William the Lion

The title of the second longest reign in Scottish history goes to William I (c.1142 - 1214). Only James VI was longer (of course that was helped by the fact he became king when he was one year old). His father, Henry Earl of Huntingdon, was the son of King David I and would have followed him, but Henry died while David was still king, making Henry's son Malcolm the heir presumptive. David died in 1153, making the 12-year-old Malcolm king and Malcolm's brother William heir presumptive. When Malcolm died at 24 in 1165, William (then 23) ascended to the throne on Christmas Eve.

William was physically imposing and red-maned, earning the nickname "The Lion." Alternatively, he was also called in Gaelic Uilliam Garbh which means "William the Rough." His headstrong manner led him to bite off more than he could chew when dealing with England, specifically regarding the Earldom of Northumbria.

Northumbria had been granted to William's father Henry by England as part of negotiations with Scotland: King David had invaded it, trying to claim the northernmost parts of England to expand Scotland's borders. Controlling it was another matter, however, since England at the time was ruled by the powerful and clever Henry II. William spent time after his coronation at Henry's court—England had always been supportive of Scotland's kings—but they quarreled, and William made a treaty with France in 1168. A few years later, William and France supported the rebellion against Henry II by his sons.

During one engagement, the Battle of Alnwick in 1174, William's bravado led him to charge against the English, outpacing his own soldiers, shouting "Now we shall see which of us are good knights!" He was captured by Ranulph de Glanvill, an event I mentioned here that led to Glanvill's promotion.

The Lion was put in chains and taken to Falaise in Normandy, Henry sent his troops into Scotland. If William wanted his freedom and Scotland back, he would have to acknowledge Henry as his overlord and pay, not a ransom, but the cost of Henry's troops holding Scotland. Henry computed that at £26,000. Moreover, the Church of Scotland had to submit to the will of the Church of England. It also transferred the castles of Roxburgh, Berwick, Jedburgh, Edinburgh, and Stirling over to English soldiers. William would have to request permission from Henry to muster soldiers for affairs as simple as putting down local uprisings.

(And that was a problem for William, because Scotland was not happy that they were not independent, and Galloway particularly took advantage of William's weakened position to cause trouble.)

William had little choice. He signed the Treaty of Falaise, and the formerly "friendly understanding" between two realms on the isle of Great Britain became a legal obligation for the next 15 years. Henry even chose William's bride, over William's objections. In fact, let's talk about Ermengarde de Beaumont tomorrow, and see what the result was.

Ranulph Glanvill

Ranulph de Glanvill is the reason I started dailymedieval.com, to pay some attention to the countless people, places, and paraphernalia of the Middle Ages that would never get any attention in the Modern Era, but were of course significant in their time. 

We don't know much now about his early life, except that he was born about 1112 at Stratford St. Andrew in Suffolk. His public activity is first noted as Sheriff of Yorkshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire until he was removed from office in 1170 along with several other sheriffs for corruption.

Whatever his offense, it did not prevent his re-appointment as Sheriff of Lancashire by 1173, then Sheriff of Westmoreland in 1174. During the Battle of Alnwick in 1174, when William I of Scotland invaded Northumbria, Ranulph was the leader of an English force that met and captured William. King Henry II appreciated this, and later appointed Ranulph Chief Justiciar of England. This sounds like he was made "Chief Justice," but that is not the case. The Chief Justiciar had authority comparable to the modern Prime Minister, as the monarch's chief minister.

As Henry's right-hand man, he was effectively the regent when Henry was absent from the kingdom. He was also entrusted to custody of Eleanor of Aquitaine, when Henry saw fit to confine his queen to Winchester Castle. (There were good reasons for this, which we will someday get to.)

After Henry's death, Richard I imprisoned him until he paid a ransom. Why? A possible reason is that Richard just wanted to raise money to continue his favorite pastimes: fighting and Crusading. Ranulph went on Crusade and died in 1190 at the Siege of Acre. Considering his age, I would not be surprised if Richard coerced Ranulph into "taking the cross."

During his lifetime, he founded two abbeys and a leper hospital. Of course, he also produced the Treatise of Glanvill, discussed in the previous post. Next time, we'll look at some of the medieval legal terms addressed and codified on the Treatise.

Treatise of Glanvill

The Treatise of Glanvill was the earliest comprehensive treatise on English Law. It's full name is Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Angliae ("Treatise on the Laws and Customs of the Kingdom of England"), produced in .

Prior to this, England was managed by a blend of Anglo-Saxon laws and Norman laws. The Treatise codified the laws that were considered most useful, and introduced the innovation of writs.

Writs had existed in Anglo-Saxon law as a brief administrative order—usually a land grant or instructions to a local court—attested to by a seal. After the Norman Invasion, William had writs produced in Latin (rather than Anglo-Saxon), and increased their use to cover more parts of the increasingly complex administrative purview. Henry expanded the use of writs to cover instances of individuals seeking justice. He would hear grievances as his court traveled around the country and have his decisions codified in writs.

One result of this use of writs was limiting the jurisdiction of local courts: a writ from the king superseded all others, except for ecclesiastical courts. Ecclesiastical courts managed decisions regarding marriage, legitimacy, wills, and ecclesiastical issues. Henry seemed to be more focused on any decisions relating to property ownership.

So why was it colloquially called the Treaty of Glanvill? Henry liked to pick capable men to implement his ideas, and Ranulph Glanvill was one of those. I'll tell you about his career tomorrow.