Máel Petair of Mearns

Máel Petair of Mearns is the only known Mormaer of the Mearns. His name means "tonsured one of (Saint) Peter".

One source tells us that Máel Petair was the son of a Máel Coluim, but tells us nothing about this. If this weren't bad enough, other sources say that his father was a man called "Loren", and in fact that he was Mormaer of Mar. His name occurs in so many sources because he was the man who, in 1094, killed King Duncan II of Scotland, suggesting he was an associate of Donald III of Scotland.

Bibliography

• Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500-1286, 2 Vols, (Edinburgh, 1922), Vol. II, pp. 89-91