Dubh of Scotland

Dubh (or Duff), was king of Scotland from 962 to 967. Dubh (Gaelic for “black”), son of Malcolm I, succeeded to the throne after Indulf under the Scottish tanistry system in effect at the time.

Little is known about his brief reign except that he was challenged twice by Indulf's son Culen for control of the kingdom. Dubh defeated Culen at Atholl, but was later killed at Forres. According to legend, his corpse was originally hidden under the Bridge of Kinloss, but was later re-interred because the sun refused to appear over Scotland as long as he did not receive a proper burial.

He married at some point in his life, but his name of his wife and the date and place of his marriage are not known. He did have two sons, Kenneth III and Malcolm, who later became king of Strathclyde.

Dubh's great-granddaughter Gruoch is said to have married Macbeth so was the literal Lady Macbeth, despite probably being different from Shakespeare's version.

Preceded by: Indulf

List of British monarchs

Succeeded by: Culen