaer
456:mormaer
441:mormaer
420:mormaer
404:mormaer
393:mormaer
389:mormaer
384:mormaer
377:mormaer
373:mormaer
369:mormaer
344:mormaer
334:bishops
326:mormaer
318:tribute
313:mormaer
307:of the
301:mormaer
288:in the
278:mormaer
244:mormaer
234:mormaer
216:mormaer
210:Origins
205:History
199:Mormaer
171:mormaer
160:mormaer
156:Ireland
148:Pictish
144:mormaer
121:mormaer
109:mormaer
97:mormaer
93:comites
65:mormaĂr
61:Mormaer
41:ToĂsech
28:mormaer
1260:Mearns
1250:Lennox
1240:Dunbar
1225:Buchan
1220:Atholl
1124:
1105:
1079:
623:, See
616:Dunbar
606:, See
592:, See
563:Orkney
535:Argyll
488:Atholl
437:Gaelic
330:thanes
75:Gaelic
67:) and
50:counts
32:Gaelic
1270:Moray
1215:Angus
735:(PDF)
515:comes
511:Latin
496:Angus
439:term
431:term
429:Scots
272:, or
164:iarla
137:comes
129:comes
113:comes
101:comes
91:(pl.
88:comes
83:Latin
79:Scots
63:(pl.
46:earls
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