Gartnait of Buchan is the first mormaer of Buchan to be known by name. He was married to a woman named Ete (or Ite), the daughter of a Gille MÃÂchéil, whom he appears alongside in a grant to Deer recorded in the Gaelic Notes on the Book of Deer. This is surely Gille MÃÂchéil, mormaer of Fife. The same source tells us that Gartnait was the son of Cainnech, although it does not tell us if this Cainnech had previously been mormaer.
He had a daughter ÃÂva, whom he married to Colbán, his successor.