Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts

Saturday, March 16, 2024

The Fight for Scotland Concludes

(See Parts One and Two)

After rejecting the claims of others, The Great Cause concluded that John Balliol was the most appropriate choice for King of Scotland. Primogeniture was in his favor: he was the descendant of the eldest surviving child of Margaret of Huntingdon, the eldest daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, son of Henry, son of King David I. David had begun the tradition (familiar in England) of dynastic inheritance. Balliol supported the idea that Scotland was an indivisible kingdom and should not be split up, an approach the assembled nobles of Scotland preferred.

On 17 November 1292, Edward I of England announced the choice of Balliol, who was acceptable to the majority of nobles as well as John II Comyn, the most powerful baron and Balliol's brother-in-law. Even some of the supporters of Robert Bruce agreed to the decision.

At this point in his life, John Balliol was in his early-to-mid 40s. His father, John, 5th Baron of Balliol, had founded Balliol College in Oxford. He owned extensive estates in Galloway from his mother's side and English estates from the Huntingdon side, as well as properties in France.

His coronation did not put Scotland's rule back on an even keel. Edward's help was also seen as interference, and Edward continued to undermine Balliol's authority. He demanded homage; he insisted on authority over any legal disputes between Scottish and English subjects. Scots lost faith in King John, and gave him the nickname Toom Tabard ("empty coat"). To be fair, the nickname might not have referred to him lacking in authority, but might have been because the Balliol arms were a fairly simple escutcheon. (The illustration from 1562 shows the Balliol arms, but also mocks his situation with a broken scepter.)

Balliol might have thought making a treaty with France was a good idea and showed initiative and independence, but that did not sit well with Edward. Edward invaded Scotland in the first move of a trend that lasted into the early 14th century and has been named the Wars of Scottish Independence. Balliol abdicated in July 1296 after some bad military defeats. He was taken to the Tower of London, but in 1299 was allowed to go to France. He died at a family estate in Hélicourt, succeeded by a son, Edward, who later had some small successes at trying to claim the throne. John Balliol was succeeded as King of Scotland by Robert the Bruce, grandson of the Robert Bruce whose claim was rejected in favor of Balliol's.

Tomorrow let's look away from the mess in Scotland and head south to Oxford and Balliol College.

Friday, March 15, 2024

The Fight for Scotland Continues

(Part One) So the 13 claimants for the throne of Scotland came down to the four most likely candidates.

The An t-Adhbhar Mòr (Scottish Gaelic, "The Great Cause"), a group of 104 men plus King Edward I of England, would hear all the claimants and determine who should ascend to the throne. This was modeled on the centumviri (Latin "hundred men"), the court of 105 used in Roman Law to settle questions of succession to property. They included 24 of Edward's council.

One of the points that needed to be decided by the Great Cause was the primacy of primogeniture (of which there were different interpretations) or customary law. Primogeniture could be male-preference or any first-born child. "Customary law" would split the parent's possessions among the children. The four chief claimants, who hired lawyers to speak on their behalf, were as follows:

  • John Balliol, Lord of Galloway
  • Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale
  • John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings
  • Floris V, Count of Holland

Floris V's great-great-grandmother was Ada, a daughter of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, who was son of King David I of Scotland. Floris claimed that when William the Lion was king, William's brother David had abandoned his right to the throne of Scotland by accepting the title of Earl of Huntingdon. This would invalidate the claims of the three other men listed above, who were all descended from Earl David. The problem was he had no proof, and assured the investigators that there must be records of this in Scotland itself if they would only search. At the orders of Edward I of England, they did search, and found nothing after several months to support his claim. Floris abandoned his claim in summer of 1292.

John Hastings was also descended from Ada, daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon. He was an Englishman with a distinguished pedigree who in 1290 was summoned to Parliament and made a peer as Lord Hastings. His genealogical claim wasn't strong, so he took a legal approach. He argued that Scotland was not a proper kingdom, since it was only recently that its rulers were crowned and anointed. Therefore, there was no need to hand an intact kingdom over to a single person, and customary law allowed it to be split up among the heirs. The Great Cause did not take much deliberation to reject this idea and dismiss Hastings' claim.

Robert Bruce was the closest in blood to the now-defunct dynasty that started with David I. His lawyers also claimed that Alexander III (whose death started this whole difficulty) had named Bruce as his heir at a time when there seemed to be no other option. It's also worth pointing out that Bruce (as well as Balliol) had jumped at the chance to make a claim as soon as news of Margaret's death was known. Bruce argued against Floris's claim that the kingdom could be split, declaring that Scotland was indivisible and primogeniture should apply. Unfortunately for that claim, John of Balliol was descended from a child (Margaret) of David of Huntingdon who was older than the child (Isobel) from whom Bruce was descended. King Edward ruled that primogeniture through eldest surviving child pertained, and Bruce was dismissed. (Note: Edward had already established that England would be inherited by his eldest, a daughter, if he had no sons; absolute primogeniture, which means the sex of the child doesn't matter, was on his mind.)

Edward's determination of Bruce's claim happened in November 1292. Then there was a "November Surprise": Floris re-asserted his claim, and Bruce showed up to offer his public support of Floris! Floris decided to argue that the documents that would support him must have been stolen and his case should be reconsidered. As for Bruce, he did a 180° turn on the indivisibility of the kingdom. It seemed that he and Floris had probably made a deal: if Floris won, Bruce would be given a chunk of Scotland. Floris' claim was thrown out again for lack of evidence.

You can probably guess who became the next King of Scotland, and we will definitely present that case tomorrow, but today I leave you with an interesting footnote that explains the illustration.

The illustration above is of Pluscarden Abbey, currently a Catholic Benedictine monastery near Elgin, Moray. It was founded by Alexander II for the now-defunct Valliscaulian Order, which was absorbed by the Cistercians in the 18th century. In The Hague, Netherlands, there is a "certified" copy of a document that claims exactly what Floris claimed, signed and dated 1291 by the Bishop of Moray. It was supposedly found at Pluscarden Abbey. It is, of course, considered a forgery by all (I assume; there may be descendants of Floris V who have other thoughts).

See you soon.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

The Fight for Scotland Begins

After the death of Alexander III of Scotland and his granddaughter, Margaret, the problem of who would rule Scotland rose again in September of 1290. Thirteen claimants came forward, including a half-hearted attempt by Margaret's father, Eric II of Norway.

Of the claimants, all but one were linked to King David I of Scotland—even Edward I was descended from David's sister, Matilda—mostly through David's son Henry, the Earl of Huntingdon. 

Many of the claimants were related by "natural birth"; that is, they were from extramarital affairs by Henry of Huntingdon or by David's son William the Lion. Two of the claimants took action immediately after hearing the news of Margaret's death. John Balliol forged an alliance with Edward's representative in England, Bishop of Durham Antony Bek. Robert Bruce went to Scone with an army, looking to demand the throne from the Guardians of Scotland, who had assembled there to greet Margaret on her arrival.

The Guardians of Scotland, a group of six regents who managed the kingdom after the death of Alexander, appealed to Edward I of England for his assistance and support. Edward offered to help, but used the opportunity to gain something for himself: declaring Scotland's king as a vassal of England's king, and Scotland no longer an independent kingdom. Rather than offer evidence from the past that he was the feudal overlord of Scotland, he asked the Guardians to provide evidence that he was not. The Guardians replied that (being kingless) they had no one with the authority to agree with his claim.

Edward was not happy with this reply, but since they still needed his help, he was able to get the Guardians to agree to some lesser claims. They would agree that Edward was their rightful overlord, but not that this applied to the whole country. Edward also took control of the principal royal castles in this interim, with the understanding that everything would be returned to a king, once Scotland had one.

They instituted what was called An t-Adhbhar Mòr (Scottish Gaelic, "The Great Cause"), a group of 104 men who, with Edward, would review all the claimants and choose the next king.

The strongest claims were from four men:

  • John Balliol, Lord of Galloway
  • Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale
  • John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings
  • Floris V, Count of Holland

Tomorrow we will look over these four claimants, and announce a winner.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Alexander's Fatal Marriage

After the death of his first wife, Margaret of England, Alexander III did not marry again for a decade. There was no "need," since he had three children by Margaret, any of whom could inherit the throne. Margaret (born 1261) was married to King Eric II of Norway. Alexander (born 1264) was heir, and David (born 1272) was only three at the time of his mother's death, but was next in line. (Alexander himself had come to the throne in his minority, and a regency council managed things until he was 21.)

Fate had other plans for the children of Alexander and Margaret, however. David died young, in 1281. Margaret died giving birth to her only child, also named Margaret, in 1283 (she was only 22). Then Prince Alexander died in January 1284, a week after he turned 20, leaving a widow and no offspring.

Alexander senior had to act. Now in his 40s, a direct heir would mean marrying again and impregnating a wife, and quickly. In the meantime, he persuaded the Parliament of Scotland to recognize Margaret, his granddaughter in Norway, as his heir. This was in 1284. On 1 November 1285, he contracted marriage with Yolanda de Dreux, the 22-year-old daughter of the Count of Dreux (near the boundary between Normandy and the Île-de-France).

Alexander was far from celibate for the decade between becoming a widower and getting engaged to Yolanda. The Lanercost Chronicle (an online translation is available), produced at the Augustinian Lanercost Priory, covers the years 1201 to 1346 in Northern England and Scotland. Of Alexander's decade as a widower it says:

...he used never to forbear on account of season nor storm, nor for perils of flood or rocky cliffs, but would visit none too creditably nuns or matrons, virgins or widows as the fancy seized him, sometimes in disguise.

Satisfying his carnal desires despite dangerous weather was his undoing, since it seems from the above statement that the next (and last) anecdote of his life was likely the reason for what transpired (or he just wanted to surprise her). On 19 March 1286, the queen was at Kinghorn in Fife. The king was at Edinburgh with his royal advisors. The next day was the queen's birthday. Alexander decided to ride to Kinghorn, a distance of at least 30 miles with the need to cross the Firth of Forth. The March weather was bad, and his advisors tried to dissuade him, but he was determined. He crossed the Forth, and arrived at Inverkeithing. It was dark and stormy, and he insisted on not stopping despite the late hour but continuing the last 10 or so miles. Supposedly one of the burghers in town said:

"My lord, what are you doing out in such weather and darkness? How many times have I tried to persuade you that midnight traveling will do you no good?"

Alexander wouldn't listen, but set off into the dark with a small retinue. At some point he was separated from the retinue. The next morning, near Kinghorn, he was found with a broken neck. The likeliest assumption was that his horse lost its footing in the dark, he was thrown, and therefore never made it to Yolande.

...and that is how a three-year-old Norwegian girl became the Queen of Scotland. Let me tell you about her tomorrow.

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Alexander III

Alexander III of Scotland (4 September 1241 - 19 March 1286) wanted to finally bring all of Scotland and surrounding islands into one unified country, following the dreams of his forebears. This would not happen right away, since he was only seven years old when his father, Alexander II, died and the son was crowned (the illustration is of the coronation from a much later medieval work). His marriage in Christmas Day 1251 to Margaret of England, daughter of King Henry III (she was 11), reinforced relations between Scotland and England. This gave him an ally if he needed military support in his quest.

He announced his intention when he turned 21 and assumed his rights from the regency council. Alexander sent an embassy to Norway and King Haakon IV, who rejected the Scottish claim and planned a military expedition to the islands, anticipating trouble and wanting to set up negotiations. Trouble there was, because Scottish nobles started raiding the Hebrides. In 1263, Haakon and a fleet of 120 ships—a pretty common "negotiating tactic" for Haakon—arrived in the Hebrides in August and met Alexander's forces, settling down to negotiate.

Alexander kept the talks going deliberately to reach a time on the calendar when the weather would make the sea more dangerous. An impatient Haakon attacked in October at the Battle of Largs, but a storm damaged several of his ships and the battle was indecisive. Haakon died not long after, however, and Alexander was able to assert control over the Hebrides. They were formally traded to Scotland by Haakon's successor, Magnus VI, for money in 1266 with the Treaty of Perth.

Alexander's marriage to Margaret is an interesting story. They were too young at the start to consummate the marriage, and Margaret's time in Scotland as a pre-teen was not pleasant. The marriage got better for them, however, until Margaret's death. Alexander re-married, and this second marriage was the death of him. I'll explain tomorrow.

Friday, March 8, 2024

Alexander and Unification of Scotland

King Alexander II of Scotland had a problem: there were strings of islands off his northern and western coasts that he'd like to think of as part of Scotland, but they were controlled by others. The Norse controlled the Shetlands and Orkneys, as well as the Isle of Mann and the Hebrides.

Alexander got caught up in English politics early on, but in the north there was trouble. Adam, the abbot of Melrose and bishop of Caithness, was killed by burning because of a tax of butter he imposed on locals. The Norse ruler, the jarl ("earl") of Orkney, Jon Haraldsson, had supposedly uttered the words "The devil take the bishop and his butter; you may roast him if you please!" Adam was burned at his home on 11 September 1222.

Although Caithness was on the mainland, it was part of the Kingdom of Norway. When word got out of the death and Haraldsson's comment, the blame was put on the jarl. Alexander took an army north, intending to use the death of a mainland subject to assert control over this mainland part of the Orkney kingdom. He hanged most of the farmers and mutilated the rest. Haraldsson swore oaths to his innocence, so Alexander did not pursue further vengeance—but he kept the mainland.

Alexander also brought Argyll (including the Inner Hebrides) under his rule, and ended a revolt in Galloway in 1235. He tried to bring the Isle of Mann and Outer Hebrides into the fold, but he died while planning a military venture there.

That would wait until success by his son, Alexander III. This was not a son by his first wife, King John's daughter, Joan of England. Joan died in 1238, while she was only 27, having not produced an heir. Alexander then married Marie de Coucy (incidentally angering Henry III, because it created a Scottish-French alliance). When their son, Alexander III, turned 21, he pledged to fulfill his father's wish of bringing the western isles into Scotland proper.

How that turned out is a story for tomorrow.

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Alexander II of Scotland

Alexander II came to the throne of Scotland at the age of 16 with two missions in mind: ensure Scotland's unity by subduing attempts by its various areas to restore their independence, and to restore Scotland's own independence from England.

He was born on 24 August 1198 to William I and Ermengarde de Beaumont, inheriting his father's red hair and ambition. The first trouble came one month after his coronation in December 1214, when the MacWilliams and MacHeath clans revolted. The MacWilliams were descended from Duncan I, and had been excluded from succession by David I, who adopted the English tradition of primogeniture. Their attempt to take the crown back was quickly put down by loyalists.

Alexander had been knighted a year earlier by King John; the Treaty of Falaise required that he spend time in his youth being educated at the English court. He and his status were known to the English barons; when they rebelled against John in 1215, Alexander joined them. John retaliated by sacking Berwick-on-Tweed in Northumberland, where the king had a mint. When the Magna Carta was drawn up for John to sign, reducing his power and granting more autonomy to the barons, Clause 59 was added for Scotland:

We will deal with Alexander, king of Scots, concerning the return of his sisters and hostages, and his liberties and right, in the same manner in which we deal with our other barons of England, unless it should be otherwise under the charters which we have from his father William, former king of Scots. And this will be by judgment of his peers in our court.

John later rejected the document he had been forced to sign, and took his army north to punish Scotland and “hunt the red fox-cub from his lairs”; he had to return south quickly, however, when he learned that the barons had invited French King Louis VIII to accept their homage and take John's place. (They gave up on Louis when John died and the child Henry III became king with a regency council.)

With Henry's regency supporting Magna Carta, Alexander could turn his attention from his relationship with England to his relations with his own neighbors, who until recently were independent until William I subdued them. Alexander also had parts of "his" realm ruled by the Norse and Norway. How he dealt with them is a story for tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

William Versus England

Although William I of Scotland fell out of favor with King Henry II of England, Henry did restore all the castles he had occupied when William sided with Henry's sons in open rebellion. He also provided William a bride, Ermengarde de Beaumont. William never regained good relations with England, however, and never stopped trying to gain Northumbria for himself.

He made a non-hostile attempt to gain Northumbria in 1194, when Henry's son Richard Lionheart was king. He offered £9,750 to buy it, which was tempting for Richard. Richard did not care so much for England as he did for two other things: his territory on the continent, and fighting; the money would finance the Third Crusade. William wanted possession of the castles in Northumbria as well, and Richard was not going to give away a potential defensive need.

William focused on uniting Scotland, bringing the formerly independent Galloway under his control, stopping insurrections in Moray and Inverness, and bringing Caithness and Sutherland into line with his rule. William's own banner, which showed a red lion (long after his death he was called "William the Lion") became the Royal Banner of Scotland.

As he aged, however, England in the form of Richard's younger brother, John, thought it a good time to increase control over Scotland. He took an army north, but was bought off with sums of money from William, as well as a promise that William's daughters would marry English nobles. This would give the offspring of those marriages a greater English presence in Scotland. William's son and heir, Alexander, was betrothed to John's daughter Joan. It is believed that Ermengarde managed these negotiations on behalf of her aging husband.

In his lifetime, William managed to not only unite parts of Scotland; he built new settlements, clarified criminal law, and expanded the duties of justices and sheriffs along English lines, a reform movement started by his grandfather, David I. Despite his futile attempts to expand his borders southward, he managed to strengthen Scotland, leaving behind a stronger and more unified country.

He died in 1214 at the age of 72 and was buried in Arbroath Abbey, which he founded in 1178. He was succeeded by his son, Alexander II, who learned nothing from his father's travails about trying to get along with England. But let's save that story for next time.

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Ermengarde de Beaumont

Henry II of England had such a hold over William I of Scotland (after William joined in the rebellion of Henry's sons against their father) that he put his knights in control of several Scottish castles, forced William to pay him £26,000, and even chose William's bride. This was all done by the Treaty of Falaise that William was forced to sign to get out of captivity.

The bride-to-be was not inconsequential. Henry chose Ermengarde de Beaumont, a great-granddaughter of Henry I. More immediately, she was the daughter of a viscount, Richard I of Beaumont-le-Vicomte. One chronicler, Walter Bower, described her as "an extraordinary woman, gifted with a charming and witty eloquence." She was 16 when she married William at Woodstock Palace.

William objected (uselessly), feeling that a king should have a bride of higher status, but Henry was feeling generous: he offered to pay all wedding expenses and to return to William the castles he had taken due to the Treaty of Falaise. The Castle of Edinburgh was considered Ermengarde's dowry.

William accepted the bride under these conditions (again, he had little choice), but he may not have accepted his "marital duties." He had fathered illegitimate children by at least two women, but children by Ermengarde did not come until at least seven years after the wedding. Perhaps it was only his concern to produce legitimate heirs that prompted him to finally treat Ermengarde as his wife.

Ermengarde was not just a footnote to William's reign, however. She supposedly helped a royal chaplain obtain a bishopric after she (and the king) accepted a bribe. In 1209, she mediated on behalf of her aging husband (he was 67) with King John. She is said to have taken over some of his duties in his later years, and went with William to England in 1212 to secure from King John the succession of their son Alexander.

After William's death in 1214, she was described as being distraught. She spent her final years founding the Cistercian Balmerino Abbey in Fife, where she was buried after her death in 1234.

So...what was the mediation in 1209 with King John, you ask? Well, despite previous failures, William never gave up his (and his ancestors') dream of expanding Scotland to include Northumbria. Let me tell you tomorrow how that went.

Friday, March 1, 2024

Fergus of Galloway

In yesterday's post about St. Ninian, I suggested that the biography of him written 700 years later by Aelred of Rievaulx may have had a political origin. To explain that, we have to talk about Fergus of Galloway.

An 1136 charter by King David I of Scotland includes as a witness Fergus of Galloway. This is our first reference to him. In the early Middle Ages, Galloway would have been a "sub-kingdom" in southwest Scotland, and a king of Scotland like David would have been seen as a "first among equals" like the high-king in Ireland. Over time, these sub-kings were designated as hereditary lords. The dynasty of Fergus lasted from his time until 1234.

Digging into contemporary documents, it appears that he may have been married to an illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England, Elizabeth Fitzroy. (By some counts, Henry had two dozen illegitimate children.) Fergus had three children: Uhtred, Gilla Brigte, and a daughter Affraic. The chronicler Roger de Hoveden refers to Uhtred as a cousin of Henry's son Henry II. Fergus' second son, Gilla Brigte, had a son who was referred to as a kinsman of Henry II and his son, King John. In other marriage news, Fergus married Affraic to with Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles (the Isle of Mann, the Inner Hebrides, the Outer Hebrides, the Orkneys and the Shetlands). Their son, Guðrøðr Óláfsson, became King of Dublin and the Isles. A 12th-century monk and chronicler, Robert de Torigni, claimed that Guðrøðr was related to Henry II.

The Fergus dynasty was very supportive of Augustinians, Benedictines, Cistercians, and Premonstratensians (a strict order founded by a friend of Bernard of Clairvaux, Norbert of Xanten). In one case, records state that Fergus founded a Premonstratensian house at Whithorn. Supposedly, St. Ninian had started the diocese of Whithorn, but it had lapsed, to be revived in 1128. Other records suggest that Fergus founded an Augustinian house that was later converted to Premonstratensian by Christian, the second bishop of the revived Whithorn diocese.

Fergus' extensive support of monasteries and orders has caused some head-scratching to determine the cause. Did he simply want to mirror what other, more-powerful lords did in their realms? Or was there some other underlying purpose. As it turns out, the greatest atrocities during the Battle of the Standard in 1138 were (according to chroniclers) committed by Gallovidian soldiers supporting King David's attempt to capture more territory. It seems likely that Fergus's religious generosity may have had a penitential flavor. Is it possible that the Life of Saint Ninian by Aelred of Rievaulx was a royal request in exchange for a gift to Rievaulx Abbey? Royal patronage is not an unlikely answer. The fact that a biography of a saint who originally founded Whithorn and performed miracles would bring attention and fame to a location within the bounds of Fergus' realm was simply a happy bonus.

For all his publicly expressed piety, however Fergus did not have a happy end. I'll tell you about that tomorrow. The next time after that, however, we will see how the facts of your life don't matter if someone decides afterward that you'd make a good story. See you soon.

Monday, February 26, 2024

David and Scotland

King David's rule over Scotland was entwined with his relationship with England. When England experienced the constitutional crisis and civil war called The Anarchy (see Parts 1, 2, and 3), David got involved. One reason was that he wanted to support the chosen heir of his friend and brother-in-law, King Henry I. Henry wanted his daughter Matilda to rule after him, but a cousin, Stephen of Blois, was able to take the throne because Matilda was on the continent. (Coincidentally, Henry had done something similar.)

Another "benefit" of supporting Matilda over Stephen was that it gave David an excuse to invade England, incidentally capturing territory along the way and expanding Scotland's borders. David brought an army into England in December 1135, right after Stephen was crowned. David quickly occupied the castles of Carlisle, Wark, Alnwick, Norham, and Newcastle. Stephen responded, but wanted to avoid a battle (possibly because he knew he would need his army to deal with the part of the country that supported Matilda), and a truce was made that left David with Carlisle and gave his son Henry the title Earl of Huntingdon and the promise of Earl of Northumberland (if that earldom was ever re-created).

David attacked again in the spring of 1137, but again a truce was made that lasted the year. In January 1138, David again invaded, demanding that his son receive Northumberland, and in July he was defeated at the Battle of the Standard. Negotiations later that year resulted in affirming David's son as Earl of Huntingdon and Northumberland, and David being allowed to keep Carlisle (seen here in an 1829 engraving) and Cumberland. This was considered a success for Scotland. Cumberland gave him access to silver mines in Alston, resulting in Scotland's first silver coinage.

He also had success with the Scottish Church. The 12th century monk Aelred of Rievaulx wrote:

...he found three or four bishops in the whole Scottish kingdom, 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.

Although modern scholars say there is no evidence of David increasing the church as reported, perhaps his contemporary chronicler was a little more in tune with the events. David is also given credit for establishing parties, we do know that parishes existed long before he came to power.

And, of course, he had the problem seen in recent posts of the debate between archbishops and secular lords. David did not want his bishops professing obedience to the Archbishop of York, Thurstan in this case, and that created problems. The popes supported the archbishop.

Then the worst came: his son and heir Henry died, and David was old and did not have long to live. He named as his heir Henry's son, Malcolm IV. David died 24 May 1153, aged about 70.

I want to turn now to one of the sources of Scottish history, the aforementioned Aelred of Rievaulx, an Englishman who spent significant time at David's court before becoming a Cistercian. See you next time.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

David versus Máel Coluim

King David I (pictured here) was one of many sons of Malcolm III of Scotland, several of whom had their chance on the throne after it had been usurped by their uncle, Donald. David was about 40 years old when his turn came, and he took the throne with the support of his brother-in-law, King Henry I of England. There was a problem, however: his nephew, Máel Coluim.

Máel Coluim ("Malcolm") mac Alexander was the illegitimate son of David's older brother, Alexander I. According to historian Orderic Vitalis, Malcolm "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."

Malcolm escaped into more obscure parts of Scotland, surviving and gaining allies over a six-year span, after which he attempted to attack David for the throne again. One reason for his motivation might have been that David spent time in England, seeming to prefer visiting Henry's court over being among his own people.

Malcolm, with the support of Óengus of Moray (mentioned here), marched against David's army. The Annals of Ulster report that 4000 of Óengus' army and Óengus himself died, while only 1000 of the men loyal to David died that day. David's force, led by a constable, marched into the now undefended Moray and captured it. Malcolm himself escaped, and spent the next four years battling David's forces.

David was aided with a large force, including ships, from Henry. Malcolm was captured in 1134 at Roxburgh Castle, and history has no more to say about him. Moray was given to David's nephew, only son of David's oldest brother Duncan, who had held the kingship for less than six months in 1094.

David was called by William of Newburgh a "King not barbarous of a barbarous nation." He attempted to make some reforms that he felt Scotland and its church needed. I'll explain some of those tomorrow.

Friday, February 23, 2024

Battle of the Standard

Also called the Battle of Northallerton (because it took place near Northallerton in Yorkshire), the Battle of the Standard was between a small English force against an invading force from Scotland. King David of Scotland was trying to enlarge his kingdom and support the claim of Empress Matilda to the throne of England. (See here to understand Matilda's situation.) Matilda was King David's niece.

King Stephen of England was fighting in the south, but upon hearing of David's progress through Northumberland he sent a force of mostly mercenaries to meet the Scots. On 22 August 1138, the two armies met near York.

It is called the Battle of the Standard because the Archbishop of York, Thurstan of Bayeaux, created the standard that was carried in battle. Thurstan supported King Stephen over Matilda, and he gathered a fighting force from the north to join with Stephen's mercenaries. Mounting a ship's mast on a cart, Thurstan attached to it the banners of Saint Peter of York, Saint John of Beverley, and Saint Wilfrid of Ripon. The cart also carried a pyx, a container containing a consecrated Host to provide spiritual support. (In the above illustration, by John Gilbert, you see Thurstan standing on the cart with the standard, blessing the troops.)

Divine support was hardly needed, as the unarmed Scots were up against an armed (and often mounted) opponent who also had archers. The attacking Scots failed to make any progress and within three hours had descended into chaos except for small groups still protecting David and his son. The English force did not bother to pursue the retreating enemy, certain that they would go back to their borders. But David's army regrouped in Carlisle.

Thurstan negotiated a truce, which left David at Carlisle so long as he did not expand his aggression. He was allowed to retain some of the territory he had conquered. Later, however, once Henry II came to power, Henry re-took all the territory that had been granted to David from David's successor, Malcolm IV.

Was King David an enemy of England? Not really. He was quite loyal to Henry I and owed Henry for helping him achieve the throne, and even wanted to model Scotland's government after what he saw in England. I'll talk more about David I next time.

Saturday, August 20, 2022

St. Columba at Loch Ness

Adomnán’s Life of St Columba, written around 700CE (keeping in mind that Columba died in 597) tells quite a few interesting stories. Maybe he did start the first war fought over copyright; maybe he left Ireland because his relative was physically dragged from him and killed (even though as a priest he was officially "sanctuary").

...and maybe he defeated the Loch Ness monster.

At the northern end of Loch Ness there is an outflow, the River Ness, that flows northward about six miles through Inverness to the sea. In 565, St. Columba was in Scotland, building abbeys such as Iona and converting Picts. He heard that a monster came from the river and killed a Pict. Columba came to the shores of the river and confronted the beast, which attacked one of Columba's companions, a disciple named Lugne. Columba saved Lugne and banished the beast back to the depths. Of course, the monster would return in the 20th century.

The abbey at Iona became the birthplace of Celtic Christianity. Iona is a small island on the west coast of Scotland, and the abbey he built there still stands as a church. A note on the name "Iona." The Life of St. Columba refers to it as "Ioua insula," and it seems likely that a mis-reading of the script called Insular Minuscule enabled readers to mistake the "u" for an "n." No other reference to it in the Middle Ages is similar to the word "Iona" at all.

Columba stayed at Iona until his death on 9 June 597 (also his feast day), and was buried there. The relics of this saint were removed to save them from desecration by marauding raids by vikings in the 9th century. He is considered one of the three patron saints of Ireland, along with Patrick and Brigid of Kildare.

Let's look in more detail about an incident in Columba's life that I've mentioned twice now: the war fought over copyright. See you tomorrow.

Friday, August 19, 2022

St. Columba

One of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland who studied under Finnian, Columba is best known for his time spreading Christianity in Scotland (you can see him preaching to the Picts in the illustration), and for defeating the Loch Ness monster.

"Columba" was not his given name, about which there is some debate. For the first five years of his life he lived in the village of Glencolmcille. The Abbot of Iona, Adomnán, who wrote a biography of Columba, believed Colmcille was his given name, and the village was later named after him. Other sources state that his given name was Crimthann ("fox"). "Colmcille" is Irish for dove; when writing about him in Latin, "Columba" is chosen because it also means dove.

He studied at a few different places before winding up, in his twenties, at Clonard under Finnian, where he became a monk and was eventually ordained a priest. Returning to Ulster years later, Columba became known for his powerful speaking voice. He founded several monasteries. He also planned a pilgrimage to Rome, but only got as far as Tours, whence he brought back a copy of the Gospels that had supposedly rested on the bosom of St. Martin for a century.

Columba's interest in holy literature turned into a controversy. He made a copy of manuscript in the scriptorium of Movilla Abbey, a place he had studied before his time at Clonard. The head of the Abbey, Finnian of Movilla, disputed his right to keep the copy he had made. Anecdotally, this led to a battle, the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne.

Another controversy in which he became embroiled concerned the concept of sanctuary. Prince Curnan of Connacht was a relative of Columba. When Curnan accidentally killed a rival in a hurling match, he sought sanctuary in the presence of his ordained relative, Columba. King Diarmait of Cooldrevny's men forcibly dragged Curnan away from Columba and killed him. Columba decided he should leave Ireland.

Columba went to Scotland in 563 with twelve companions where he started preaching to the Picts. For his founding of one of the most important centers of Christianity in Western Europe, and his conflict at Loch Ness, come back tomorrow.

Monday, July 18, 2022

To be Flemish

The term "Flemish" has been used since the 1300s to refer to a certain group of people. What does it mean to be Flemish?

The word "Flemish" was first seen in print c.1325 as flemmysshe, although Flæming had been around since at least 1150, meaning "from Flanders."  Flanders was originally a small territory around Bruges, established in the 8th century. Flanders now is the Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium. The Flemings currently make up about 60% of the Belgian population.

Is there a Flemish language? The Flemish language is sometimes called Flemish Dutch, or Belgian Dutch, or Southern Dutch. In the illustration of Belgium to the left, the dark green area is where Dutch is spoken, the light green area is mostly French-speaking. (There is a small German area on the far right, and the lighter spot among the dark green is Brussels itself, where both Dutch and French have official status.

In 1188, Gerald of Wales (a historian mentioned, among other places, here) described the Flemings as:

a brave and sturdy people […] a people skilled at working in wool, experienced in trade, ready to face any effort or danger at land or sea in pursuit of gain; according to the demands of time and place quick to turn to the plough or to arms; a brave and fortunate people.

Gerald knew about them not because he traveled to the continent, but because many Flemings left Flanders due to population growth and the need for more land, many ending up in Scotland. In fact, the surname Fleming is fairly common these days, mostly because of Flemish families in Western Europe.

Flemings are even mentioned in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, in a reference that raises its own set of questions, but we can talk about that tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Andrew Wyntoun, Scot

When Robert Burns published his Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786), no one knew that it would become such a success that the reading public would be eager to lap up anything old and Scottish. But 1790 saw the publication of the Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland, by Andrew Wyntoun.

Wyntoun (c.1350-c.1425) was an Augustinian canon of St. Sers Inch, a religious house  of Loch Leven, as well as a poet. The Chronicle is very pro-Scotland, especially regarding Edward I and his treatment of William Wallace and Scotland.

The Chronicle starts in the distant past (Alexander the Great, ancient Britons) and ends in 1420. It contains a number of "firsts": it is the earliest extant document in the Scottish dialect; it has the first use of the word "Catholic"; also, it contains the first mention in print of Robin Hood that ties him to a particular time (1283) and an area just south of the Scottish border in Carlisle. Tales of an outlaw who hides out in the woods and harasses the English king were of interest to the Scots, especially after William Wallace et alia did the same after Dunbar and Falkirk. It also includes the earliest version of MacBeth and the three witches.

Friday, August 14, 2015

The Real Macbeth

Duncan I was king of Scotland from 1034 until he was killed on 14 August 1040 by Macbeth.

Peter O'Toole as Duncan, portrayed as an old man
by Shakespeare, although he was only in his early 30s.
Duncan (whose real name was Donnchad mac Crinain) was born about 1000 to a daughter of King Malcolm II. Little is known of his early life. He might have been King of Strathclyde or of Moray prior to taking over all Scotland on Malcom's death. In fact, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for 1031 tells us that when Cnut traveled north to accept the homage of Scotland
"... Malcolm, king of the Scots, submitted to him, and became his man, with two other kings, Macbeth and Iehmarc ..."
We are not sure where Macbeth was king of, but the entry suggests that he was important in his own right, although the mention here may indicate that Macbeth was subordinate to Malcolm.

We do not know much about Duncan's reign; little happened until later in it, and what happened then was not good for Duncan. Northumbrians attacked Scotland in 1039, and Duncan lost a battle against the men of Durham in 1040. Following this, Duncan led his army into Moray, where he was killed by Moray men led by Macbeth. Perhaps it was the Northumbrian and Dunham troubles that made Duncan appear weak and motivated Macbeth to become restless in a move to challenge Duncan.

Whatever the reason for the hostility between them, Macbeth's accession to the throne of Scotland went unchallenged, so it appears that Duncan had not created any intense loyalty at home.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

The Battle of Largs

One of the re-creations of the Battle of Largs [source]
King Haakon Haakonsson of Norway refused to sell islands off the Scottish coast to King Alexander II of Scotland, so Alexander started to invade territories held by Norwegians. Hakon sent his fleet to brace for assaults and start a few of their own. (See the background here.)

Stormy weather struck the Norwegian fleet on the night of 30 September 1263; the next morning (1 October) found several ships driven aground on the Scottish mainland. Scottish archers found them and started shooting at the crews. The Norwegians rallied and fought back, reinforced with more men from other ships; joined by King Haakon, they camped ashore for the night.

On 2 October, Alexander's forces arrived and the Battle of Largs began. Although there is a brief mention in the Chronicle of Melrose and more detail in Hakonar saga Hakonarsonar ["The Saga of Hakon Hakonarson"] by Snorri Sturluson, it is impossible to know exactly how many men were on each side and how the battle was fought. Local records show that the Earl of Menteith maintained 120 sergeants, which gives a clue to how many soldiers might come from an area. The Saga says Haakon, with a force of 700+ men, stayed on the beach while about 200 men took the high ground a short way inland.

Supposedly, Alexander's approach prompted the men on the high ground to descend, fearing that they would be cut off from the main Norwegian force. Their hasty rush down from the high ground looked like a necessary retreat to the Norwegians on the beach, and they fled to their ships. In the chaos of the retreat, they took heavy casualties from the Scottish, who used cavalry with armored horses, archers, and some form of catapult.

The Norwegians returned to collect their dead; Alexander allowed them. They then sailed to the Hebrides and later to Orkney, where Haakon died in December (he was 59 years old). Negotiations between Alexander and the Norwegians over the disputed territories continued, but slowly. Alexander built up his forces on land while Hakon's fleet suffered over the winter. Although the Battle of Largs was not decisive in any way, ultimately the aftermath led to a wearing down of Norwegian morale. In 1266, the Treaty of Perth created peace between the two countries, and gave the Hebrides and the Isle of Mann back to Scotland.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Norway vs. Scotland

If you look at the top of the globe, you realize how seafarers from Norway could easily dip south to Scotland on their way to colonize Iceland. In fact, Scotland was a frequently harassed target of Vikings from Norway in the Middle Ages. By the 9th century there was a Scandinavian settlement on the western shores of Scotland and in several of their island chains. This long-standing presence was one of the reasons that Harald Hardrada felt he had a claim to England after the death of Edward the Confessor.

Various groups of islands around Scotland paid allegiance to the kings of Norway up through the 13th century. In 1249, King Alexander II of Scotland tried to gain back some territory; he offered to buy Argyll and the Hebrides from King Hakon Hakonarson; being rebuffed, Alexander launched a military campaign to take them, but died before he could fulfill his purpose. His son, Alexander III, was not even 10 years old, and so his attempt to free Scottish lands from Norwegian occupation would not come until much later.

It came in 1262: Alexander tried (unsuccessfully) purchasing the Hebrides again, and then attacked Skye. Hakon responded with what the Icelandic Annals considered the largest force to set sail from Norway. When he reached Scotland, the Norwegian locals were not exactly happy to see him: self-rule had been the norm for years. There was a failed attempt to negotiate between the two nations over possession of some islands, after which Hakon split his fleet up to harass different parts of Scotland.

What happened next will be a subject for tomorrow.