Máel Brigte of Perth

Máel Brigte of Perth (fl. 1128) was an important figure in Perth in the reign of King David I of Scotland. He is known only because the Church of the Holy Trinity in Dunfermline preserved written instructions from King David to Máel Brigte informing the latter that he had granted the church a tithe of his house in Perth.

Máel Brigte thus may have been David's stewart in the town, or perhaps even the local toísech. The instruction was given at nearby Scone,[1] and it has been suggested that it was originally in Gaelic.[2] The document calls him "Malbride Mac Congi", which probably means that his father had the name Congus, a rare but attested Scoto-Pictish name.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ The charter is available in Latin, in Sir Archibald Lawrie, Early Scottish Charters Prior to A.D. 1153, (Glasgow, 1905),
  2. ^ Lawrie, op. cit., p. 328.
  3. ^ e.g., there was a late 7th century/early 8th century Pict with the name Congus.

References

  • Lawrie, Sir Archibald, Early Scottish Charters Prior to A.D. 1153, (Glasgow, 1905), charter no. LXXVII, p. 65; notes, p. 328