| Alexander I | |
|---|---|
_ii.JPG) The reverse of Alexander'sseal, enhanced as a 19th century steel engraving | |
| King of Alba (Scotland) | |
| Reign | 8 January 1107 – 23 April 1124 |
| Predecessor | Edgar |
| Successor | David I |
| Born | c. 1078 Dunfermline |
| Died | 23 April 1124 (aged 45) Stirling |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Sybilla of Normandy |
| Issue | Malcolm (illegitimate) |
| House | Dunkeld |
| Father | Malcolm III of Scotland |
| Mother | Margaret of Wessex |
Alexander I (medieval Gaelic:Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim;modern Gaelic:Alasdair mac Mhaol Chaluim; c. 1078 – 23 April 1124), posthumously nicknamedThe Fierce,[1] was theKing of Alba (Scotland) from 1107 to his death. He was the fifth son ofMalcolm III and his second wife, Margaret, sister of Edward Ætheling, a prince of the pre-conquest English royal house.
He succeeded his brother, KingEdgar, and his successor was his brotherDavid. He was married toSybilla of Normandy, an illegitimate daughter ofHenry I of England.
Alexander was the fifth (some sources say fourth) son ofMalcolm III and his wifeMargaret of Wessex, grandniece ofEdward the Confessor. Alexander was named afterPope Alexander II.
He was the younger brother of KingEdgar, who was unmarried, and his brother'sheir presumptive by 1104 (and perhaps earlier). In that year, he was the senior layman present at the examination of the remains ofSaint Cuthbert atDurham prior to their re-interment. He held lands in Scotland north of theForth and inLothian.[2]
On the death of Edgar in 1107, Alexander succeeded to the Scottish crown but, in accordance with Edgar's instructions, their brotherDavid was granted anappanage in southernScotland. Edgar's will granted David the lands of the formerkingdom of Strathclyde orCumbria and this was apparently agreed in advance by Edgar, Alexander, David and their brother-in-lawHenry I of England. In 1113, perhaps at Henry's instigation, and with the support of hisAnglo-Norman allies, David demanded and received, additional lands inLothian along the UpperTweed andTeviot. David did not receive the title of king, but of "prince of the Cumbrians", and his lands remained under Alexander's final authority.[3]
The dispute overTweeddale andTeviotdale does not appear to have damaged relations between Alexander and David, although it was unpopular in some quarters. A Gaelic poem laments:
It's bad what Malcolm's son has done,
dividing us from Alexander;
he causes, like each king's son before,
the plunder of stable Alba.[4]
The dispute over the eastern marches does not appear to have caused lasting trouble between Alexander and Henry of England. In 1114, he joined Henry on campaign inWales againstGruffudd ap Cynan ofGwynedd.[5] Alexander's marriage with Henry's illegitimate daughterSybilla of Normandy may have occurred as early as 1107, or as late as 1114.[6]
William of Malmesbury's account attacks Sybilla, but the evidence argues that Alexander and Sybilla were a devoted but childless couple and Sybilla was of noteworthy piety.[7] Sybilla died in unrecorded circumstances atEilean nam Ban (Kenmore onLoch Tay) in July 1122 and was buried atDunfermline Abbey. Alexander did not remarry andWalter Bower wrote that he planned anAugustinianPriory at theEilean nam Ban dedicated to Sybilla's memory, and he may have taken steps to have hervenerated.[8]
Alexander had at least one illegitimate child,Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair, who was later involved in a revolt againstDavid I in the 1130s. He was imprisoned atRoxburgh for many years afterwards, perhaps until his death sometime after 1157.[9]
Alexander was, like his brothers Edgar and David, a notably pious king. He was responsible for foundations atScone andInchcolm, the latter founded in thanks for his survival of a tempest at sea nearby. He had the two towers built which flanked the great western entrance ofDunfermline Abbey, where his mother was buried.[10]
His mother's chaplain andhagiographerThurgot was namedBishop of Saint Andrews (orCell Rígmonaid) in 1107, presumably by Alexander's order.[2] The case of Thurgot's would-be successorEadmer shows that Alexander's wishes were not always accepted by the religious community, perhaps because Eadmer had the backing of theArchbishop of Canterbury,Ralph d'Escures, rather thanThurstan ofYork. Alexander alsopatronisedSaint Andrews, granting lands intended for anAugustinian Priory, which may have been the same as that intended to honour his wife.[11]
For all his religiosity, Alexander was not remembered as a man of peace.John of Fordun says of him:
Now the king was a lettered and godly man; very humble and amiable towards the clerics and regulars, but terrible beyond measure to the rest of his subjects; a man of large heart, exerting himself in all things beyond his strength.[12]
He manifested the terrible aspect of his character in his reprisals in theProvince of Moray.Andrew of Wyntoun'sOrygynale Cronykil of Scotland says that Alexander was holding court atInvergowrie when he was attacked by "men of the Isles".[13] Walter Bower says the attackers were from Moray and Mearns. Alexander pursued them north, to "Stockford" inRoss (nearBeauly) where he defeated them. This, says Wyntoun, is why he was named the "Fierce". The dating of this is uncertain, as are his enemies' identities. However, in 1116 theAnnals of Ulster report: "Ladhmann son of Domnall, grandson of the king of Scotland, was killed by the men of Moray." The king referred to is Alexander's father, Malcolm III, and Domnall was Alexander's half brother. The Province or Kingdom of Moray was ruled by the family ofMacbeth (Mac Bethad mac Findláich) andLulach (Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin): not overmighty subjects, but a family who had ruled Alba within little more than a lifetime. Who the Mormaer or King was at this time is not known; it may have beenÓengus of Moray or his father, whose name is not known. As for the Mearns, the only knownMormaer of Mearns,Máel Petair, had murdered Alexander's half-brotherDuncan II (Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim) in 1094.[14]
Alexander died in April 1124 at his court atStirling; his brother David, probably the acknowledged heir since the death of Sybilla, succeeded him.[15]
Alexander was depicted in a fantasy novel,[16]Pater Nostras Canis Dirus: The Garrison Effect (2010). Alexander is depicted as troubled by his lack of direct heirs, having no child with his wifeSybilla of Normandy. He points out that his father-in-lawHenry I of England is asking them for a grandson.[16]
Alexander I of Scotland Born: c. 1078 Died: 23 April 1124 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Alba 1107–1124 | Succeeded by |
King of Scotland (1124–1153) | ||
| Relations and events |  | |
| Family |
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