Charles the Bald

Charlemagne's son and successor as emperor, Louis the Pious, had several children. Several of them were with his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye. After her death in 818, Louis married Judith of Bavaria and had one son, Charles, born 13 June 823. Charles was much younger than his brothers, who all had been granted sub-kingdoms of their own by the time of his birth. The presence of another son and possible successor to Louis raised concerns among the older children.

Louis tried to give Charles his own sub-kingdom, but Louis' older sons rebelled against these attempts. You can read more about that here. In 837, Louis called his nobles together in Aachen and asked them to recognize Charles as heir to the entirety of Gaul. When Louis died in 840, Charles' allied himself with his older brother Louis the German to defeat their other brother, Lothair I. The Treaty of Verdun in 843 gave Charles all of the kingdom of the West Franks, an area which essentially encompasses modern day France. Louis the German held the eastern area that corresponds to Germany. Lothair kept the title King of Italy.

Life was relatively peaceful after Verdun. The brothers would meet every few years to discuss matters of mutual concern. In 858, however, Louis was persuaded by his nobles to try to take land from Charles. Charles was not very well-liked by his people, who did not respond to his call to raise an army, so he fled to Burgundy. Louis the German's bid failed, because the bishops refused to crown him king of the West Franks.

He eventually became emperor when Lothair's son died, and traveled to Rome where Pope John VIII. When John asked him for help against the Saracens in Italy, he crossed the Alps to help, but the nobles of Lombardy were not interested in supporting him. Charles, feeling ill, started back home, but died on 6 October 877, in the mountains. The body had to be brought home for proper burial, but carrying a body across the Alps was not easy or swift. The stench from the decaying corpse prompted them to bury him as soon as possible, at an abbey in Burgundy. A few years later the body as disinterred and taken for burial to the Abbey of Saint-Denis

Regarding his nickname: A Genealogy of Frankish Kings that was started during his reign lists him as Karolus Calvus, "Charles the Bald." There are no contemporary records that suggest he had little or no hair. Some scholars suggest that it was an ironic nickname because he was very hairy. Others point out that "bald" could simply be a reference to his lack of land at first. The illustration above is of Charles in the Vivian Bible, made in 845, and shows him with plenty of hair.

The Middle Ages cared about hair and its upkeep, and baldness was not seen as desirable. There were cures for baldness. If you're interested in them, come back tomorrow.

Pope John VIII

John VIII was a Roman who, as a young man, witnessed the 846 CE raid against Rome by Muslims. According to the Liber Pontificalis ("Book of the Popes"), the raiders were Saracens from Africa, although other records offer other origins. These would have been Aghlabids from Ifriqiya, who started with the conquest of Sicily a couple decades earlier. They plundered the suburbs of Rome but were prevented from entering the city thanks to the walls, which were damaged but not breached.

When he became pope on 14 December 872 (after the death of Adrian II), John commenced to push back on the presence of Muslims in and around Italy. He considered the Muslim successes the result of bad Christians. He requested aid from Charles the Bald and others, but aid was not forthcoming, not even from local Christian leaders.

The incoming Muslims had, in some cases, settled in and made arrangements with local Christians to live peaceably near each other. He decided to declare a ban on forming alliances, but no one was buying it. This was seen simply as a ploy to increase the reach and power of the Papal States.

In 876 he himself traveled to the cities of Salerno, Capua, Naples, Gaeta, and Amalfi to form an alliance against the Saracens. He reinforced the walls of the city. The 846 raid had plundered the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (which was its name, not just a description of its location). He fortified the basilica, the connected monastery, and even the nearby houses. He also formed a papal fleet.

John's predecessor, Adrian, had condemned Photios I, the patriarch of Constantinople. John reinstated him, hoping to appease the Byzantines and gain their support.

Unfortunately for John, his attempts to strengthen Rome drained the papal treasury. This is assumed to be the reason that, almost exactly one decade after the start of his pontificate, he was poisoned and then clubbed to death by his own clergy, on 16 December 882.

"Taking out the boss" was not the usual way to end the pontificate of a pope, but it was effectively employed more than once in the history of the Liber Pontificalis, especially in the 10th century starting with John. There were another half-dozen "eliminations" that are certain, and then maybe a further half-dozen papal deaths that were, let's say, a little bit suspicious.

But as tempting a topic that is, I've realized that Charles the Bald keeps getting mentioned, going back 12 years, and hasn't really been given his own entry, despite being the descendant and ancestor of those who have been highlighted. Time to put Charles in the spotlight and find out if he really was bald, or if that was a reference to some other characteristic. See you tomorrow.

"Pope Joan"

Jean de Mailly was a Dominican chronicler working in Metz in northeast France in the middle of the 13th century. He wrote a history of the Diocese of Metz, in which he mentions a female pope reigning for two years about the year 1100. She was a talented woman who dressed as a man and became a notary to the pontifical Curia, then a cardinal, and finally a pope.

One day, while riding her horse, she gave birth to a son, revealing the deception. (Honestly, if she were pope for two years and at the end of that time had a son, then at least one person in her orbit knew that she was actually a woman.) With the deception revealed, she got tied to the tail of the horse, dragged around the city, then stoned to death and buried on the spot with the inscription placed over her Petre pater patrum papissae prodito partum ("Peter, Father of Fathers, betray the childbearing of the woman Pope").

This idea tickled the imagination of others, and so it became repeated and expanded. Along came Martin of Troppau, a Polish Dominican, who also wrote history. His history of the world first appeared during the pontificate of Clement IV (1265-68), but it wasn't until the third edition in 1277 that he added the story of the female pope.

Martin places the event in the 9th century, just after the death of Pope Leo IV (847-55). She was an "Englishman" named John of Mainz. Originally taken to Athens as a young girl in male clothing, she became educated until no one was her intellectual equal. She went to Rome (still disguised as a man), and earned so much respect that she was eventually made pope. During a procession from St. Peter's to the Lateran, she gave birth to a child. She died (and was buried) on the spot. Martin refers to her as Johanna. Martin himself was a papal chaplain at the Vatican, so his accounts were widely read, and the legend spread. In a later version of his history he changed the story, saying that she was deposed, imprisoned, and then lived for many years doing penance. The child grew up to become bishop of Ostia, who had her body interred at Ostia.

Later writers give her the birth name of Agnes; others said she was Gilberta. One version of the story says she was given a vision and offered eternal punishment or temporal disgrace. She chose the latter, and that is why she died on the spot after giving birth.

By the 15th century, scholars were looking at these stories and noting their improbability. Unfortunately, the 20th century enjoys escapism and conspiracy theories, and the legend of "Pope Joan" has been embellished to the point where entire books have been written to recount her "history." There is no gap in the history of popes where Joan was excised (although I wrote here, coincidentally, that one annal thought there was a gap before Leo IV, not after.) A 10th-century pope, John XII (955-64), supposedly had a concubine named Joan who was given much authority at the papal palace during his pontificate, and some have speculated that this gave rise to the idea of a "Pope Joan."

But let's say she did become pope; what was she called? She would not have taken the name "Pope Joan"! A Dominican named Bartolomeo Platina (1421-81) called her Pope John VIII. This is silly, since he should have known that there was a Pope John VIII in the 9th century, and not an inconsequential one, either. Let's talk about him next time.

Pope John XII

After the story of Gregorius by Hartmann von Aue, I became curious if there ever was a pope who was the product of incest. The only pope I could find with any connection to incest was John XII, who was called Octavian at birth and probably should never have become pope.

His father was Alberic II of Spoleto (912 - 954). Alberic styled himself Prince of Rome, and for all intents and purposes, he controlled Rome politically after a quarrel with the actual King of Rome, Hugh, when Alberic incited a mob that drove Hugh out of the city. Alberic married his step-sister Alda, which would (sort of) make their son the product of incest. But their son was Gregory I of Tusculum. Octavian's mother was actually Alberic's concubine. On Alberic's deathbed, he had the nobles and clergy of Rome swear to make Octavian the next pope (Gregory was a count, and didn't need anything else).

This idea was not completely out of the blue. Octavian had entered holy orders and was a cardinal deacon of a basilica in Rome. Pope Agapetus II died in November 955, and the 25-year-old Octavian was elected his successor one month later, taking the name John XII.

A note about the name: for centuries, popes used their own names when elected; they rarely took a new name when they became pope. When Octavian chose to call himself "John" it was only the third time that a pope took a new name. This is called a "regnal name"; that is, the name used when one starts a reign or pontificate. The only other times prior to this when a pope used a different name were John II (born Mercurius, reigned 533-535) and John III (born Catelinus, reigned 561-574). Octavian would use 'Octavian" when issuing directives on secular matters, and "John XII" when issuing papal bulls.

There were plenty of secular issues. In 960 he personally led an attack on some Lombard duchies to reclaim part of the Papal States. He did not achieve that goal, and in fact had to agree to relinquish a claim on certain territories. He was equally ineffective in controlling Rome the way his father had. When King Berengar II of Italy began to attack papal territory, John appealed to Otto I "the Great" of Germany. For his help, John crowned Otto Holy Roman Emperor.

At home, John was considered coarse and immoral; the Lateran Palace was described as a brothel. At a Synod of Rome in 963, charges of corruption were brought against him. The contemporary priest and historian Liudprand of Cremona offers us this (hearsay) account:

Then, rising up, the cardinal priest Peter testified that he himself had seen John XII celebrate Mass without taking communion. John, bishop of Narni, and John, a cardinal deacon, professed that they themselves saw that a deacon had been ordained in a horse stable, but were unsure of the time. Benedict, cardinal deacon, with other co-deacons and priests, said they knew that he had been paid for ordaining bishops, specifically that he had ordained a ten-year-old bishop in the city of Todi ... They testified about his adultery, which they did not see with their own eyes, but nonetheless knew with certainty: he had fornicated with the widow of Rainier, with Stephana his father's concubine, with the widow Anna, and with his own niece, and he made the sacred palace into a whorehouse.

I have italicized the relevant phrase. (I promised an incestuous pope, after all.)

It was his deal with Otto that ultimately caused him trouble. Otto wanted John to abandon his worldly ways. As Otto did what John wanted—subduing Berengar—John feared Otto's hold in Italy and sent for help from the Magyars and the Byzantines. Seeing John turn on him, Otto besieged Rome. John fled Rome, taking papal treasure with him. A council summoned in Rome by Otto deposed John and elected Pope Leo VIII in his place.

After Otto left Rome, John re-entered (Leo fled) and summoned his own synod to declare his deposition invalid. Before he could negotiate with Otto, he died on 14 May 964. The cause of his death is uncertain. All accounts say it involved an adulterous encounter, but some say he died of apoplexy and some say he was caught and killed by the husband.

His very worldly behavior may explain a papal legend that won't go away. A medieval writer claims that among John's concubines was one named Joan who wielded great authority during John's pontificate. It has been suggested that this gave rise to the legend of "Pope Joan," that supposedly there was a pope who was secretly a woman—a claim for which no evidence exists. But I suppose that legend is worth examining next time.

The Good Sinner

The German knight-poet Hartmann von Aue wrote epic poetry, some of which was about the Arthurian Cycle. He also wrote an early "rags to riches" story called Gregorius, which was popular enough that five intact manuscripts remain, as well as six fragments.

The death of a wealthy duke leaves his very young son and daughter orphaned and destitute. The two have an incestuous union that produces a child, Gregorius, who is born when his parents are still only about eleven years old. A wise old man sends the father to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to repent of his sins. The father dies along the way. The same man tells the mother to put the child in a box and put the box out to sea so God can take care of him. The child is placed in a box with 20 pieces of gold and a tablet explaining his birth.

The box is found by two fishermen who are working on behalf of an abbey. The present the box to the abbot, who tells one of the fisherman to raise the boy as his own. When Gregorius is six, he begins his education under the abbot. He grows into a smart and handsome young man, which makes clear to those around him that he could not be the son of a mere fisherman. Realizing his family is not his own, he talks to the abbot, who gives him the tablet that explains his origin. In order to repent of his parents' sin, he becomes a knight to perform chivalric deeds.

Coming upon a besieged city, he frees it and wins the hand of its mistress. They marry, and he settles down in the city. A maid notices that, there is a room which the knight frequents, after which he always emerges with eyes red from crying. She leads Gregorius' wife there, and they find the tablet that explains his origin. The wife recognizes the tablet, because (in an Oedipal twist), she is the mother who bore him! She realizes that she is his mother and wife and aunt. When he discovers the truth, Gregorius tells his wife-mother to give away all her goods and live a life of poverty as penance. Gregorius has himself chained to a rock in the middle of a lake, and has the keys to his chains thrown into the water by a fisherman. The fisherman says that, if the key is ever found, it will be proof that Gregorius is a holy man whose penance has been accepted by god.

Well! Seventeen years later, two priests have a vision from God that the next pope will be found on a rock in Aquitania, repenting of his sins. The two set off to look for this man, and come upon the fisherman who chained him and threw the key. The fisherman should have simply offered them a meal, but instead he sells them a fish. When the fisherman cuts the fish open to clean it, he finds a key inside. He is horrified that he has chained a holy man to a rock, and also that after seventeen years the man is dead.

He ferries the two clergymen to the rock where they find an emaciated but still-living Gregorius. He unlocks the chain, and Gregorius goes off with the clergymen and becomes pope. As pope, he one day recognizes a poor and penitent woman as his mother, although she does not recognize him. He tells her who he is, and that their penance was sufficient to be forgiven by God.

A real rollercoaster of a story for the 12th century! But was this inspired by a legend of a pope who was the product of incest? Unknown, but incest does haunt the record of a pope who is also reputed to have been born of a concubine. Tomorrow let's look at the disturbing reign of Pope John XII.

The Poet Knight

Hartmann von Aue (born c.1160) started as a member of the lower nobility in Swabia. We don't know precisely where he was born; the "von Aue" tacked onto his name is because he became a knight in the service of the Lords of Aue (Obernau by the River Neckar).

He was educated at a monastery school and became a minor minister at the Swabian court. Whether at the monastery or later we don't know, but besides German he had knowledge of French and Latin. He participated in a Crusade, either the Third Crusade in 1189 or its followup in 1197 (called the "Emperor's Crusade"), when Hohenstaufen Emperor Henry VI tried to redeem the efforts of his father, Emperor Frederick I "Barbarossa," during the Third.

Outside of his knightly duties he was a poet and songwriter. He is considered one of the three great epic poets of Middle High German, along with Wolfram von Eschenbach and Gottfried von Strasburg.

Four narrative poems came from Hartmann's pen, two of which, Erec and Iwein, are part of the Arthurian cycle and help to introducer that subject into German epic poetry. They are based, respectively, on Eric and Enide and Yvain, the Knight of the Lion by Chrétien de Troyes.

The other two are Gregorius, adapted from a French epic, and Der arme Heinrich, which tells the story of a leper cured by a young girl.

The date of his death is unknown, but von Strasburg, writing in his "Tristan" c.1210 mentions that Hartmann is still living, while Heinrich von dem Türlin, in his Arthurian poem "Krone" ("The Crown"; c.1215-1220) says Hartmann is deceased.

Gregorius is quite unusual, and a summary here would make this post very long, so I think I'll save it for tomorrow.

Types of Knight

It was mentioned that John de Coupland was made a "knight banneret" after service to King Edward III. What was the significance of this?

The typical knight, the "basic" knight, was a "knight bachelor." This position existed in England during the reign of Henry III (1216 - 1272). The word "bachelor" denoted a junior rank, and had nothing to do with marital status. In fact, a wife gained some status when her husband was knighted. A knight bachelor would be addressed as "Sir John Smith" or "Sir John," and his wife would be addressed as "Lady Smith." The same naming convention applies in modern times.

The knight does not have any letters after his name the way, say, Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire get to write "MBE" after their name. Conversely, you may be given an honor such as the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, but this does not come with the honorific "Sir" or "Lady." It is an honor, not a title.

A 'knight banneret' was different from a knight bachelor. The outward sign that one was a knight banneret was, as the name implies, a knight who had a banner. Knights bachelor fought under the banner of their lord. A knight banneret could have his own coat of arms on a banner in battles, and could have his own contingent in battle who bore his standard. That standard was a squared banner, not a tapering standard or pennon (see illustration of a knight banneret).

The banneret was not a hereditary title like count or duke that could be passed to sons, but it had other benefits. The knight banneret would be paid more during war time. The wife of a knight banneret could be called banneress. Because the banneret title was given for valor in battle or special service to the king, it often led also, for the recipient, additional privileges such as other titles or estates. The 14th century saw some confusion when some knights banneret also were elevated as barons. Which designation was more appropriate? The resolution was to refer to the subject as a baron in a civil context and as a banneret in a military context, when they could request a higher rate of pay.

The knight bachelor had no distinguishing insignia that would compare to the other's banner. In 1926, however, King George V authorized the wearing of a badge for knights bachelor on appropriate occasions. (Illustrated.)

The illustration at top is of Hartmann von Aue, a 12th-century German knight. Let's talk about him tomorrow.

John de Coupland's Mistake

When John de Coupland apprehended King David II of Scotland during the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346(see illustration), his future was secured. The ransom of a king would have set up John and his descendants forever. It didn't work that way, however. John's duty was to hand such a prisoner over to John's liege lord, King Edward III.

Edward was in France, however (which was why David thought it was a good time for attacking England). So John had to secure his prisoner until he could properly hand him over. They were in the middle of battle, however, so John rode 15 leagues to get away from the ongoing battle and any Scots who might try to rescue their king. He arrived at a castle in Ogle, well north of the battle site, and stopped there to secure the prisoner.

Word got around, and Edward's queen, Philippa, sent word that King David was to be brought to her, as the highest ranking person in England at the time. John refused, saying he would only surrender David to the king. Philippa was outraged at this snub, and wrote to Edward in Calais. Edward sent his messengers to go to England and tell de Coupland to appear before the king in Calais ASAP. John made sure David was secure, and went to Calais.

When he came before Edward, John explained that he did not mean to offend the queen, but he felt his duty was to the man to whom he made his oath of loyalty. King Edward forgave him the slight to the queen, and gave him the order to return to England and hand his captive over to Philippa.

At that point John de Coupland's life changed. Edward made him a knight banneret and £500 per year for life, plus an additional £100 for staying by the king with 20 men at arms. This was a very large boost to his fortunes, since he had only been earning £20 per year previously for his service. de Coupland went back to England and took David to Philippa, who had gone north to York. She brought David back to the Tower in London, where he was made comfortable. (He had already been attended by physicians who had removed most of two arrows in his face.) He was England's captive for 11 years, until 1357.

de Coupland was also made the Constable of Roxburgh Castle and the Sheriff of Roxburghsire (although the Castle title was mostly honorary, since at the time it was under Scottish control—its possession went back and forth between England and Scotland). He had other titles which would have brought him revenue. He became a very wealthy landowner in the north of England.

He was killed on 20 December 1363 by a band of men. Edward ordered an inquiry, which determined that it was a premeditated attack, and identified several names of men involved. They perpetrators all fled north to Scotland, however, and no retribution came about. de Coupland likely made enemies in the north by owning so much land and by his history as the man who captured the Scottish king.

Now, as to the term "knight banneret." How was that different from just being a knight? What were the different types of knight? We'll go into that next time.

King David's Ransom

During the Battle of Neville's Cross, when King David II of Scotland heeded France's request to attack England as part of their Auld Alliance, David realized things were going ill for him. Although the Scots had the greater numbers, and the belief was that the English army was fully engaged on the continent in the Hundred Years War, England had left its northern forces behind, precisely because Edward III didn't trust Scotland.

David had dismounted to fight, and his location on the battlefield had become unclear. He had taken two arrows to his face, and attempted to hide from the enemy. Contemporary accounts state that he hid under a bridge over the River Browney. A group of English soldiers near the bridge saw him reflected in the water of the river and moved to capture him. He fought back and knocked out two teeth of John de Coupland, who took him prisoner.

David was held prisoner from 1346 to 1357. First he was brought to Bamburgh Castle, where surgeons tried to remove the arrows. The tip of one could not be removed and was the cause of headaches for the rest of his life. (John Bradmore would have been useful here, but he was still a child. He was then taken to London and put in the Tower. When Edward III returned from France, David was transferred to Windsor Castle. Finally, David and his household were put in Odiham Castle (its ruins are pictured above). Captivity for a king was generally comfortable, but in 1355 he was forbidden any contact with his family, which may have accelerated negotiations for his ransom (Edward was always looking for more money for his wars).

On 3 October 1357, a treaty was signed that gave 10,000 marks each year for ten years as ransom. He returned to Scotland with an English mistress, Katherine Mortimer. (David had married Edward III's sister, Joan of the Tower, in 1328 when she was seven and he was four. They had no children. She died in 1362.) Mortimer was killed in 1360 by men hired by the Earl of Angus. David had another mistress, Margaret Drummond, whom he married in 1364. (Then he took another mistress, Agnes Dunbar.)

This ransom plan worked for a few years, but the Scottish nobles could not raise 10,000 marks in 1363, and David went to London to try to re-negotiate a settlement. He offered to leave Scotland to Edward or one of his many sons in David's will. In 1364 Scotland's Parliament rejected a proposal for Edward's son Lionel of Antwerp to become the next king. David kept talking to Edward, prolonging the consequences of non-payment (which would mean going back into captivity).

David died on 22 February 1371, aged 46. He was buried quickly in the nearest likely place, in Holyrood Abbey. He wished to be buried near his parents in Dunfermline, but his successor, Robert II, wanted to "conclude" David's reign as quickly as possible to begin his own.

Now, the transition above between paragraphs two and three was hardly a transition at all: it would appear that from his capture to his captivity just "happened" in a flash. It wasn't that easy, and John de Coupland almost got in trouble for it. When the dust settled, however, de Coupland made out extremely well. I'll explain his almost fall but steady rise tomorrow.

The Battle of Neville's Cross

Scotland's relationship with England has always been an issue on the island of Great Britain. They were "friendly enemies," since England would have loved to possess the entirety of the island. Sometimes it pursued this aim through warfare, sometimes through supporting or installing a king of Scotland that would be loyal to England's king. For its part, Scotland sometimes could not help but invade southward to gain real estate and resources, or simply go to war against England to assert its independence.

To that end, there were over the years what are called the wars of Scottish Independence. They were successful in that Scotland managed to maintain its independence from England. During the Second War of Scottish Independence, which took place between the years 1332 and 1357, one of the battles was fought at Neville's Cross, right next to Durham England.

The catalyst for this particular battle was not any particular incident of aggression between the countries. Scotland had made a treaty with France in 1295 called "the Auld Alliance" against their common antagonist, England. France was fighting England in the Hundred Years War, and called on Scotland to help based on the treaty. England was currently invading France, and Scotland's attack could either weaken England for a later counter-invasion by France or cause England to pull troops away from France.

As it turns out, it did neither. Scotland's army of 10-12,000 was led by King David II. They were met by Ralph, Lord Neville with about 6-7000 men. The Scots were soundly defeated and David captured. His ransoming effort also created a truce between the two countries that lasted four decades.

How did the superior numbers lose the battle? France convinced the Scots that they would have an easy time of it with the English army on the continent, but the English had plenty of soldiers at home who were more experienced. The Scottish army had a few noblemen on horseback, but the majority were on foot and had swords and daggers and shields. They had a few archers. The English had more archers with longbows and rained arrows on the Scots until the fighting got closer, and more plate armor.

Before being stopped at Neville's Cross (so-called because of an Anglo-Saxon stone cross at the location), the Scots did do damage to the countryside. They destroyed a castle called the Peel of Liddell and plundered the Great Priory of Hexham. They would have sacked Carlisle, but the city offered them money to leave them alone.

During the battle, King David had dismounted to fight on foot. At one point he decided to hide. I want to talk about his discovery, capture, and ransom next. See you tomorrow.

Holyrood Abbey

In 1127, while King David of Scotland was hunting in the forests east of Edinburgh, his horse was startled by a hart and bucked; David was thrown from the horse, and the hart charged at him, antlers first. David threw up his hands to grasp the antlers, when suddenly a shining cross appeared between the antlers, causing the beast to pause and saving the king's life.

The day happened to be the Feast of the Cross, celebrating the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena. David decided to found an abbey the following year on the spot, which he named Holyrood ("holy + cross"). In its church was a reliquary with a piece of the True Cross that David's mother, Saint Margaret, brought from Waltham Abbey (supposed burial place of Harold). (In 1346 this relic fell into the hands of the English after the Battle of Neville's Cross.)

It was originally occupied by Canons Regular from Merton Priory. (At about this time, Thomas Becket [born c.1120] was starting as a student at Merton.) The place became an important location for councils. The papal legates to Scotland would have councils there. When David's grandson, William the Lion, was captured at the Battle of Alnwick (not the same one where David's father was killed), the nobles met at Holyrood to discuss his ransom. Scotland's parliament met there several times between 1256 and 1410. Robert the Bruce also held a parliament there.

After the mid-1400s, the kings of Scotland began using it as a residence while at Edinburgh. In the second half of the 1500s, parts of it were in such a state of disrepair that they need to be closed down, demolished, and completely rebuilt. Evidence of the ruins shows that the original structure was not built to the same standards as the rest of Europe. The aisle vaults had thin flagstones and the vertical pieces were constructed with, let's say, less attention to straight lines than we would like to see in a building that had tons of stone suspended over your head. In 1686, James VII established a Jesuit College there. A year later the abbey was converted to a Roman Catholic Chapel. Its use became increasingly religious again, taking interest in it out of public interest. Without royal attention, the fabric began to decay more. The roof collapsed in 1768 and was never replaced. Proposals to rebuild and restore have never come to fruition, but the ruins (see illustration) continue to be a tourist destination.

Tomorrow, let's jump ahead in time to the Battle of Neville's Cross, part of the Second Scottish War of Independence, that lost the piece of the True Cross.

The Davidian Revolution

When David I became King of Scotland, little did the world know that the previous three decades of short reigns and rebellions would be replaced by three decades of reform and growth.

David was the youngest son of Malcolm III and Margaret of Wessex, and since his father's death in 1093 had seen an uncle and several brothers take their turns on the throne. David was not expected to have his turn, but was given part of Scotland to manage, which gave him the title Prince of the Cumbrians (overseeing the former Kingdom of Strathclyde) starting in 1113.

This was promoted by the king of England, Henry I, who cultivated David's friendship. Henry also, in 1113, arranged for David his marriage to Matilda of Huntingdon (and why not? Henry was married to David's sister, also called Matilda). This brought to David the "Honour of Huntingdon" which was a large area in northern England. This helped David increase his wealth and power even before achieving the throne.

When David became king in 124, he set about transforming Scotland into a country that more closely resembled the rest of Europe in its civil and political structure. He was able to do this partly by bringing in Norman support. He built castles and set up a feudal system of smaller and larger lordships. He established sheriffs to carry out administrative duties on behalf of the king. He also created two justiciars to preside over law cases, one each for above and below the river Forth.

He was able to mine silver at Alston to create Scotland's first silver coinage and further increase his power. One of the side-effects of minting coins with the king's image and seal is that those who come in contact with them are constantly reminded of the source of wealth and power, reinforcing loyalty to the king who has them.

Scotland until this time did not have organized towns or burghs as the rest of Europe and England knew them. Roxburgh and Berwick were created while he was prince of the Cumbrians, with definite boundaries, charters, and trading rights. Once he became king, he made more burghs at Stirling, Dunfermline and Edinburgh. More were to follow.

Religious reform was another of his goals, begun by his mother. David became one of Scotland's great monastic patrons, founding various abbeys. He increased the number of bishops in Scotland (from four to nine, according to Aelred of Rievaulx), but it is more likely that this expansion was brought about by of Thurstan, Archbishop of York, with Fergus of Galloway.

The reign was not entirely easy for him. He took sides in the period in England called The Anarchy, and lost the Battle of the Standard when he invaded England to support Empress Matilda. By and large, though, he is remembered for the "Europeanization" of Scotland.

One of the well-known abbeys he founded was Holyrood, which has an interesting legend about it. I'll share that tomorrow.

Alexander I

The fifth son of Malcolm III and Margaret of Wessex, Alexander got to be king of Scotland after Malcolm's death only after his uncle and his half-brother and his uncle (again) and his brother had their chance.

When Edgar died in 1107, he wanted Alexander to succeed him. He also wanted their younger brother, David, to have something of his own, so David was given an appanage. An appanage (from Latin adpanare, literally "to give bread") was traditionally a grant of land for a younger son who normally would not be in the line of succession because of primogeniture. David was given an appanage in southern Scotland, the former kingdom of Strathclyde. This was supported by Henry I of England, the boys' brother-in-law through marriage to their sister Edith, now called Matilda.

Another matrimonial link between the two countries took place when Alexander married Sybilla of Normandy. She was the first child of Henry I with his mistress, Lady Sybilla Corbet. We don't know when they married, but Sybilla was born c.1092, and they were married by 1114 when she was 22. In 1114 Alexander joined Henry on campaign in Wales against Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd.

Alexander and Sybilla seemed to be a devoted couple, but childless. She died in 1122 while at the village of Kenmore, and Alexander planned an Augustinian Priory at the location. He did not remarry.

Alexander later gained the nickname "the Fierce" because of his short temper with his subjects, but that temper supposedly was never aimed at clergy. He was considered very pious, like his wife. He was the senior lay person in 1104 when the remains of St. Cuthbert were examined before their re-interment, when Ralph d'Escures declared that the saint's body was uncorrupted. He founded religious institutions at Scone and Inchcolm, and had towers built at Dunfermline Abbey where his mother was buried.

His fierceness was earned when he was attacked by men from Moray, where the family of Macbeth ruled who had been his family's enemy not too long before. He pushed them and soundly defeated them.

Alexander died in April 1124, leaving the kingdom to David, who ruled for nearly 30 years and made so many changes that scholars refer to the Davidian Revolution. I'll explain just what changes he made next time.

Edgar Takes the Reigns

Donald III of Scotland grabbed the throne, then lost it to his nephew Duncan, then grabbed it again. This second time around, Donald was in his early 60s and had no heir of his own. He likely designated his nephew Edmund as his heir. (He did have one known daughter, Bethoc, who married the Lord of Tyndale.)

Edmund was the son of Malcolm III, but when Malcolm and the eldest brother Edward died, Edmund chose to side with his uncle Donald instead of having the throne go to one of Malcolm's other sons, such as himself or Edgar or Ethelred. William of Malmesbury said Edmund bargained "for half the kingdom" from Donald; if true, it suggests that Edmund would inherit the kingdom after Donald.

Malcolm and Margaret's next surviving son, Edgar, gained the support of English King William Rufus. According to Malmesbury, Edgar and his uncle, Edgar Ætheling, invaded Scotland with the military support of the Anglo-Normans and that Donald was "slain by the craftiness of David [Malcolm and Margaret's youngest]... and by the strength of William [Rufus]." Historian John of Fordun, writing years later, says Donald was blinded and imprisoned. He supposedly died in 1099 at the age of 67, having spent his last years in captivity.

Malcolm's son Edgar then became Edgar I of Scotland (his seal is shown above). Although he reigned for a decade (1097 - 1107), he never gained complete control of all parts of Scotland. Military support from William II "Rufus" of England would have helped, but William had his own issues like a revolt in Northumbria and spending time in Normandy, which he purchased from his brother Robert Curthose.

Still, Edgar maintained a relationship with the English court, and not as a vassal to the English king. Records show the king paying for Edgar's expenses at court, which would not be necessary if William were Edgar's feudal lord. He seems to have been an honored guest. Edgar was sword-bearer for the king in the inauguration of the new Westminster Hall. After William's death, however, this closeness ended: he was not present at Henry I's coronation.

A few notable events appear in the sparse records of his reign. He signed a treaty with Magnus Barefoot of Norway, creating a firm border with Norwegian claims in the western part of the north. He also gave a unique gift to the High King of Ireland, Gael Muirchertach Ua Briain. It was a camel (but might have been an elephant) brought back from the First Crusade. He also connected with Anselm of Canterbury to bring back the monks of Canterbury that Donald had expelled from his mother's favorite Dunfermline Abbey.

Edgar never married. He died on 8 January 1107, leaving his brother Alexander as his successor—but not for the whole country. His will also granted their younger brother David the former kingdom of Strathclyde. This did not make David a king: he was still a prince and his older brother's subject. As for Alexander himself, he did not gain a reputation as a nice king, but that's a story for tomorrow.

The Repeat King

So when Malcolm III of Scotland died, his brother swept in and became King Donald III before Malcolm's sons could succeed their father. The sons fled to England for safety, reckoning they had no chance. There was one son of Malcolm who thought differently, however, and he was not a son this blog has recently covered.

Prior to his marriage to Margaret of Wessex, Malcolm had another wife, the Norwegian Ingibiorg Finnsdottir. Details are sketchy about this marriage, but they had at least one son, Duncan. In the initial clashes between Scotland and Duke William of Normandy, Duncan was offered as a hostage. Duncan was therefore being raised in Normandy. When William died in 1087, his son Robert Curthose released Duncan and knighted him. Duncan chose to go to England serve Robert's brother, William Rufus. Clearly, Malcolm had "written off" his eldest son by his first marriage, since he had declared his eldest by Margaret his heir.

Back in Scotland, Donald was having trouble: not everyone welcomed his return and rule. Duncan bagged negotiating with some of the landowners and local barons, making promises of land and titles. William Rufus gave him Norman military support. Within a year of Donald taking the throne, Duncan arrived at the head of an army in the summer of 1094. Donald was defeated, retreating to the Scottish Highlands.

Duncan was crowned king at Scone, but only controlled the southern part. The locals did not appreciate someone they saw as essentially an English vassal, or the presence of the Normans with him. This created discontent. He decided to send his foreign allies back to England, which created its own problems. Duncan had trouble with raids by rebels, and was forced to negotiate with them rather than defeat them.

Meanwhile, Donald was gathering his forces. After only a few months of rule, Duncan was attacked by Donald's army and killed in an ambush on 12 November.

Donald was, once again, King of Scotland, less than a year after being ousted. He chose his nephew, Malcolm's son Edmund, who had supported him after Malcolm's death, as his heir and co-ruler. This did not sit well with Edmund's siblings, as we shall see.

Donald III of Scotland

When Malcolm III died at the 2nd Battle of Alnwick, his eldest son died with him (and his wife died a few days later after hearing the news), but he had other sons who could succeed him. That did not happen, however, as another man swept in and seized the throne.

This other man was actually Malcolm's brother, Donald. Donald's activities for years prior to claiming the throne is unknown, because he was hiding in Ireland. Donald's father was Duncan, King of Scotland from 1034 to 1040 when he was killed (and succeeded by) Macbeth; yes, that Macbeth. Shakespeare has the boys old enough to manage this themselves:

Malcolm: “What will you do? Let’s not consort with them: To show an unfelt sorrow is an office which the false man does easy. I’ll to England.”

Donalbain:* “To Ireland, I; our separated fortune shall keep us both the safer: where we are, there’s daggers in men’s smiles: the near in blood, the nearer bloody.” [Macbeth, III,3]

Both the boys were very young in reality (Donald about seven). It is more likely that Duncan, when he was about to face Macbeth's rebellion, sent his sons away for safety himself.

Donald would have been 25 years old when Malcolm killed Macbeth and took the throne back into the family. Even with the family back in charge, we do not know exactly what Donald was doing or if he returned to Scotland. After the 1093 Battle of Alnwick and the death of the king and queen and immediate heir, he was able to come forward and present himself as the obvious choice for kingship.

This may not have been as radical a "coup" for Scotland as we might think. Although Malcolm and Margaret had a very successful marriage, Margaret may not have been the favorite of Scotland. She worked to change the Scottish church to bring its practices closer to what she grew up with on the continent. She was one of the last Anglo-Saxon princesses, and gave refuge at court to Anglo-Saxon exiles fleeing the Normans who had taken over England. She also broke tradition and gave Anglo-Saxon names to her children, rather than Scottish names.

John of Fordun (1360 - 1384, so not a contemporary) wrote that Donald came to Scotland "at the head of a numerous band" and besieged Edinburgh with Malcolm's sons inside. He adds that Edgar Ætheling (Malcolm's brother-in-law) took the sons to England. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that Donald expelled all the English from his court.

So Donald was King of Scotland. It's a nice job...if you can keep it. Let's see how well he did at that. See you tomorrow.

*Donalbain = "Donald the Fair"

Saint Margaret of Scotland

Margaret of Wessex was almost 50 years old in 1093 when her husband, King Malcolm III of Scotland, and her eldest son went to war against the English at the Battle of Alnwick, where they were killed on 13 November. Tradition says that her son Ethelred, the lay abbot of Dunkeld, was with her when her son Edgar brought the news.

Margaret died three days later; no one assumes the cause was anything other than grief.

Her close friend, advisor, and biographer, Turgot of Durham, left us with a record of extreme piety. She worked on church reform, trying to bring the practices of the Scottish church closer to those of the continent (where she spent her childhood) and Rome. She performed charitable works, even washing the feet of the poor. She rose each midnight to attend Mass. She brought the Benedictines to establish a monastery at Dunfermline, and paid to establish ferries across the Firth of Forth to allow pilgrims to reach Saint Andrew's in Fife.

Her husband, whom the records call illiterate (but those may have been motivated by political enemies) admired her learning and had her books decorated in gold and silver. A pocket Gospel of hers is in the Bodleian.

Margaret was buried before the high altar at Dunfermline Abbey. Her husband's body had been interred in Tynemouth Priory, but was brought to Dunfermline for reburial near his wife during the reign of their son Alexander (1107 - 1124). That was not, however, the end of their love story.

Pope Innocent IV canonized Margaret in 1250 in recognition of her good works and personal piety. As a result, her body was disinterred at Dunfermline and the remains immediately placed into a reliquary appropriate for a saint of the Catholic Church. When they tried to carry the reliquary to its new location (a new shrine at Dunfermline), however, the path went past the location of Malcolm's remains. Those transporting the reliquary claimed it suddenly became too heavy to move. Interpreting this as a desire for Margaret to remain near her husband, Malcolm's body was likewise disinterred and placed near hers.

That was not the end of her body's travels. Mary Queen of Scots had Margaret's head exhumed and brought to Edinburgh as a "good luck charm" to assist in childbirth (N.B.: her son James was not born until 1566). In 1597 the head went to the Jesuits at the Scots College in France, but it was lost during the French revolution. The rest of her (and Malcolm) was transferred to Madrid by Philip II of Spain, but the location of their remains has been lost.

Malcolm and Margaret had several sons, any one of which could have assumed the throne in 1093 after Malcolm and his eldest, Edward, died. That was not to be the case, however. Malcolm's successor was Donald III, who swept in and laid siege to Edinburgh and Malcolm's family. Where did he come from? Let's look into that next time.

Margaret and Malcolm's Family

Margaret of Wessex and Malcolm III of Scotland had a large family that went on to influence Western Europe for another generation. Married in 1070, they started having children right away.

Their firstborn was Edward in 1071, in a departure from Scottish naming conventions (probably named for Margaret's father, Edward the Exile). He would have been the likely successor to Malcolm's throne, but he was killed along with Malcolm on 13 November 1093 at the Battle of Alnwick (this was the second battle named because it was near Alnwick; I mentioned the first here).

Edmund was also born about 1071 and likely named for Margaret's grandfather, King Edmund Ironside. When Malcolm died, Malcolm's brother Donald seized the throne as Donald I. Malcolm's remaining sons objected, and Edmund sided with Donald, making him the enemy of his siblings.

Another son, Ethelred, almost certainly named after Margaret's great-grandfather Æthelred the Unready, became the abbot of Dunkeld. He was possible a lay abbot, and not actually a churchman. The appointment gave him also extensive lands on both sides of the Firth of Forth. Legend says that he was with Margaret when she died.

Edgar (c.1074) became King of Scotland from 1097 to 1107.

Alexander (c.1078) became king after Edgar, reigning as Alexander I until 1124.

Edith, the first daughter, was born about 1080. She was sent to Romsey Abbey for education and became a nun—or did she? There was a question about that when the subject of marriage came up. The intended groom was a king, and that became a story in itself.

Mary, born in 1082, went with Edith to Romsey Abbey. Once Edith was married to a king, she wanted Mary to also have an advantageous marriage, and had her husband arrange it with Eustace III, Count of Boulogne. Mary died in 1116.

Their last child was David, who became king of Scotland from 1124 to 1153.

Margaret died in 1093, the same year that her husband and eldest son were killed in battle. Coincidence? Broken heart? Tomorrow we will look at her death and path to sainthood.

Margaret of Wessex

Margaret of Wessex (c.1045 - 16 November 1093) was born in Hungary while her family was exiled there. Her father was Edward the Exile, heir to the throne of England but sent away as a babe after Cnut conquered the country. Her father had been sent to the court of the Swedish king, Olof Skötkonung, and eventually made his way to Kiev. When grown, he traveled to Hungary and helped their King Andrew I achieve the throne. This gave the family a home in Hungary, where Margaret grew up in a very religious environment.

Her father was recalled to England as a potential successor to Edward the Confessor, and he brought the family with him. Edward died right after arrival in the land of his birth, and then the death of Edward the Confessor started a series of events that left the Exile's heir, Edgar Ætheling, unlikely to achieve the throne, though not for lack of trying. When Duke William II of Normandy succeeded at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and inevitably became King of England, Margaret and her family found a home in Northumbria.

The traditional story is that Margaret's mother, Agatha, decided to take her children back to the continent in 1068. A storm, however, drove them back to land, but farther north, where they were shipwrecked and given refuge by King Malcolm III of Scotland. Malcolm would have been in his late 30s, and Margaret in her early to mid-20s. He took a liking to her, and they were married in 1070. (The illustration is Malcolm greeting Margaret by a Victorian artist.)

Orderic Vitalis wrote that Malcolm had, in fact, traveled to England many years before to speak to Edward the Confessor and ask for his kinswoman's hand in marriage. If this meeting took place, the marriage was delayed for several years. It is possible that the marriage was arranged and then put off against Malcolm's intentions, which might explain Malcolm's plundering of Lindisfarne. Whatever the case may have been, Malcolm was at the time a widower with two sons and would have benefitted from linking himself to the English royal line.

The two had eight children, among which were three kings of Scotland and a queen of England. Tomorrow I'll tell you about their children's fortunes, and then we'll get to her sainthood.

Malcolm and English Royals

King Malcolm III of Scotland (c.1031 - 1093) was alternately supporting and attacking English royalty. The tradition that his father had sent him to the court of Edward the Confessor in his youth suggested there would be strong ties to Scotland's neighbor to the south. The later Scottish historian John Fordun assumed that Malcolm spent Macbeth's seventeen-year-reign with Edward.

Orderic Vitalis wrote that Malcolm was betrothed to Margaret of Wessex, the daughter of Edward the Exile. (That's Margaret in the illustration, reading the Bible to Malcolm. She was later declared a saint.) When they married in 1070, this made Malcolm the brother-in-law of Edgar Ætheling, one of the potential heirs to the throne of England in 1066 after Edward the Confessor's death. This was the context for Malcolm supporting Edgar with troops in Edgar's attempts to capture the throne from the more successful claimant, William II of Normandy.

You can see here and here how Edgar relied on Malcolm for support and simply as a place of refuge when things got bad. Malcolm's good relationships were with English royals, not the Normans who invaded in 1066. His aid to Edgar helped prompt William to engage in the Harrying of the North, a series of military campaigns by the new king of England to devastate much of the north of England to punish for past and deter future attempts to coalesce around Edgar Ætheling and use him to replace William.

Malcolm and William finally met in 1072 and negotiated a treaty. Malcolm pledged his loyalty to William, which meant little: Malcolm continued raiding in Northumbria until Williams sent his son Robert Curthose in 1080 at the head of an army. This time Malcolm kept the peace to which he had agreed.

In 1091, when Robert Curthose started rebelling against his brother William Rufus (who had inherited after William's death), Malcolm did not take sides. He did, however, take advantage of their fighting to go south and besiege Newcastle and the castle built by Curthose. This was a step to pushing Scotland's boundary further south. An approaching English army led by Rufus motivated Malcolm to retreat north.

His final dealing with royalty came when he marched south with his son to discuss the return of lands given to Malcolm by William II. Rufus refused, saying that the matter would be settled by the English barons. Malcolm rejected this idea and returned to Scotland, gathering an army and ravaging Northumbria more harshly than ever before. On 13 November 1093, he was ambushed by the Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Mowbray, and killed.

His interment includes a story that needs to start with his wife, Margaret. Tomorrow I'll tell you about the queen who became a saint.

Malcolm III of Scotland

Almost exactly a decade ago I posted "The Real Macbeth" about how he killed Duncan I of Scotland. Well, let's talk about Duncan's son, who has been mentioned many times in the past several posts because of his links to English royals.

Malcolm's mother is a mystery. John of Fordun, a Scottish chronicler from a few centuries after Malcolm, says she was a blood relative of Earl Siward, Earl of Northumbria, but this was probably a late attempt to tie Scottish royalty closer to possessions in England (but see below). An even later story suggests she was the daughter of a commoner and Malcolm was born out of wedlock.

Where was Malcolm when Duncan was killed by Macbeth? Malcolm was only about nine years old, but chieftains could have supported him. Tradition says that Duncan had sent his sons (besides Malcolm there was Donald and Máel Muire*) away for their safety; Fordun says Malcolm was sent to England to the court of Edward the Confessor.

Fordun writes that in 1054, Earl Siward of Northumbria invaded Scotland with the intent to install one Máel Coluim, son of the king of the Cumbrians, on the throne of Scotland. This Máel Coluim was identified as Malcolm III Canmore. William of Malmesbury agrees with this event, and says that Macbeth was killed by Siward. The problem with this is that Siward died two years before Macbeth. More recent scholars believe that Siward's Máel Coluim was a later Malcolm.

Other chroniclers of the time state that Macbeth was killed by Malcolm on 15 August 1057, but Macbeth was succeeded by his son Lulach (actually his step-son, born to his wife Gruoch—yes, "Lady Macbeth" did have her own name—from her first marriage), who was crowned in September. Lulach (whose nickname was Tairbith "The Unfortunate") was then killed by Malcolm in April 1058, who then became king shortly after.

It was common for Gaelic rulers to start their reigns with a show of strength by mounting an invasion somewhere. Malcolm's supposed close connection with England did not stop him from plundering Lindisfarne in 1061. This was far enough from the seat of English monarchy that it probably did not draw much attention. The local alderman of Northumbria at the time was Tostig Godwinson, but not only was he away on pilgrimage to Rome for recent offenses, but also he didn't care much for his people anyway.

Malcolm actually offered Tostig asylum at a time when Tostig needed a safe place. That, and other ties to English royalty, will be the subject for tomorrow.

*not this Máel Muire, however.

Edgar Ætheling, Part 3

Edgar Ætheling had been through many ups and downs. For the trouble he had caused for William II of Normandy as an "alternate choice" for king of England, he might have been executed, but he was allowed to live, given his freedom, and also given some estates.

When William died in 1087, Edgar threw his support to William's eldest son, Robert Curthose, to whom William had left the dukedom of Normandy. The second son, William Rufus, succeeded as King of England. Robert felt he should have England, and tried to overthrow William in a conflict that was not resolved until 1091.

Part of the resolution was that Edgar be stripped of lands given to him in Normandy. Edgar fell back on an old habit: going to stay with King Malcolm III in Scotland (now Edgar's brother-in-law), who also happened to be preparing war with William Rufus. Significantly, when the two armies met, they did not fight. They decided to talk things over, and whom did the kings pick to conduct negotiations? Malcolm sent Edgar, William sent Robert. Since Edgar had been one of Robert's chief advisors, the two would be able to talk amicably.

One result of the negotiation was a reconciliation between Edward and William, that made it safe for Edgar to return to England. The peace between the two countries began to break down, however, and eventually he left England for Normandy with Robert. In 1093 Edgar was back in Scotland to speak to Malcolm at William's request: the peace treaty wasn't working, and war was unavoidable. That war killed Malcolm and his heir, Edward, Edgar's nephew. (Edward was not his eldest; that was Duncan, who was kept at William's court.) Another army against Scotland had Edgar at its head in 1097 and helped to establish another son of Malcolm, Edgar, on the Scottish throne.

Orderic Vitalis wrote that Edgar Ætheling was the leader of an English fleet in support of the First Crusade. Orderic must be wrong, since the English supporting fleet reached Syria in March 1098, and Edgar was known to be in Scotland in late 1097. There was no time between the two events for him to reach Syria. William of Malmesbury said that Edgar made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and Orderic may just be confused about the reason and timing for Edgar's trip.

After Jerusalem, William Rufus died when Robert Curthose was too far away to claim the throne, which was grabbed by their younger brother, who became King Henry I. Naturally, Robert went to war over this, and naturally, Edgar joined him. Naturally, they failed again; Robert was imprisoned for the rest of his life, and Edgar was let go, since by this time Henry had married a daughter of Malcolm and Edgar's sister, making Edgar his uncle by marriage.

William of Malmesbury wrote that, in 1125, Edgar was still alive and growing old in privacy and quiet. A tumultuous life came to a peaceful end, but we do not know where or when.

Next I want to turn to Malcolm III "Canmore" who was a significant player in these events.

Edgar Ætheling, Part 2

For Edgar Ætheling, landing in Scotland in 1068—whether by accident or design—was fortuitous. King Malcolm III took a liking to Edgar's sister Margaret, who was probably in her early 20s. They married in 1070 (see illustration), and had several children, including kings of Scotland David I and Alexander I.

Edgar's new brother-in-law supported Edgar's claim to the throne of England. Edgar's and Malcolm's plans caused the north of England—what is now Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, Lancashire—to start a series of local rebellions against Norman rule. This led to the Harrying of the North, William the Conqueror's campaign to subdue the northern territories and stop Edgar's plans. The Harrying was vicious, using scorched earth tactics to starve out the rebels and replacing all English aristocracy with Normans.

Edgar had returned to England to become the focal point for the rebellions, but retreated to Scotland when things got bad. Later that year, King Sweyn of Denmark arrived in the north, triggering a fresh set of uprisings. Edgar, the Northumbrians, and the Danes combined to take York from Norman control. William arrived later, bought off the Danes (they were still susceptible to Danegeld), and caused Edgar and his other followers to, once again, retreat to Scotland.

In 1072, William invaded Scotland, forcing Malcolm to recognize William's overlordship. Part of the agreement was the expulsion of Edgar, who went to Flanders where Robert the Frisian was hostile to Normandy. Edgar returned to Scotland in 1074, but then received an offer from Philip I, King of France. Philip offered him a castle near the Norman border from which he could hassle Normandy. Embarking for France, a storm wrecked his fleet along the English coast, whereupon Normans hunted him down. He fled back to Scotland on foot, after which Malcolm convinced him to give up his dreams of a throne and submit to William.

Edgar tried that route, but felt he deserved better treatment because of his status. The Domesday Book in 1086 lists two estates in Hertfordshire belonging to Edgar, although by that time he was no longer living in England. Dissatisfied, he had gone to Italy to settle in Apulia, which was occupied by Normans. A few years later, however, he returned to England.

After William's death in 1087, Edgar's fortunes seemed to rise a little with William's sons, who clearly had no concerns that this older man was going to try to take their throne. Instead, they involved him in their reigns.

For the happy remainder of Edgar's complicated life, tune in tomorrow.

Edgar Ætheling, Part 1

After the death of King Harold Godwinson on 14 October 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, the witenagemot wasted no time: the very next day, while Harold's body was being identified on the battlefield, they chose another man to be king, despite the claims of William of Normandy. That man was Edgar, called "Ætheling" ("noble").

This choice was not random. Not only was he in a line of legitimate succession, but it could be argued that his accession to the throne had been approved by Edward the Confessor before his death in January of 1066.

Edgar's great-grandfather was Æthelred. When Æthelred was killed by Cnut, his the family fled England. Ægthelred's son was Edmund Ironside, who would rule the south of England while Cnut ruled the north, until one of them died and the other took the whole island. Edmund died shortly after. Edmund's son was called Edward the Exile and spent most of his life in Hungary, where Edgar Ætheling was born. In the illustration above, you see Edmund in the upper-right, Edward the Exile in the center, and Edward's children below: Edgar, Margaret (who would later marry Malcolm Canmore and even later become a saint), Edmund (who died young), and Cristina.

In 1056, Edward the Confessor recalled Edward the Exile and his family to England to make Edward his heir. This was actually Edward's attempt to have an Anglo-Saxon dynastic succession in the face of the increasingly powerful Godwins. Unfortunately, Edward died shortly after returning to England, in 1057. Still, to the witenagemot, this meant that Edward's son Edgar was a potential successor. One day after Hastings and the loss of Harold, the witenagemot chose Edgar as the new king. He was perhaps 14 years old.

Edgar had powerful supporters: Earls Edwin and Morcar, Archbishop Stigand of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York. What he did not have was an army. The powerful men who supported him did not put together a very serious defense. Whatever claim he had through Edward's choice of Edgar's father had been ignored months earlier by these same men in favor of Harold, so their determination to support him is questionable; you might call it the last gasp of "national pride" before the inevitable Norman takeover.

In fact, Edward was never formally crowned, and by December the witan and Edgar's key supporters were agreeing to negotiate with William. Everyone, including Edward, agreed to pay homage to William.

William kept Edgar with him, first on his return to Normandy in 1067 and then back to England. A brief attempt at rebellion by the northern earls Edwin and Morcar in 1068 was quickly suppressed. We do not have confirmation that Edgar was part of it, but it is true that he and his mother and sisters landed on the coast of Scotland around that time. Either he was in the north as part of the rebellion or he was attempting to return to Hungary, the land of his and his siblings' birth.

They were taken in by King Malcolm III, a connection which offered another opportunity for Edgar to become king. I'll tell you how that went next time.

The Approach to Hastings

William II, Duke of Normandy, had his forces ready to deploy to invade England. He believed he had a legitimate claim to the throne that Harold Godwinson had been given. Harold's armies had been guarding the coasts against William's invasion, but the attack in the north by Harold's brother Tostig and King Harald of Norway had drawn Harold's forces north to deal with them. After initial success by Tostig and his allies, Harold defeated them soundly at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September.

With Harold's army in the north, William saw his chance: he set sail and landed on the south coast of England on 28 September, in Pevensey Bay. Pevensey had an old Roman fort, abandoned after the 5th century. Harold Godwinson, long before he became king, had rebuilt the place in 1042. It was the location of part of his army in 1066, until they had to leave it to march north to Stamford. After 1066, William gave the fort to his half-brother Robert, Count of Mortain. The stone remains that can be seen now (see illustration) are from Robert's expansion plans.

William did not stay in Pevensey. He marched to Hastings on the coast, about nine miles away, then went several miles inland, to a place now called "Battle" and where there is an Abbey called Battle. William's men quickly built a wooden castle for his dwelling and then started gathering food and provisions from the countryside.

King Harold probably received news of William's landing while he was bringing the army south. It looks like they marched about 27 miles per day, still impressive but not as exhausting as their march north. Harold spent a week at London, resting and preparing for battle. He was unable to surprise the Normans as he had the Norwegians. By the time he got to Hastings, William had taken a defensive position on Battle/Senlac Hill, giving him the advantage of higher ground.

I've written of the battle before. Harold was killed, by an arrow to the eye. William of Jumieges wrote that William killed him. William of Poitiers offered no details about Harold's death. Harold's body was identified the next day. His mother, Gytha, offered the body's weight in gold to William, who refused the offer and ordered the corpse be thrown into the sea. (No one records that this actually happened.) Waltham Abbey, founded by Harold, claimed his body had been secretly buried there. The legend that he secretly fled the battle and became a hermit in Chester can be dismissed.

William thought his way to the throne was now clear, but the witenagamot had another idea. The year 1066 in England was the year of four kings: Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinson, and William of Normandy were the first's second, and fourth, respectively. There was a descendant of English kings who happened to be available. Tomorrow I'll tell you about Edgar the Ætheling.