David I of Scotland

David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim Chaluim; c. 1084 – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler. He was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. He spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England temporarily in 1093. After the death of his former patron Henry I, David supported the claims of his own niece, Empress Matilda, to the throne of England.

About David I of Scotland in brief

Summary David I of ScotlandDavid I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim Chaluim; c. 1084 – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler. He was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. He spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England temporarily in 1093. After the death of his former patron Henry I, David supported the claims of Henry’s daughter and his own niece, Empress Matilda, to the throne of England. In the process, he came into conflict with King Stephen and was able to expand his power in northern England, despite his defeat at the Battle of the Standard in 1138. The term \”Davidian Revolution\” is used by many scholars to summarise the changes which took place in Scotland during his reign. David was probably the eighth son of King Malcolm III, and certainly the sixth and youngest born by Malcolm’s second wife, Margaret of Wessex. He is the grandson of the ill-fated King Duncan I. David and his two brothers Alexander and Edgar, both future kings of Scotland, were probably present when their mother died shortly afterwards. According to later medieval tradition, the three brothers were in Edinburgh when they were besieged by their paternal uncle Donald. In 1093, he may have been about nine years old. During the power struggle of 1093–97, David was in England. From 1093 until 1103 David’s presence cannot be accounted for in detail, but he appears to have been in Scotland for the remainder of the 1090s.

His marriage to Maud, Countess of Huntingdon, who was the heiress to the Huntingdon Lordship, made him the brother-in-law of the ruler of England, Henry Beauclerc. Despite his Gaelic background by the end of his stay in England, David had become a full-fledged Normanised prince. He used the title of earl, and there was the prospect that David’s children would inherit all the honours by her husband, Aslof Walofthe Walof, by the time he died in 1113. David’s reign was marked by his foundation of burghs and regional markets, implementation of the ideals of Gregorian Reform, foundation of monasteries, Normanisation of the Scottish government, and the introduction of feudalism through immigrant French and Anglo-French knights. In this period Malmesbury was in this period of his life, of his marriage, and of his time as Earl of Cumbrian and Earl of Walof. David died in 1153 and was succeeded by his son Alexander I, who went on to win the Scottish throne in 1124. His son Alexander died in 1123, and his son Edgar was crowned King in 1097. William Rufus opposed Donald’s accession to the northerly kingdom. He sent the eldest son of Malcolm, David’s half-brother Duncan, into Scotland with an army, Duncan was killed within the year, and so in 10 1997 William sent Donnchad’shalf-brother Edgar into Scotland.