son of Magnus, and bore the same name as his
father.

The wardship seems at first sight to be proved in Robertson's _Early
Kings_,[6] and the proof is to the following effect:--Malcolm of Angus
attested a charter in Earl John's lifetime on 22nd April 1231, using
his own title of "Angus" only. After John's death, Malcolm attested
another charter on 7th October 1232 as "M. Comite de Anegus et
Katania,"[7] using, in addition to his own title of Angus, as was
customary, the title of a ward, who was heir to another earldom, in
this case that of Caithness. But on 3rd July 1236, Malcolm Earl of
Angus, who lived till 1237 if not longer, attested a third charter
using his own title of "Angus" only, without the addition "and of
Caithness." These facts can be explained by his ward's having attained
his majority and entered upon his earldom of Caithness between 7th
October 1232 and 3rd July 1236. They cannot be explained by saying
that "M" was not Malcolm, but Magnus, and that "M" stands for
Gilchrist's son Magnus, who had become Earl of Caithness. For there
was no "M. Comes de Angus" at the time save Malcolm, and Malcolm was
therefore for about four years Earl of Caithness as well as of Angus.

Robertson's explanation is that Malcolm was Earl of Caithness only as
guardian of a ward entitled to that earldom. The question then
arises, as Robertson puts it, "who was the heir?" and he answers it,
"certainly not his[8] uncle Magnus, son of Gillebride,[9] but very
probably the son of Magnus by Earl John's daughter; the supposed grant
of the Earldom to this Magnus being probably grounded upon his real
marriage with the heiress," and he adds "If, on the death of Earl John
in 1231, his grandson was an orphan and a minor, his wardship would
naturally have been granted to the next of kin, his cousin the Earl of
Angus."

One further charter has to be dealt with. In _Reg. Hon. de Morton_,
vol. I, p. xxxv, cited in _Origines Parochiales_ vol. II, p. 805, a
grant by King Alexander II, to Patrick Earl of Dunbar dated 7th July
1235 is attested by a witness, whose name or initial is illegible, but
who is styled ... _Earl_ ... _Katanay_, ... _Comite_ ... _Katanay_,
and a confident opinion is expressed in a note to the citation that
the witness was Magnus, Earl of Caithness. Now, Earl John's daughter
was taken as a hostage on August 1, 1214, and, if she was then
marriageable and was married at once, her eldest child could have been
born about Ma