William the Lion

William was born around 1142, during the reign of his grandfather King David I of Scotland. His parents were Henry of Scotland, a younger son of David I, and Ada de Warenne, a daughter of the powerful Anglo-Norman lord William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey and Elizabeth of Vermandois, Countess of Leicester, herself a granddaughter of Henry I of France. == Reign ==

Malcolm IV did not live for long, and upon his death on 9 December 1165 at age 24, William ascended the throne. The new monarch was inaugurated on 24 December 1165. William was then a key player in the Revolt of 1173–1174 against Henry II, which was led by Henry's sons with some short-lived assistance from Louis VII of France. The church in Scotland was also subjected to that of England. William acknowledged this by signing the Treaty of Falaise and was then allowed to return to Scotland. On 10 August 1175 he swore fealty to Henry II at York Castle and became his liege man. one on the Black Isle at Ederdour; and the other at Dunkeath, near the mouth of the Cromarty Firth opposite Cromarty. The aim was to discourage the Norse earls of Orkney from expanding beyond Caithness. A further rising in 1181 involved Donald Meic Uilleim, descendant of King Duncan II. Donald briefly took over Ross; not until he died in 1187 was William able to reclaim Donald's stronghold of Inverness. Further royal expeditions were required in 1197 and 1202 to fully neutralise the Orcadian threat. William also quarrelled with Pope Alexander III, a quarrel which arose out of a double choice for the vacant bishopric of St Andrews. The king put forward his chaplain, Hugh, while the pope supported the archdeacon, John Scotus, who had been canonically elected. A hostile interchange followed; then, after the death of Alexander in 1181, his successor, Pope Lucius III, consented to a compromise by which Hugh got the bishopric and John became bishop of Dunkeld. In 1188, William secured a papal bull which declared that the Church of Scotland was directly subject only to Rome, thus rejecting the claims to supremacy put forward by the English archbishop. In 1200, William did homage for Northumbria, not for Scotland, to Richard's successor, John, apparently to save face. the ailing William agreed to his elder daughters marrying English nobles and, when the treaty was renewed in 1212, John apparently gained the hand of William's only surviving legitimate son, and heir, Alexander, for his eldest daughter, Joan. == Marriage and issue ==

Due to the terms of the Treaty of Falaise, Henry II had the right to choose William's bride. In 1184, William attended Henry II's court to request a marriage to Henry's granddaughter Matilda of Saxony, daughter of Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony and Matilda of England. The proposal was referred to the pope and was forbidden on the grounds of consanguinity. They married at Woodstock Palace on 5 September 1186. Edinburgh Castle was her dowry and Henry II paid for the four days of festivities. After the wedding she was escorted to Scotland by Scottish nobles and Jocelin, Bishop of Glasgow. married Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent; • Isabella of Scotland, Countess of Norfolk (1195–1263), married Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk; • Alexander II of Scotland (1198–1249); • Marjorie (1200–1244), married Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke. Out of wedlock, William I had numerous illegitimate children, their descendants being among those who would lay claim to the Scottish crown. By a daughter, name unknown, of Adam de Hythus: • Margaret, married Eustace de Vesci, Lord of Alnwick. By Isabel d'Avenel: • Robert de London; • Henry de Galightly, father of Patrick Galithly one of the competitors to the crown in 1291; • Ada Fitzwilliam (), married Patrick I, Earl of Dunbar (); • Aufrica married William de Say, whose great-great-grandson Roger de Mandeville was one of the competitors to the crown in 1291; == Death and legacy ==

William died on 4 December 1214 and was succeeded by his son Alexander. criminal law was clarified, the responsibilities of justices and sheriffs were widened, and trade grew. Traditionally, William is credited with founding Arbroath Abbey, the site of the later Declaration of Arbroath. The Bishopric of Argyll was established (c. 1192) in the same year as papal confirmation of the Scottish church by Pope Celestine III. William was not known as "the Lion" during his lifetime, and the title did not relate to his tenacious character or his military prowess. It was attached to him because of his flag or standard, a red lion rampant with a forked tail () on a yellow background. This (with the substitution of a "double tressure fleury counter-fleury" border instead of an orle) went on to become the Royal Banner of Scotland, still used today but quartered with those of England and of Ireland. It became attached to him because the Scottish chronicler John of Fordun called him the "Lion of Justice". == References ==