| David I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| King of Alba (Scotland) (more...) | |||||
| Reign | 23 April 1124 – 24 May 1153 | ||||
| Inauguration | Scone, April or May 1124 | ||||
| Predecessor | Alexander I | ||||
| Successor | Malcolm IV | ||||
| Prince of the Cumbrians | |||||
| Reign | 1113–1124 | ||||
| Born | c. 1084 | ||||
| Died | 24 May 1153(1153-05-24) (aged 68–69) Carlisle | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Maud, Countess of Huntingdon | ||||
| Issue |
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| House | Dunkeld | ||||
| Father | Malcolm III of Scotland | ||||
| Mother | Margaret of Wessex | ||||
David I orDauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Modern Gaelic:Daibhidh I mac [Mhaoil] Chaluim;[1]c. 1084 – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler andsaint who wasPrince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 andKing of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son ofKing Malcolm III andQueen Margaret, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland but was exiled toEngland temporarily in 1093. Perhaps after 1100, he became a dependent at the court ofKing Henry I of England, by whom he was influenced.
When David's brotherAlexander I died in 1124, David chose, with the backing of Henry I, to take theKingdom of Alba (Scotland) for himself. He was forced to engage in warfare against his rival and nephew,Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair. Subduing the latter seems to have taken David ten years, a struggle that involved the destruction ofÓengus,Mormaer of Moray. David's victory allowed the expansion of control over more distant regions, theoretically part of his Kingdom. After the death of his former patron Henry I, David supported the claims of Henry's daughter and his own niece,Empress Matilda, to the throne of England. In the process, he came into conflict withKing Stephen and was able to expand his power innorthern England, despite his defeat at theBattle of the Standard in 1138. David I is a saint of theCatholic Church, with hisfeast day celebrated on 24 May.[2][3]
The term "Davidian Revolution" is used by many scholars to summarise the changes that took place in Scotland during his reign. These included his foundation ofburghs and regional markets, implementation of the ideals ofGregorian Reform, foundation ofmonasteries, Normanisation of the Scottish government, and the introduction offeudalism through immigrantAnglo-Norman andNorman knights, as well asFlemish settlers.
David was born on a date unknown in 1084 in Scotland.[4] He was probably the eighth son ofKing Malcolm III, and certainly the sixth and youngest born by Malcolm's second wife,Margaret of Wessex. He was the grandson ofKing Duncan I.[5]
In 1093, King Malcolm and David's brother Edward were killed at theBattle of Alnwick during an invasion ofNorthumberland.[6] David and his two brothersAlexander andEdgar were probably present when their mother died shortly afterwards.[7] According to later medieval tradition, the three brothers were inEdinburgh when they were besieged by their paternal uncleDonald III,[8] who made himself king.[9] It is not certain what happened next, but an insertion in theChronicle of Melrose states that Donald forced his three nephews into exile, although he was allied with another of his nephews,Edmund.[10] John of Fordun wrote, centuries later, that an escort into England was arranged for them by their maternal uncleEdgar Ætheling.[11]
King William Rufus of England opposed Donald's accession to the northerly kingdom. He sent the eldest son of Malcolm, David's half-brotherDuncan, into Scotland with an army. Duncan was killed within the year,[12] and so in 1097 William sent Duncan's half-brother Edgar into Scotland. The latter was more successful and was crowned by the end of 1097.[13]
During the power struggle of 1093–1097, David was in England. In 1093, he may have been about nine years old.[14] From 1093 until 1103, David's presence cannot be accounted for in detail, but he appears to have been in Scotland for the remainder of the 1090s. When William Rufus was killed, his brotherHenry Beauclerc seized power and married David's sister,Matilda. The marriage made David the brother-in-law of the ruler of England. From that point onwards, David was probably an important figure at the English court.[15] Despite his Gaelic background, by the end of his stay in England, David had become a fully Normanised prince.William of Malmesbury wrote that it was in this period that David "rubbed off all tarnish of Scottish barbarity through being polished by intercourse and friendship with us".[16]
David's brother King Edgar had visited William Rufus in May 1099 and bequeathed to David extensive territory to the south of theriver Forth.[17] On 8 January 1107, Edgar died. His younger brother Alexander took the throne. It has been assumed that David took control of hisinheritance – the southern lands bequeathed by Edgar – soon after the latter's death.[18] However, it cannot be shown that he possessed his inheritance until his foundation ofSelkirk Abbey late in 1113.[19] According toRichard Oram, it was only in 1113, when Henry returned to England fromNormandy, that David was at last in a position to claim his inheritance in southern Scotland.[20]
King Henry's backing seems to have been enough to force King Alexander to recognise his younger brother's claims. This probably occurred without bloodshed but through the threat of force nonetheless.[21] David's aggression seems to have inspired resentment amongst some native Scots. AMiddle Gaelic quatrain from this period complains that:
Olc a ndearna mac Mael Colaim,
ar cosaid re hAlaxandir,
do-ní le gach mac rígh romhaind,
foghail ar faras Albain.
It's bad what Máel Coluim's son has done;
dividing us from Alexander;
he causes, like each king's son before;
the plunder of stable Alba.[22]
If "divided from" is anything to go by, this quatrain may have been written in David's new territories in southern Scotland.[23] The lands in question consisted of theShires of Scotland ofRoxburghshire,Selkirkshire,Berwickshire,Peeblesshire andLanarkshire. David, moreover, gained the titleprinceps Cumbrensis, "Prince of the Cumbrians", as attested in David's charters from this era.[24] Although this was a large slice of Scotland south of the river Forth, the region of Galloway-proper was entirely outside David's control.[25] David may perhaps have had varying degrees of overlordship in parts ofDumfriesshire,Ayrshire,Dunbartonshire andRenfrewshire.[26] In the lands between Galloway and the Principality of Cumbria, David eventually set up large-scale marcher lordships, such asAnnandale forRobert de Brus,Cunningham forHugh de Morville, and possiblyStrathgryfe forWalter Fitzalan.[27]
In the later part of 1113, King Henry gave David the hand of Matilda of Huntingdon, daughter and heiress ofWaltheof, Earl of Northumbria. The marriage brought with it theHonour of Huntingdon, a lordship scattered through the shires ofNorthampton,Huntingdon, andBedford. Within a few years, Matilda bore him two sons: Malcolm, who died young, andHenry, whom David named after his patron.[28]
The new territories which David controlled were a valuable supplement to his income and manpower, increasing his status as one of the most powerful magnates in the Kingdom of the English. Moreover, Matilda's father Waltheof had beenEarl of Northumberland, a defunct lordship which had covered the far north of England and includedCumberland andWestmorland,Northumberland-proper, as well as overlordship of the bishopric ofDurham. After King Henry's death, David revived the claim to this earldom for his son, Henry.[29]
David's activities and whereabouts after 1114 are not always easy to trace. He spent much of his time outside his principality, in England and Normandy. Despite the death of his sister on 1 May 1118, David still possessed the favour of King Henry when his brother Alexander died in 1124, leaving Scotland without a king.[30]
Although David spent his childhood in Scotland, Michael Lynch and Richard Oram portray him as having little initial connection with the culture and society of the Scots;[31] but both likewise argue that David became increasingly re-Gaelicised in the later stages of his reign.[32] Whatever the case, David's claim to be heir to the Scottish kingdom was doubtful. He was the youngest of eight sons of the fifth from last king. Two more recent kings had produced sons,William fitz Duncan, son of King Duncan II, andMáel Coluim, son of the last King Alexander, but since Scots had never adopted the rules ofprimogeniture that was not a barrier to his kingship, and unlike David, neither William nor Máel Coluim had the support of Henry. So when Alexander died in 1124, the aristocracy of Scotland could either accept David as king or face war with both David and Henry.[33]
Alexander's son, Máel Coluim, chose war.Orderic Vitalis reported thatMáel Coluim mac Alaxandair "affected to snatch the kingdom from [David], and fought against him two sufficiently fierce battles; but David, who was loftier in understanding and in power and wealth, conquered him and his followers".[34] Máel Coluim escaped unharmed into areas of Scotland not yet under David's control, and in those areas gained shelter and aid.[35]
In either April or May of the same year, David was crowned King of Scotland (Old Irish:rí(gh) Alban;Medieval Latin:rex Scottorum)[36] atScone. If later Scottish and Irish evidence can be taken as evidence, the ceremony of coronation was a series of elaborate traditional rituals,[37] of the kind infamous in the Anglo-French world of the 12th century for their "unchristian" elements.[38]
Aelred of Rievaulx, friend and one-time member of David's court, reported that David "so abhorred those acts of homage which are offered by the Scottish nation in the manner of their fathers upon the recent promotion of their kings, that he was with difficulty compelled by the bishops to receive them".[39]
Outside his Cumbrian principality and the southern fringe of Scotland-proper, David exercised little power in the 1120s, and in the words of Richard Oram, was "king of Scots in little more than name".[40] He was probably in that part of Scotland he did rule for most of the time between late 1127 and 1130.[41] However, he was at the court of Henry in 1126 and in early 1127,[42] and returned to Henry's court in 1130, serving as a judge atWoodstock for thetreason trial ofGeoffrey de Clinton.[41] It was in this year that David's wife, Matilda of Huntingdon, died. Possibly as a result of this,[43] and while David was still in southern England,[44] Scotland-proper rose up in arms against him. The instigator was, again, his nephew Máel Coluim, who now had the support ofÓengus of Moray. King Óengus was David's most powerful vassal, a man who, as grandson ofKing Lulach of Scotland, even had his own claim to the kingdom. The rebel Scots had advanced intoAngus, where they were met by David'sMercianconstable,Edward; a battle took place atStracathro nearBrechin. According to theAnnals of Ulster, 1000 of Edward's army, and 4000 of Óengus' army – including Óengus himself – died.[45]
According to Orderic Vitalis, Edward followed up the killing of Óengus by marching north into Moray itself, which, in Orderic's words, "lacked a defender and lord"; and so Edward, "with God's help obtained the entire duchy of that extensive district".[46] However, this was far from the end of it. Máel Coluim escaped, and four years of continuing civil war followed; for David, this period was quite simply a "struggle for survival".[47]
It appears that David asked for and obtained extensive military aid from King Henry. Aelred of Rievaulx related that at this point a large fleet and a large army of Norman knights, includingWalter Espec, were sent by Henry toCarlisle to assist David's attempt to root out his Scottish enemies.[48] The fleet seems to have been used in theIrish Sea, theFirth of Clyde and the entireArgyll coast, where Máel Coluim was probably at large among supporters. In 1134, Máel Coluim was captured and imprisoned inRoxburgh Castle.[49] Since modern historians no longer confuse him with "Malcolm MacHeth", it is clear that nothing more is ever heard of Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair, except perhaps that his sons were later allied withSomerled.[50]
Richard Oram puts forward the suggestion that it was during this period that David grantedWalter fitz AlanStrathgryfe, with northernKyle and the area aroundRenfrew, forming what would become the "Stewart" lordship of Strathgryfe; he also suggests thatHugh de Morville may have gainedCunningham and the settlement of "Strathyrewen" (i.e.Irvine). This would indicate that the 1130–1134 campaign had resulted in the acquisition of these territories.[51]
How long it took to pacify Moray is not known, but in this period David appointed his nephew William fitz Duncan to succeed Óengus, perhaps in compensation for the exclusion from the succession to the Scottish throne caused by the coming of age of David's sonHenry. William may have been given the daughter of Óengus in marriage, cementing his authority in the region. The burghs ofElgin andForres may have been founded at this point, consolidating royal authority in Moray.[52] David also foundedUrquhart Priory, possibly as a "victory monastery", and assigned to it a percentage of hiscain (tribute) from Argyll.[53]
During this period too, a marriage was arranged between the son ofMatad, Mormaer of Atholl, and the daughter ofHaakon Paulsson,Earl of Orkney. The marriage temporarily secured the northern frontier of the kingdom and held out the prospect that a son of one of David'smormaers could gainOrkney andCaithness for the Kingdom of Scotland. Thus, by the time Henry I died on 1 December 1135, David had more of Scotland under his control than ever before.[54]
While fightingKing Stephen and attempting to dominate northern England in the years following 1136, David was continuing his drive for control of the far north of Scotland. In 1139, his cousin, the five-year-oldHarald Maddadsson, was given the title of "Earl" and half the lands of theearldom of Orkney, in addition to ScottishCaithness. Throughout the 1140s, Caithness andSutherland were brought back under the Scottish zone of control.[55] Sometime before 1146, David appointed a native Scot calledAindréas to be the firstBishop of Caithness, a bishopric which was based atHalkirk, nearThurso, in an area which was ethnically Scandinavian.[56]
In 1150, it looked like Caithness and the whole earldom of Orkney were going to come under permanent Scottish control. However, David's plans for the north soon began to encounter problems. In 1151,King Eystein II of Norway put a spanner in the works by sailing through the waterways of Orkney with a large fleet and catching the young Harald unaware in his residence at Thurso. Eystein forced Harald to payfealty as a condition of his release. Later in the year David hastily responded by supporting the claims to the Orkney earldom of Harald's rivalErlend Haraldsson, granting him half of Caithness in opposition to Harald. King Eystein responded in turn by making a similar grant to this same Erlend, cancelling the effect of David's grant. David's weakness in Orkney was that the Norwegian kings were not prepared to stand back and let him reduce their power.[57]
David's relationship with England and the English crown in these years is usually interpreted in two ways. Firstly, his actions are understood in relation to his connections with the King of England. Most historians would agree that King Henry I played a major role in shaping David's early career. David was the latter's brother-in-law and "greatest protégé",[58] one of Henry's "new men".[59] His hostility to Stephen can be interpreted as an effort to uphold the intended inheritance of Henry I, the succession of his daughter and David's nieceEmpress Matilda. David carried out his wars in her name, joined her when she arrived in England, and later knighted her sonHenry.[60]
However, David's policy towards England can be interpreted in an additional way. David was the independence-loving king trying to build a "Scoto-Northumbrian" realm by seizing the most northerly parts of the English kingdom. In this perspective, David's support for Matilda is used as a pretext for land-grabbing. David's maternal descent from theHouse of Wessex and his son Henry's maternal descent from the English earls of Northumberland is thought to have further encouraged such a project, one that came to an end only after Henry II ordered David's child successorMáel Coluim IV to hand over the most important of David's gains. It is clear that neither one of these interpretations can be taken without some weight being given to the other.[61]
Henry I had arranged his inheritance to pass to his daughterEmpress Matilda. Instead,Stephen, younger brother ofTheobald II, Count of Champagne, seized the throne.[62] David had been the first layperson to take the oath to uphold the succession of Matilda in 1127, and when Stephen was crowned on 22 December 1135, David decided to make war.[63]
Before December was over, David marched into northern England, and by the end of January, he had occupied the castles ofCarlisle,Wark,Alnwick,Norham andNewcastle. By February, David had reached Durham, but an army led by King Stephen met him there. Rather than fight a pitched battle, a treaty was agreed whereby David would retain Carlisle, while David's son Henry was re-granted the title and half the lands of the earldom of Huntingdon, territory which had been confiscated during David's revolt. On Stephen's side, he received back the other castles; and while David would do no homage, Stephen was to receive the homage of Henry for both Carlisle and the other English territories. Stephen also gave the rather worthless but for David face-saving promise that if he ever chose to resurrect the defunct earldom of Northumberland, Henry would be given first consideration. Importantly, the issue of Matilda was not mentioned. However, the first Durham treaty quickly broke down after David took offence at the treatment of his son Henry at Stephen's court.[64]
When the winter of 1136–1137 was over, David prepared again to invade England. The king of the Scots massed an army onNorthumberland's border, to which the English responded by gathering an army atNewcastle.[65] Once more pitched battle was avoided, and instead, a truce was agreed until December.[65] When December fell, David demanded that Stephen hand over the whole of the old earldom of Northumberland. Stephen's refusal led to David's third invasion, this time in January 1138.[66]
The army which invaded England in January and February 1138 shocked the English chroniclers.Richard of Hexham called it "an execrable army, savager than any race of heathen yielding honour to neither God nor man" and that it "harried the whole province and slaughtered everywhere folk of either sex, of every age and condition, destroying, pillaging and burning the vills, churches and houses".[67] Several doubtful stories of cannibalism were recorded by chroniclers, and these same chroniclers paint a picture of routine enslavings, as well as killings of churchmen, women and infants.[68]
By February King Stephen marched north to deal with David. The two armies avoided each other, and Stephen was soon on the road south. In the summer, David split his army into two forces, sending William fitz Duncan to march intoLancashire, where he harriedFurness andCraven. On 10 June, William fitz Duncan met a force of knights and men-at-arms. A pitched battle took place, thebattle of Clitheroe, and the English army was routed.[69]
By later July 1138, the two Scottish armies had reunited in "St Cuthbert's land", that is, in the lands controlled by theBishop of Durham, on the far side of theRiver Tyne. Another English army had mustered to meet the Scots, this time led byWilliam, Earl of Aumale. The victory at Clitheroe was probably what inspired David to risk battle. David's force, apparently 26,000 strong and several times larger than the English army, met the English on 22 August at Cowdon Moor nearNorthallerton,North Yorkshire.[70]
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TheBattle of the Standard, as the encounter came to be called, was a defeat for the Scots. Afterwards, David and his surviving notables retired to Carlisle. Although the result was a defeat, it was not by any means decisive. David retained the bulk of his army and thus the power to go on the offensive again. Thesiege of Wark, for instance, which had been going on since January, continued until it was captured in November. David continued to occupyCumberland as well as much ofNorthumberland.[71]
On 26 SeptemberCardinal Alberic,Bishop of Ostia, arrived at Carlisle where David had called together his kingdom's nobles, abbots and bishops. Alberic was there to investigate the controversy over the issue of the Bishop of Glasgow's allegiance or non-allegiance to the Archbishop of York. Alberic played the role of peace broker, and David agreed to a six-week truce, which excluded the siege of Wark. On 9 April, David and Stephen's wifeMatilda of Boulogne (daughter ofMary of Scotland, and so another niece of David) met each other at Durham and agreed a settlement. David's son Henry was given the earldom of Northumberland and was restored to the earldom of Huntingdon and lordship ofDoncaster; David himself was allowed to keep Carlisle and Cumberland. King Stephen was to retain possession of the strategically vital castles ofBamburgh and Newcastle. This effectively fulfilled all of David's war aims.[71]
The settlement with Stephen was not set to last long. The arrival in England ofEmpress Matilda allowed David to renew the conflict with Stephen. In either May or June, David travelled to the south of England and entered Matilda's company; he was present for her expected coronation atWestminster Abbey, though this never took place. David was there until September when the Empress found herself surrounded atWinchester.[72]
This civil war, or "the Anarchy" as it was later called, enabled David to strengthen his own position in northern England. While David consolidated his hold on his own and his son's newly acquired lands, he also sought to expand his influence. The castles atNewcastle andBamburgh were again brought under his control, attaining dominion over all of England north-west of theriver Ribble andPennines while holding the north-east as far south as theriver Tyne, on the borders of the core territory of the bishopric ofDurham. While his son brought all the senior barons ofNorthumberland into his entourage, David rebuilt thefortress of Carlisle. Carlisle quickly replacedRoxburgh as his favoured residence. David's acquisition of the mines atAlston on theSouth Tyne enabled him to begin minting theKingdom of Scotland's first silver coinage. David, meanwhile, issued charters toShrewsbury Abbey in respect to their lands inLancashire.[73]
However, David's successes were in many ways balanced by his failures. David's greatest disappointment during this time was his inability to ensure control of theBishopric of Durham and theArchbishopric of York. David had attempted to appoint his chancellor,William Comyn, to the bishopric of Durham, which had been vacant since the death of BishopGeoffrey Rufus in 1140. Between 1141 and 1143, Comyn was thede facto bishop, and had control of the bishop's castle; but he was resented by thechapter. Despite controlling the town of Durham, David's only hope of ensuring his election and consecration was gaining the support of thepapal legate,Henry of Blois,Bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen. Despite obtaining the support of Empress Matilda, David was unsuccessful and had given up by the timeWilliam of St. Barbara was elected to the see in 1143.[74]
David also attempted to interfere in the succession to the archbishopric of York.William FitzHerbert, nephew of King Stephen, found his position undermined by the collapsing political fortune of Stephen in the north of England and was deposed by the Pope. David used hisCistercian connections to build a bond withHenry Murdac, the new archbishop. Despite the support ofPope Eugene III, supporters of King Stephen and William FitzHerbert managed to prevent Henry taking up his post at York. In 1149, Henry sought the support of David. David seized on the opportunity to bring the archdiocese under his control and marched on the city. However, Stephen's supporters became aware of David's intentions and informed King Stephen. Stephen therefore marched to the city and installed a new garrison. David decided not to risk such an engagement and withdrew.[75] Richard Oram has conjectured that David's ultimate aim was to bring the whole of the ancientKingdom of Northumbria into his dominion. For Oram, this event was the turning point, "the chance to radically redraw the political map of theBritish Isles [had been] lost forever".[76]
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Historical treatment of David I and the Scottish church usually acknowledges David's role as the defender of the Scottish church's independence from claims of overlordship by theArchbishop of York and theArchbishop of Canterbury.[77]
It was once held that Scotland's episcopal sees and entire parochial system owed its origins to the innovations of David I. Today, scholars have moderated this view.Aelred of Rievaulx wrote in David's eulogy that when David came to power, "he found three or four bishops in the whole Scottish kingdom [north of the Forth], and the others wavering without a pastor to the loss of both morals and property; when he died, he left nine, both of ancient bishoprics which he himself restored and new ones which he erected".[78] Although David moved the bishopric ofMortlach east toOld Aberdeen, and arranged the creation of thediocese of Caithness, no other bishoprics can be safely called David's creation.[79]
Thebishopric of Glasgow was restored rather than resurrected.[80] David appointed his reform-minded French chaplainJohn Capellanus to the bishopric[81] and carried out aninquest, afterwards assigning to the bishopric all the lands of his principality, except those in the east which were already governed by theBishop of St Andrews.[82] David was at least partly responsible for forcing semi-monastic "bishoprics" likeBrechin,Dunkeld,Mortlach (Aberdeen) andDunblane to become fully episcopal and firmly integrated into a national diocesan system.[83]
As for the development of the parochial system, David's traditional role as its creator can not be sustained.[84] Scotland already had an ancient system of parish churches dating to theEarly Middle Ages, and the kind of system introduced by David's Normanising tendencies can more accurately be seen as mild refashioning, rather than creation; he made the Scottish system as a whole more like that ofFrance andEngland, but he did not create it.[85]
One of the first problems David had to deal with as king was an ecclesiastical dispute with theEnglish Church. The English Church's insistence on subordinating Scottish sees to the archbishops of York or Canterbury had, since his election in 1124, preventedRobert of Scone from being consecrated to the see ofSt Andrews (Cenn Ríghmonaidh). Since the 11th century, the bishopric of St Andrews likely functioned as ade facto archbishopric. The title of "Archbishop" is accorded in Scottish and Irish sources toBishop Giric[86] andBishop Fothad II.[87]
The problem was that this archepiscopal status had not been cleared with the papacy, opening the way for English archbishops to claim the overlordship of the whole Scottish church. The man responsible was the new aggressively assertive Archbishop of York,Thurstan. His easiest target was thebishopric of Glasgow, which, being south of theriver Forth, was not regarded as part of Scotland nor the jurisdiction of St Andrews. In 1125,Pope Honorius II wrote to John, Bishop of Glasgow, ordering him to submit to the archbishopric of York.[88] David ordered Bishop John of Glasgow to travel to theApostolic See in order to secure apallium which would elevate thebishopric of St Andrews to an archbishopric with jurisdiction over Glasgow.[89]
Thurstan travelled to Rome, as did the Archbishop of Canterbury,William de Corbeil, and both presumably opposed David's request. David however gained the support of King Henry, and the Archbishop of York agreed to a year's postponement of the issue and to consecrateRobert of Scone without making an issue of subordination.[90] York's claim over bishops north of the Forth was in practice abandoned for the rest of David's reign, although York maintained her more credible claims over Glasgow.[91]
In 1151, David again requested a pallium for the Archbishop of St Andrews.Cardinal John Paparo met David at his residence in Carlisle in September 1151. Tantalisingly for David, the Cardinal was on his way toIreland with fourpallia to create four new Irish archbishoprics. When the Cardinal returned to Carlisle, David made the request. In David's plan, the new archdiocese would include all the bishoprics in David's Scottish territory, as well asbishopric of Orkney and thebishopric of the Isles. Unfortunately for David, the Cardinal does not appear to have brought the issue up with the papacy. In the following year, the papacy dealt David another blow by creating thearchbishopric of Trondheim, a newNorwegian archbishopric embracing the bishoprics of the Isles and Orkney.[92]
Perhaps the greatest blow to David's plans came on 12 July 1152 whenHenry, Earl of Northumberland, David's heir, died. He had probably been suffering from some kind of illness for a long time. David had under a year to live, and he may have known that he was not going to be alive much longer. David quickly arranged for his grandsonMalcolm IV to be made his successor, and for his younger grandsonWilliam to be made Earl of Northumberland.Donnchad I, Mormaer of Fife, the senior magnate in Scotland-proper, was appointed asrector, orregent, and took the 11-year-old Malcolm around Scotland-proper on a tour to meet and gain the homage of his future Gaelic subjects. David's health began to fail seriously in the spring of 1153, and on 24 May 1153, David died inCarlisle Castle.[93] In his obituary in theAnnals of Tigernach, he is calledDabíd mac Mail Colaim, rí Alban & Saxan, "David, son of Malcolm, King of Scotland and England", a title which acknowledged the importance of the new English part of David's realm.[94] He was buried before the high altarDunfermline Abbey in early June.[28]
David I is recognised as asaint by theRoman Catholic Church, with a feast day of 24 May, though it appears that he was never formally canonised. There are churches in Scotland which have him as their patron.[95][2][3] His motherSaint Margaret of Scotland was canonised in 1249.[96]
The earliest English assessments of David portray him as a pious king, a reformer and a civilising agent in a barbarian nation. ForWilliam of Newburgh, David was a "King not barbarous of a barbarous nation", who "wisely tempered the fierceness of his barbarous nation". William praises David for his piety, noting that, among other saintly activities, "he was frequent in washing the feet of the poor" (this can be read literally: his mother, who is now patron saint of Scotland, was widely known and lauded for the same practice).[97] Another of David's eulogists, his former courtierAelred of Rievaulx, echoes Newburgh's assertions and praises David for his justice as well as his piety, commenting that David's rule of the Scots meant that "the whole barbarity of that nation was softened ... as if forgetting their natural fierceness they submitted their necks to the laws which the royal gentleness dictated".[98]
Although avoiding stress on 12th-century Scottish "barbarity", the Lowland Scottish historians of theLate Middle Ages tend to repeat the accounts of earlier chronicle tradition. Much that was written was either directly transcribed from the earlier medieval chronicles themselves or was modelled closely upon them, even in the significant works ofJohn of Fordun,Andrew Wyntoun andWalter Bower.[99] For example, Bower includes in his text the eulogy written for David by Aelred of Rievaulx. This quotation extends to over twenty pages in the modern edition and exerted a great deal of influence over what became the traditional view of David in later works about Scottish history.[100] Historical treatment of David developed in the writings of later Scottish historians, and the writings of men likeJohn Mair,George Buchanan,Hector Boece, and BishopJohn Leslie ensured that by the 18th century, a picture of David as a pious, justice-loving state-builder and vigorous maintainer of Scottish independence had emerged.[101]
Moreover, Bower stated in his eulogy that David always had the ambition to join acrusade, which was prevented eventually by his death.[102] In addition, Aelred of Rievaulx hinted that David expressed his desire to be part of theSecond Crusade himself, but he was dissuaded by his subjects.[103] However, David had already metHugues de Payens, thefirst Grand Master of theKnights Templar, in 1128 in Scotland.[104] In the meantime, theOrder established a seat atBalantrodoch, nowTemple, Midlothian on the South Esk (River Esk, Lothian).[105]
In the modern period, there has been more of an emphasis on David's state-building and the effects of his changes on Scottish cultural development. Lowland Scots tended to trace the origins of their culture to the marriage of David's father Máel Coluim III toSaint Margaret of Scotland, a myth which had its origins in the medieval period.[106] With the development of modern historical techniques in the mid-19th century, responsibility for these developments appeared to lie more with David than his father. David assumed a principal place in the alleged destruction of theCeltic Kingdom of Scotland, Andrew Lang, in 1900, wrote that "with Alexander [I], Celtic domination ends; with David, Norman and English dominance is established".[107]
The ages ofEnlightenment andRomanticism had elevated the role of races and "ethnic packages" into mainstream history, and in this context David was portrayed as hostile to the native Scots, and his reforms were seen in the light of natural, perhaps even justified, civilised Teutonic aggression towards the backward Celts.[108]
In the 20th century, several studies were devoted to Normanisation in 12th century Scotland, focusing upon and thereby emphasising the changes brought about by the reign of David I. Græme Ritchie'sThe Normans in Scotland (1954),Archie Duncan'sScotland: The Making of the Kingdom (1974) and the many articles ofG. W. S. Barrow all formed part of this historiographical trend.[109]
In the 1980s, Barrow sought a compromise between change and continuity, and argued that the reign of King David was, in fact, a "Balance of New and Old".[110] Such a conclusion was a natural incorporation of an underlying current in Scottish historiography which, sinceWilliam F. Skene's monumental and revolutionary three-volumeCeltic Scotland: A History of Ancient Alban (1876–1880), had been forced to acknowledge that "Celtic Scotland" was alive and healthy for a long time after the reign of David I.[111] Michael Lynch followed and built upon Barrow's compromise solution, arguing that as David's reign progressed, his kingship became more Celtic.[112] Despite its subtitle, in 2004 in the only full-volume study of David I's reign yet produced,David I: The King Who Made Scotland, its authorRichard Oram further builds upon Lynch's picture, stressing continuity while placing the changes of David's reign in their context.[113]
However, while there may be debate about the importance or extent of thehistorical change in David I's era, no historian doubts that it was taking place. The reason is what Barrow and Lynch both call the "Davidian Revolution".[114] David's "revolution" is held to underpin the development of later medieval Scotland, whereby the changes he inaugurated grew into most of the central institutions of the later medieval kingdom.[115]
SinceRobert Bartlett's pioneering work,The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change, 950–1350 (1993), reinforced by Moore'sThe First European Revolution, c. 970–1215 (2000), it has become increasingly apparent that better understanding of David's "revolution" can be achieved by recognising the wider "European revolution" taking place during this period. The central idea is that from the late 10th century onwards the culture and institutions of the oldCarolingian heartlands in northernFrance and westernGermany were spreading to outlying areas, creating a more recognisable "Europe". Scotland was just one of many "outlying" areas.[116]
The widespread enfeoffment of foreign knights and the processes by whichland ownership was converted fromcustomarytenures intofeudal, or otherwise legally defined relationships, would revolutionise the way the Kingdom of Scotland was governed, as did the dispersal and installation of royal agents in the newmottes that were proliferating throughout the realm to staff newly created sheriffdoms and judiciaries for the twin purposes oflaw enforcement andtaxation, bringing Scotland further into the "continental" model.[117]
Scotland in this period experienced innovations in governmental practices and the importation of foreign, mostlyFrench,knights. It is to David's reign that the beginnings offeudalism are generally assigned. This is defined as "castle-building, the regular use of professional cavalry, the knight's fee" as well as "homage and fealty".[118] David established large-scale feudal lordships in the west of his Cumbrian principality for the leading members of the French military entourage who kept him in power. Additionally, many smaller-scale feudal lordships were created.[119]
Steps were taken during David's reign to make the government of that part of Scotland he administered more like the government of Anglo-Norman England. Newsheriffdoms enabled the King to effectively administerroyal demesne land. During his reign, royal sheriffs were established in the king's core personal territories; namely, in rough chronological order, atRoxburgh,Scone,Berwick-upon-Tweed,Stirling andPerth.[120] TheJusticiarship too was created in David's reign. Although this institution had Anglo-Norman origins, in Scotland north of the Forth at least, it represented some form of continuity with an older office.[121]
The revenue of his English earldom and the proceeds of the silver mines atAlston allowed David to produce Scotland's first coinage. These altered the nature of trade and transformed his political image.[122]
David was a great town builder. As Prince of the Cumbrians, David founded the first twoburghs of "Scotland", atRoxburgh and Berwick.[123] Burghs were settlements with defined boundaries and guaranteed trading rights, locations where the king could collect and sell the products of hiscain andconveth (a payment madein lieu of providing the kinghospitality).[124] David founded around 15 burghs.[125]
Perhaps nothing in David's reign compares in importance to burghs. While they could not, at first, have amounted to much more than the nucleus of animmigrantmerchant class, nothing would do more to reshape the long-term economic and ethnic shape of Scotland than the burgh. These planned towns were or dominated byEnglish in culture and language;William of Newburgh wrote in the reign ofWilliam the Lion, that "the towns and burghs of the Scottish realm are known to be inhabited by English";[126] as well as transforming the economy, the dominance of an English influence would in the long term undermine the position of theMiddle Irish language, giving birth to the idea of theScottish Lowlands.[127]
David was one of medieval Scotland's greatest monastic patrons. In 1113, in perhaps David's first act as Prince of the Cumbrians, he foundedSelkirk Abbey for theTironensians.[128] David founded more than a dozen new monasteries in his reign, patronising various new monastic orders.[129]
Not only were such monasteries an expression of David's undoubted piety, they also functioned to transform Scottish society. Monasteries became centres of foreign influence and provided sources of literate men, able to serve the crown's growing administrative needs.[130] These new monasteries, theCistercian ones in particular, introduced new agricultural practices.[131] Cistercian labour, for instance, transformed southern Scotland into one of northern Europe's most important sources of sheep wool.[132]
David I of Scotland Born: c. 1084 Died: 24 May 1153 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Alba 1124–1153 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Earl of Huntingdon 1111/1113–1130 | Succeeded by |
| Reign of King David I of Scotland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mormaers, Earls and Kinglets | ||||||
| Angus | Argyll | Atholl | Buchan | Caithness | ||
| Gille Brígte | Somairle mac Gille Brígte | Máel Muire,Matad | Garnait | Harald Maddadsson | ||
| Fife | Galloway | Lennox | Lothian | Mann | ||
| Causantín,Gille Míchéil,Donnchad | Fergus | none known | Cospatric II,Cospatric III | Amlaíb mac Gofraid | ||
| Mar | Menteith | Moray | Ross | Strathearn | ||
| Ruadrí,Gille Chlerig,Morggán | none known | Óengus,William fitz Duncan | Áed | Máel Ísu | ||
| Neighbouring Rulers | ||||||
| England | Holy Roman Empire | France | Ireland | Norway | ||
| Henry I (1100–35), Stephen (1135–54) | Henry V (1099–1125) Lothair III (1125–37) Conrad III (1138–52) Frederick I Barbarossa (1152–90) | Louis VI, (1108–37) Louis VII, (1137–80) | Toirdelbach (1119–56) | Sigurd I Jorsalfar,(1103–30) Harald IV Gille, (1130–6) Sigurd II Munn, (1136–55) | ||
| Bishops in Scotland | ||||||
| Aberdeen | Brechin | Caithness | Dunkeld | Galloway | ||
| Nechtán | Samson | Aindréas | Cormac,Gregoir | Gilla Aldan | ||
| Glasgow | Moray | Ross | St Andrews | Sodor | ||
| John,Herbert | Gregoir | Mac Bethad,Symeon | Robert | - | ||
| Neighbouring Bishops | ||||||
| Papacy | York | Armagh | Carlisle | Durham | ||
| Callixtus II, Honorius II, Innocent II, Celestine II, Lucius II, Eugenius III | Thurstan, William FitzHerbert, Henry Murdac | Celsus (Cellach mac Áeda), Malachy (Máel Máedóc Ua Morgair), Gelasius (Gilla Meic Laic mac Diarmata) | Æthelwold | Ranulf Flambard, Geoffrey Rufus, William Comyn, William of St. Barbara | ||
King of Scotland (1124–1153) | ||
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