After the death of Kenneth MacAlpin, the kingship passed to his brother Donald (Domnall mac Ailpín).
Unfortunately, there isn’t much information available about Donald I of Scotland.
Some credit him as the first, official king of Scotland, saying that it was he who built on Kenneth MacAlpin’s success and established the Kingdom of Alba.
Something that I found really interesting is that Donald was responsible for creating laws for the Kingdom of Alba. These were known as the Laws of Aed, however, they have been lost to history.
It seems that Donald incorporated the law of tanistry, which meant that the kingship was passed to either a brother or cousin, rather than the king’s son.
This was to prevent infants and small children from inheriting the throne. Smart, when you think about it, because as we move onto the future kings and queens in this series, we will see this rule was at some stage reversed, and there are many instances of children inheriting the throne which led to disruption!
The decision of the future king was made by the current king himself, while he was alive.
It seems these laws were passed at Forteviot near Perth, where Kenneth MacAlpin established a church.
Donald’s reign was short: 3-4 years in total, and he died at age 50. The exact location of his death is unknown, however, it could possibly be near Scone.
He is buried on Iona, the same place as his brother.
Born: 812
Died: 862
Reign: 858 – 862 (4 years)
Places associated with Donald I: Forteviot, Iona
Predecessor: Kenneth MacAlpin
Successor: Constantine I
