Domhnall I, Earl of Mar

Who was Domhnall I, Earl of Mar?

Domhnall I Earl of Mar - Domhnall mac Uilleim - was the seventh known Mormaer of Mar, or Earl of Mar ruling from the death of his father, Uilleam of Mar, in 1276 until his own death somewhere between 1297 and 1302. Excluding Gille Christ he is counted as sixth Mormaer or Earl of Mar.

In 1284 he joined with other Scottish noblemen who acknowledged Margaret of Norway as the heir to King Alexander. Domhnall was later a strong supporter of the Bruce cause during the crisis of the late 13th century. He was at Norham in 1292, probably in the camp of Robert de Brus, then Earl of Carrick.

He married to Helen, possibly the natural daughter of Llywelyn the Great of Wales, who herself had previously been married to Mormaer Maol Choluim II, Earl of Fife. By Helen, he had three sons, including his successor Gartnait, and two daughters. His daughter Isabella of Mar was the first wife of Robert I of Scotland and mother of Marjorie Bruce who married Walter, 6th High Steward, the parents of Robert II and the Royal Stewart Kings of Scotland.

The last record of a living Domhnall comes from 1297, and the earliest record of his son Gartnait as Mormaer is from 1305, creating the range of Domhnall's possible year of death to somewhere in between these two points. However, a document dating to 1302, containing terms of reconciliation between Edward I and Robert, stipulates that Robert should act as warden of Gartnait, implying that Domhnall had just died.