Alexander I
1107–1124
In
the words of a medieval chronicler, Alexander was:
a lettered and godly man, very humble and amiable towards the clerics and regulars, but terrible beyond measure to the rest of his subjects
He ruthlessly crushed a rebellion in Moray during his reign, yet took a keen interest in Church affairs and did much to improve the government of the country. Born about 1077, Alexander spent his early manhood exiled in England and always remained close to the English king, Henry 1, whose daughter he married. But he was also fiercely protective of Scottish interests, insisting, for instance, that the Scottish Church owed no allegiance to York or Canterbury but was accountable only to the Pope. He died peacefully in 1124, after which his brother David reunited the two halves of the country and succeeded him as King of all Scotland.
David I
1124–1153
One of Scotland’s finest kings, David was born in 1084 and
grew up with up with a strong sense of duty towards his subjects. He was
religious and fair-minded, a keen gardener and an energetic modernizer of the
state. The reforms he imposed on Scotland did much to prevent the country from
being absorbed by England in later centuries. Through his marriage to an
English noblewoman, David was also a powerful force in England, with large
estates in the Midlands and a claim to lands in Northumbria. After Henry
I’s death, David took advantage of English unrest to push Scotland’s
borders southwards, the furthest south they would ever go. As both man and
king, he was greatly respected by everyone who knew him. It is arguable that
Scotland was never again as highly regarded as it was during his reign.
The Anglicisation of Scotland
The Anglicisation of Scotland acquired tremendous momentum during the reigns of Edgar and those of his brothers Alexander I and David I. Under these monarchs, all of whom had been deeply influenced by their mother’s religious and cultural views, the Anglo-Norman feudal system was established in Scotland. The reorganisation was confined at first to ecclesiastical reforms but gradually affected all sectors of Scottish life. Celtic religious orders were suppressed, English ecclesiastics replaced Scottish monks, numerous monasteries were founded, and the Celtic church was remodelled in conformity with Catholic practice. Norman French supplanted the Gaelic language in court circles, while English was spoken in the border areas and many parts of the Lowlands. The traditional system of tribal land tenure was abolished during the reign of David. Claiming universal ownership of the land, he conveyed huge grants, particularly in central and southern Scotland, to Anglo-Norman and Scottish nobles, who thereby became loyal vassals of the Crown. David I also instituted various judicial, legislative, and administrative reforms, all based on English models, encouraged the development of commerce with England, and granted extensive privileges to the Scottish burghs.
Relations with England
Political relations with England were disturbed during David’s reign by disputes over certain border areas, notably that portion of Northumbria south of the Tweed. In 1138 and again in 1149 the Scottish king, seeking to extend his dominions southward, supported abortive attempts to dethrone the reigning monarch of England. As a result of the intervention of 1149, Northumbria, which had been granted previously to Scotland, reverted to English ownership.
Malcolm IV
1153–1165
Born in 1142, Malcolm was only 11 when he succeeded his grandfather David. This inevitably led to unrest, particularly among the Celtic chieftains, who resented the Anglo-Normans at the Scottish court. Malcolm had to deal with several serious revolts during his reign and he did so with Norman help, which enraged the Celts still further. Fortunately, he had inherited his grandfather’s diplomatic skill and made a lasting peace with his enemies. He returned land to the English rather than fight a losing war, and later accompanied Henry II to the siege of Toulouse. At home he supported the Church and busied himself with good government. He was nicknamed the Maiden; after taking a vow of celibacy, but appears to have fathered an illegitimate child at the behest of his mother, who worried about him. Malcolm died at the age of twenty-three, before his had the chance to fulfil his considerable potential.
William I
1165–1214
Born in 1143, William succeeded his brother Malcolm at the age
of twenty-two and held the throne against all comers for the next forty-nine
years. Physically robust, he was known as 'the Lion', probably because of the
lion rampant on his coat of arms. William strengthened the government of his
predecessors and was the first king to bring the north of Scotland fully under
control. He built a string of castles in Galloway and subdued his enemies by
blinding and castrating their sons. He also founded a number of royal burghs to
consolidate his hold on the country. Abroad he was less successful. He
attempted to regain Northumbria by giving military aid to a rebellion in 1173
and 1174 against Henry II of England. In 1174 William was taken prisoner and
compelled, by the provisions of the Treaty of Falaise, to swear fealty to the
English king. Although Richard I of England annulled the treaty, in 1189, in
exchange for 10,000 marks of silver, English claims to sovereignty over
Scotland were based thereafter on precedent as well as the 10th-century
alliances against the Vikings.
- Photos of many of the places mentioned in the text can be found in the Photo-tour.