Document record MAB51452 - BATTLE OF MORTLACH

Supposed site of Battle of Mortlach, between Malcolm II and the Danes under Sweyn, thought to have occurred in this vicinity in circa 1005 AD.

Supposed site of Battle of Mortlach, between Malcolm II and the Danes under Sweyn, thought to have occurred in this vicinity in circa 1005 AD. The supposed location is marked on the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps, and the tradition of the Battle is still known locally. Hector Boece, in his History of Scotland (1527) describes the meeting of the two armies thus: 'The Vikings approached from Carron House on Speyside, whilst Malcolm had come up from the East via Glen Fiddich, having camped the previous night at Auchindoun. The armies collided near the monastery of Mortlach, in the secluded glen of the Dullan Water'. Marren, in Grampian Battlefields (1990), queries the authenticity of Boece's very detailed description, which appears to have little evidence to support it, and suggests that his account may be a 'a gloss on the tradition that King Malcolm II founded the Mortlach See on the field of the battle'. He does, however, go on to say that 'The tradition that some sort of battle did take place at Mortlach in the early years of the eleventh century is surely strong enough to be trustworthy', but the exact location of the battle site is yet to be established. There have been no recent finds, but there are reports from the 19th Century of human bones, broken swords and armour having been found in the area around Mortlach 'from time to time'. The Dullan Water runs on the South side of the village, so it would seem more likely that the initial skirmish may have occurred elsewhere (circa NJ324387), with the Scots supposedly then pursuing the Vikings North towards Balvenie Castle (NJ34SW0001).

Period Notes
c. 1005 AD

HOLINSHEAD, R, 1805, SCOT CHRON I, 329 (Bibliographic reference). SAB748.

SHAW, L, 1882, HIST OF PROV OF MORAY II, 136-148 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1627.

Author unknown, 1904, DICTIONARY OF BATTLES, 167 (Bibliographic reference). SAB409.

DUNBAR, AH, 1906, SCOTTISH KINGS (Bibliographic reference). SAB392.

ANDERSON, AO, 1922, EARLY SOURCES OF SCOT HIST (Bibliographic reference). SAB20.

MARREN, P, 1990, GRAMPIAN BATTLEFIELDS: THE HISTORIC BATTLES OF NORTH EAST SCOTLAND FROM AD84 TO 1745, pp.38-41 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4653.

Aug 15 1984 , BW 11-2, BW 11-2 (Ground Photograph). SAB30619.

Record last edited

Sep 5 2022 3:37PM