Donnchad mac Crinain (Scottish Gaelic: Donnchadh mac Crìonain;[1] anglicised as Duncan I, and nicknamed An t-Ilgarach, "the Diseased" or "the Sick";[2] c. 1001 – 14 August 1040)[3] was king of Scotland (Alba) from 1034 to 1040. He is the historical basis of the "King Duncan" in Shakespeare's play Macbeth.

Duncan I
King of Alba (Scots)
Reign
1034–1040
Predecessor
Malcolm II
Successor
Macbeth
Born
c. 1001
Scotland
Died
14 August 1040
Pitgaveny, near Elgin
Burial
Elgin, later relocated to Iona
Spouse
Suthen
Issue
Malcolm III, King of Alba
Donald III, King of Alba
Máel Muire, Earl of Atholl
House
Dunkeld
Father
Crínán of Dunkeld
Mother
Bethóc
Life Edit
He was a son of Crínán, hereditary lay abbot of Dunkeld, and Bethóc, daughter of King Malcolm II.

Unlike the "King Duncan" of Shakespeare's Macbeth, the historical Duncan appears to have been a young man. He followed his grandfather Malcolm as king after the latter's death on 25 November 1034, without apparent opposition. He may have been Malcolm's...