Malcolm IV of Scotland (1141-9 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 24 May 1153 to 9 December 1165, succeeding David I of Scotland and preceding William the Lion.
Biography[]
Malcolm was born in 1141, the son of Henry of Scotland and Ada de Warenne. He succeeded his grandfather David I of Scotland as King of Scotland in 1153, and the main threats to his rule were King Somerled of Argyll, Fergus of Galloway, and Henry II of England. Malcolm granted Northumbria to his brother William the Lion and kept the English fief Cumbria for himself, and he therefore was forced to pay homage to King Henry II. However, there were disputes between the two kings over the ownership of Northumbria and Cumbria, and Malcolm was not knighted by Henry. He served under King Henry at the siege of Toulouse in 1159, and he faced a rebellion from six earls on his return in 1160. King Malcolm led an army into Galloway and defeated Fergus, the leader of the rebellion, and Fergus died as a monk in 1161. In 1163, a rebellion in Moray brought a sickly Malcolm north, and Malcolm slew Somerled in battle in 1164. He died in 1165 at Jedburgh.