Notizen zu dieser Person
1 NAME The /Saint/
2 GIVN The
2 SURN Saint
2 NSFX King Of Scotland
1 _UID E142A078541D43B78CECCE1DBA772C7CE25C
1 _UID 0FFCBD00379B5748BE4C196DB97B06DDE02E
David I the Saint of Scotland, King of Scotland Born: ABT 1084 Acceded:23 APR 1124 Died: 24 MAY 1153, Carlisle, Cumbria Interred: DunfermlineAbbey, Fife, Scotland Notes: Earl of Huntingdon. United Alba withStrathclyde. Earl of Northampton. Popularly reputed as a Saint, His feastdayis24thMay. The Complete Peerage vol.V,pp.641-2. Father: , Malcolm IIICaennmor of Scotland, King of Scotland, b. ABT 1031 Mother: Atheling,Margaret (St.) the Exile, b. 1045 Married 1113 to , Matilda ofNorthumberland Child 1: , Malcolm, b. AFT 1113 Child 2: , Henry ofHuntingdon, Earl of Huntingdon, b. ABT 1114 Child 3: , Claricia Child 4:, Hodierna
DAVID I., a celebrated Scottish monarch, was the youngest of thesixsonsofMalcolm III., who reigned between 1057, and 1093, and whomustbefamiliarto every reader, as the overthrower of Macbeth, andalsothefirst king ofthe Scots that was entitled to be considered asacivilizedprince. Themother of king David was Margaret, the sisterofEdgarAtheling, heir to theSaxon line of English princes, butdisplacedbyWilliam the Conqueror. Theyear of Davidus birth is not known;but itisconjectured to have been notlong antecedent to the death ofhisfather,as all his elder brothers werethen under age. It isconjecturedthat hemust have received the name ofDavid, from having beenborn at atimewhen his mother had no hope of morechildren, in referencetotheyoungest son of Jesse. Owing to theusurpations of DonaldBane,andDuncan, he spent his early years at theEnglish court,undertheprotection of Henry I., who had married his sisterMatilda orMaud,thecelebrated founder of London bridge. There, accordingtoanEnglishhistorian, 'his manners were polished from therustofScottishbarbarity.' Here also he took to wife, Matilda, thedaughterofWaltheof,earl of Northumberland, and widow of Simon de StLiz,earlofNorthampton. After the Scottish throne had beenoccupiedsuccessivelybyhis elder brothers, Edgar and Alexander, he accededto iton the 27thofApril, 1124, when he must have been in the very primeoflife.Soonbefore this time, namely, in 1113, he had manifested thatzealforthechurch, which distinguished him throughout his reign,bybringingacolony of Benedictine monks from Tyron, in France, whomhesettledatSelkirk. These he subsequently translated to Roxburgh,andfinally,1128,to Kelso. In the latter year, besides foundingthemagnificentmonasteryof Kelso, he erected that of Holyrood atEdinburgh,which heendowed inthe most liberal manner.
During the reign of Henry I., David maintained agoodunderstandingwithEngland, and seems to have spent a considerable partofhis time inthecourt of his brother-in-law and sister. Thefollowingcurious anecdoteofone of his visits, is related in a volumeentitled'RemainesconcerningBritain,' published in 1614. 'Queen Maud wassodevoutlyreligious, thatshe would go to church barefooted andalwaysexercisedherself in worksof charity, insomuch, that when king Davidherbrothercame out ofScotland to visit her, he found her in herprivychamber witha towellabout her middle, washing, wiping, and kissingpoorepeopleusfeete;which he disliking, said, tverily, if the king yourhusbandknewthis,you should never kisse his lippes!u She replied, tthatthe feeteoftheking of heaven were to be preferred before the lippes ofakinginearth!u' On the death of Henry, in 1135, his daughterMaudwasdisplacedby the usurper Stephen, and, to enforce her right,Davidmadeaformidable incursion into England, taking possession ofthecountryasfar as Durham. Not being supported, however, by the barons,whohadswornto maintain his niece in her right, he was obliged, bythesuperiorforceof Stephen, to give up the country he had acquired,hissonHenry,accepting at the same time, from the usurper, thehonourofHuntingdon,with Doncaster, and the castle of Carlisle, forwhichherendered homage.Next year, David made a new incursion,withbettersuccess. He is foundin 1138 in full possession of thenorthernprovinces,while Stephen wasunable, from his engagementselsewhere, topresent anyforce against him.The Scots ravaged the countrywith muchcruelty, andparticularly thedomains of the church; nor was theirpiousmonarch ableto restrain them.The local clergy, under thesecircumstances,employedall theirinfluence, temporal and spiritual, tocollect an army,and theyat lengthsucceeded. On the 22nd of August, 1138,the two partiesmet onCuttonMoor, near Northallerton, and to increase theenthusiasm oftheEnglish,their clerical leaders had erected a standardupon ahighcarriage,mounted on wheels, exhibiting three consecratedbanners,with alittlecasket at the top, containing a consecrated host.Theill-assortedarmyof the Scottish monarch gave way before theimpetuosityof these men,whowere literally defending their altars andhearths. Thisrencounterisknown in history, as the battle of the Standard.PrinceHenryescapedwith great difficulty. Next year, David seems tohaverenouncedall hopesof establishing his niece. He entered into asolemntreaty withStephen,in virtue of which, the earldom ofNorthumberland wasconceded tohis sonHenry. In 1140, when Stephen wasoverpowered by hissubjects, andMaudexperienced a temporary triumph, Davidrepaired toLondon to give herthebenefit of his counsel. But a counterinsurrectionsurprised Maud;andDavid had great difficulty in escapingalong with hisniece. He wasonlysaved by the kindness of a young Scotsman,namedOliphant, who servedasa soldier under Stephen, and to whom David hadbeengodfather.Thisperson concealed the monarch from a very strict search,andconveyedhimin safety to Scotland. David was so much offended atthemanner inwhichhe had been treated by Maud, that he never againinterferedwithheraffairs in England, for which he had already sacrificedso much.Hewaseven struck with remorse, for having endeavoured, by theuseofsobarbarous a people as the Scots, to control thedestiniesofthecivilized English, to whom, it would thus appear, heboremoreaffectionthan he did to his own native subjects. At one time,heintendedtoabdicate the crown, and go into perpetual exile in theholyland,inorder to expiate this imaginary guilt; butheafterwardscontentedhimself with attempting to introduce civilizationintohiscountry. Forthis purpose, he encouraged many English gentlemenandbaronsto settlein Scotland, by giving them grants of land. Inlikemanner, hebroughtmany different kinds of foreign monks into thecountry,settlingthem inthe various abbeys of Melrose,Newbottle,Cambuskenneth,Kinloss,Dryburgh, and Jedburgh, as well as thepriory ofLesmahago, andtheCistercian convent of Berwick, all of whichwere foundedand endowedbyhim. The effects which these comparativelyenlightenedbodies of menmusthave produced upon the country, ought to saveDavid fromallmodernsneers as to his apparently extreme piety.Sanctimoniousnessdoesnotappear to have had any concern in the matter: heseems tohavebeengoverned alone by a desire of civilizing his kingdom,therudenessofwhich must have been strikingly apparent to him, inconsequenceofhiseducation and long residence in England. The progressmadebythecountry, in the time of David, was accordinglyverygreat.Publicbuildings were erected, townsestablished,agriculture,manufactures, andcommerce promoted. Laws,moreover, appear tohave beennow promulgatedfor the first time. David washimself a trulyjust andbenevolent man. Heused to sit on certain days atthe gate of hispalace,to hear and decidethe causes of the poor. Whenjustice requiredadecision against the poorman, he took pains to explainthe reason,sothat he might not go awayunsatisfied. Gardening was oneofhisamusements, and hunting his chiefexercise; but, saysacontemporaryhistorian, I have seen him quit hishorse, and dismisshishuntingequipage, when any, even the meanest ofhis subjects,requiredanaudience. He commenced business at day break,and at sunsetdismissedhisattendants, and retired to meditate on hisduty to God and thepeople.Byhis wife, Matilda, David had a son, Henry;who died beforehim,leavingMalcolm and William, who were successivelykings ofScotland,David, earlof Huntingdon, from whom Bruce and Baliolaredescended, andseveraldaughters. David I. is said, by a monkishhistorian,to have had asonolder than Henry, but who perished inchildhood after aremarkablemanner.A person in holy orders had murdereda priest at thealtar, andwasprotected by ecclesiastical immunity fromthe punishment duetohisoffence. His eyes, however, were put out, andhis hands and feetcutoff.He procured crooked irons or hooks to supplythe use ofhands.Thusmaimed, destitute, and abhorred, he attracted theattention ofDavid,thenresiding in England as a private man. >From himthis outcastofsocietyobtained food and raiment. Davidus eldest childwas then twoyearsold;the ungrateful monster, under pretence offondling the infant,crusheditto death in his iron fangs. For thiscrime, almost exceedingbelief,hewas torn to pieces by wild horses. Onlosing his son Henry in1152,kingDavid sent his son Malcolm on a solemnprogress through thekingdom,inorder that he might be acknowledged bythe people astheirfuturesovereign. He in like manner recommended hisgrandson Williamtothebarons of Northumberland, as his successor inthat part ofhisdominions.Having ultimately fixed his residence atCarlisle, thepiousmonarchbreathed his last, May 24th, 1153; beingfound dead in apostureofdevotion. David I., by the acknowledgment ofBuchanan himself,was 'amoreperfect exemplar of a good king than is tobe found in allthetheories ofthe learned and ingenious.'
2 _PREF Y
1 _UID 8C12A9183F72114698143089A8CA39C63D8D
1 REFN M12506
Thomas
Schäfer
