may be preserved by the fifteenth- to sixteenth-century Annals of Ulster and the fourteenth-century Annals of Tigernach which record the death of a certain Suibne mac Cináeda in 1034. These particular sources style Suibne "" and "". The Gaelic (plural ) is primarily a linguistic term referring to speakers of Gaelic. The Gaelic term , literally meaning "Stranger-", was attributed to the population of mixed Scandinavian and Gaelic ethnicity in the Hebrides. The fact that Máel Coluim and Suibne died the same year and share patronyms could be evidence that they were brothers. If the two were indeed closely related, Suibne may have been set up by Máel Coluim as a subordinate in an area of Scandinavian settlement. One possibility is that the account of Máel Coluim preserved by the Prophecy of Berchán could be evidence that this region encompassed the lands surrounding Kintyre and the Outer Clyde. This source, combined with the other accounts of Knútr's meeting, could indicate that Máel Coluim was then overlord of the Isles. Context of the concordat with Knútr The rationale behind the meeting of the four kings is uncertain. One possibility is that it was related to Máel Coluim's annexation of Lothian, a region that likely encompassed an area roughly similar to the modern boundaries of Berwickshire, East Lothian, and possibly parts of Mid Lothian. The considerable span of years between this conquest and Knútr's meeting, however, could suggest that there were other factors. There appears to be evidence that the violent regime change in Moray (which enabled Mac Bethad to assume the mormaership) prompted Knútr to meet with the kings. Echmarcach and Máel Coluim may thus have been bound to keep the peace with Mac Bethad's troubled lordship. Certainly, the accounts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle record that Knútr met the kings in "Scotland", a region that likely refers to land north of Firth of Forth. Another possibility is that Máel Coluim aimed to gain Knútr's neutrality in a Scottish campaign against Mac Bethad, and sought naval support from Echmarcach himself. The absence of the King of Strathclyde from the assembled kings, and the possibility that Echmarcach's powerbase was situated somewhere in the Isles beyond Kintyre, could indicate that Knútr's main focus was on the troubled region of Moray, and the rulers whose lands it bordered. Another possibility is that the nonappearance of a Strathclyde representative is evidence that this Cumbrian realm had