William the Lion King of Scots [7552] 1786
- Born: 4 December 1143, Perth, Perthshire, Scotland 1786
- Marriage (1): Ermengarde DE BEAUMONT Queen of Scotland [7553] on 9 May 1189 in Woodstock, , Oxfordshire, England 1785
- Died: 4 December 1214, Stirling, , Stirlingshire, Scotland at age 71 1786
- Buried: 10 December 1214, Arbroath, , Angus, Scotland 1786
FamilySearch ID: L8YY-5PB.
General Notes:
William the Lion (Mediaeval Gaelic: Uilliam mac Eanric (i.e. William, son of Henry); Modern Gaelic: Uilleam mac Eanraig), sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", (c. 1142 \endash 4 December 1214) reigned as King of Scots from 1165 to 1214 (49 years). He had the second-longest reign in Scottish history before the Act of Union with England in 1707. James VI (reigned 1567\endash 1625) would have the longest.
Early life
William was born circa 1142, during the reign of his grandfather King David I of Scotland. His parents were the King's son Henry and Ada de Warenne. William was around 10 years old when his father died in 1152, making his elder brother Malcolm the heir apparent to their grandfather. From his father William inherited the Earldom of Northumbria. David I died the next year, and William became heir presumptive to the new king, Malcolm IV. In 1157, William lost the Earldom of Northumbria to Henry II of England.
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 crowned on 24 December 1165. In contrast to his deeply religious, frail brother, William was powerfully built, redheaded, and headstrong. He was an effective monarch whose reign was marred by his ill-fated attempts to regain control of his paternal inheritance of Northumbria from the Anglo-Normans.
After his accession to the throne William spent some time at the court of Henry II, then, quarrelling with Henry, he arranged in 1168 the first definite treaty of alliance between France and Scotland. William was then a key player in the Revolt of 1173\endash 74 against Henry II, which was led by Henry's sons with some short-lived assistance from Louis VII. In 1174, at the Battle of Alnwick, during a raid in support of the revolt, William recklessly charged the English troops himself, shouting, "Now we shall see which of us are good knights!" He was unhorsed and captured by Henry's troops led by Ranulf de Glanvill and taken in chains to Newcastle, then Northampton, and then transferred to Falaise in Normandy. Henry then sent an army to Scotland and occupied it. As ransom and to regain his kingdom, William had to acknowledge Henry as his feudal superior and agree to pay for the cost of the English army's occupation of Scotland by taxing the Scots. The cost was equal to 40,000 Scottish Merks (£26,000). The church of 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. In 1175 he swore fealty to Henry II at York Castle.
The humiliation of the Treaty of Falaise triggered a revolt in Galloway which lasted until 1186, and prompted construction of a castle at Dumfries. In 1179, meanwhile, William and his brother David personally led a force northwards into Easter Ross, establishing two further castles, north of the Beauly and Cromarty Firths; 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 his death (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, and 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, 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.
The Treaty of Falaise remained in force for the next fifteen years. Then the English king Richard the Lionheart, needing money to take part in the Third Crusade, agreed to terminate it in return for 10,000 silver marks (£6,500), on 5 December 1189. William then was able to address the turbulent chiefs in the outlying parts of his kingdom. His authority was recognized in Galloway which, hitherto, had been practically independent; he put an end to a formidable insurrection in Moray and Inverness; and a series of campaigns brought the far north, Caithness and Sutherland, under the power of the crown.
William attempted to purchase Northumbria from Richard in 1194, as he had a strong claim over it. However, his offer of 15,000 marks (£9,750) was rejected due to wanting the castles within the lands, which Richard was not willing to give. In 1200, William did homage to Richard's successor John, apparently to save face.
Despite the Scots regaining their independence, Anglo-Scottish relations remained tense during the first decade of the 13th century. In August 1209 King John decided to flex the English muscles by marching a large army to Norham (near Berwick), in order to exploit the flagging leadership of the ageing Scottish monarch. As well as promising a large sum of money, 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.
Despite continued dependence on English goodwill, William's reign showed much achievement. He threw himself into government with energy and diligently followed the lines laid down by his grandfather, David I. Anglo-French settlements and feudalization were extended, new burghs founded, criminal law clarified, the responsibilities of justices and sheriffs 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 died in Stirling in 1214 and lies buried in Arbroath Abbey. His son, Alexander II, succeeded him as king, reigning from 1214 to 1249.
William was not known as "the Lion" during his own 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 (queue fourchée) 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 chronicler John of Fordun called him the "Lion of Justice".
Marriage and issue
Due to the terms of the Treaty of Falaise, Henry II had the right to choose William's bride. As a result, William married Ermengarde de Beaumont, a great-granddaughter of King Henry I of England, at Woodstock Palace in 1186. Edinburgh Castle was her dowry. The marriage was not very successful, and it was many years before she bore him an heir.
William and Ermengarde's children were:
1. Margaret (1193\endash 1259), married Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent.
2. Isabel (1195\endash 1253), married Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk.
3. Alexander II of Scotland (1198\endash 1249).
4. Marjorie (1200 \endash 17 November 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 an unnamed daughter of Adam de Hythus:
1. Margaret, married Eustace de Vesci, Lord of Alnwick.
By Isabel d'Avenel:
1. Robert de London
2. Henry de Galightly, father of Patrick Galithly one of the competitors to the crown in 1291
3. Ada Fitzwilliam (c. 1164\endash 1200), married Patrick I, Earl of Dunbar (c. 1152\endash 1232)
4. Aufrica, married William de Say, and whose great-great-grandson Roger de Mandeville was one of the competitors to the crown in 1291
5. Isabella Mac William married Robert III de Brus then Robert de Ros (died 1227), Magna Carta Suretor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Lion
Noted events in his life were:
1. Coronation: as King of Scotland, on 24 December 1165, in Scone Priory, Old Scone, Perthshire, Scotland. 1785
2. Treaty: Under the Treaty of York he was forced to accept Henry as overlord of Scotland, in 1175,. 1785
3. Treaty: William Signed the Treaty of Falaise in which he swore alliance to Henry II of England, in 1174,. 1785
4. Title Of Nobility: King of Scotland, before that: Prince of Scotland, Earl of Northumbria, Earl of Huntingdon, Heir Presumptive of Scotland, on an unknown date,. 1785
5. Title Of Nobility: King of Scots, between 9 December 1165 and 4 December 1214,. 1785
6. Title Of Nobility: succeeded as Earl of Huntingdon, on 9 December 1165,. 1785
7. Title Of Nobility: Earl of Northumbria, between 1152 and 1157,. 1785
8. PhysicalDescription: William was powerfully built, redheaded, and headstrong., on an unknown date,. 1785
9. He worked as a King of Scotland, 1165-1214, Skotlannin kuningas v. 1165-1214, King, King Of Scotland on an unknown date. 1785
10. MilitaryService: Invaded England, but was captured at Alnwick. He was led to Northampton with his feet tied beneath his horse and imprisoned at Falaise in Normandy., in 1174,. 1785
11. Lost Northumbria to England: In 1157 William was deprived of his ancestral lands and title by King Henry II of England, he would make multiple attempts throughout his life to regain them, from stirring revolt in England, to attempting to buy them back., in 1157, in Northumbria, Scotland. 1785
12. Clan: House of Dunkeld,,. 1785
13. Founded Arbroath Abbey: in 1178,. 1785
William married Ermengarde DE BEAUMONT Queen of Scotland [7553] [MRIN: 5684], daughter of Richard DE BEAUMONT Vicomte de Beaumont [7557] and Lucie DE L'AIGLE [7558], on 9 May 1189 in Woodstock, , Oxfordshire, England.1785 (Ermengarde DE BEAUMONT Queen of Scotland [7553] was born in 1170 in Beaumont-le-Vicomte, Maine, France,1786 died on 11 February 1233 in Balmerino, , Fife, Scotland 1786 and was buried on 11 February 1233 in Balmerino, , Fife, Scotland 1786.)
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