Alexander I of Scotland
Encyclopedia
Alexander I also called Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim (Modern Gaelic
: Alasdair mac Mhaol Chaluim) and nicknamed "The Fierce", was King of the Scots from 1107 to his death.
by his wife Margaret of Wessex
, grandniece of Edward the Confessor
. Alexander was named for Pope Alexander II
.
He was the younger brother of King Edgar
, who was unmarried, and his brother's heir presumptive
by 1104 (and perhabs earlier). In that year he was the senior layman present at the examination of the remains of Saint Cuthbert at Durham
prior to their reinterrment. He held lands in Scotland north of the Forth
and in Lothian
.
On the death of Edgar in 1107 he succeeded to the Scottish crown; but, in accordance with Edgar's instructions, their brother David
was granted an appanage
in southern Scotland. Edgar's will granted David the lands of the former kingdom of Strathclyde
or Cumbria, and this was apparently agreed in advance by Edgar, Alexander, David and their brother-in-law Henry I of England
. However, in 1113, perhaps at Henry's instigation, and with the support of his Anglo-Norman
, David demanded, and received, additional lands in Lothian
along the Upper Tweed
and Teviot
. David did not receive the title of king, but of "prince of the Cumbrians", and his lands remained under Alexander's final authority.
The dispute over Upper Tweeddale and Teviotdale does not appear to have damaged relations between Alexander and David, although it was unpopular in some quarters. A Gaelic
poem laments:
The dispute over the eastern marches does not appear to have caused lasting trouble between Alexander and Henry of England. In 1114 he joined Henry on campaign in Wales against Gruffydd ap Cynan
of Gwynedd
. Alexander's marriage with Henry's illegitimate daughter Sybilla de Normandy
may have occurred as early as 1107, or as at late as 1114.
William of Malmesbury
's account attacks Sybilla, but the evidence argues that Alexander and Sybilla were a devoted but childless couple and Sybilla was of noteworthy piety. Sybilla died in unrecorded circumstances at Eilean nam Ban (Kenmore on Loch Tay
) in July, 1122 and was buried at Dunfermline Abbey
. Alexander did not remarry and Walter Bower
wrote that he planned an Augustinian Priory
at the Eilean nam Ban dedicated to Sybilla's memory, and he may have taken steps to have her venerated
.
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Alexander had at least one illegitimate child, Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair
, who was later to be involved in a revolt against David I
in the 1130s. He was imprisoned at Roxburgh
for many years afterwards, perhaps until his death some time after 1157.
Alexander was, like his brothers Edgar and David, a notably pious king. He was responsible for foundations at Scone and Inchcolm
. His mother's chaplain and hagiographer
Thurgot
was named Bishop of Saint Andrews (or Cell Rígmonaid) in 1107, presumably by Alexander's order. The case of Thurgot's would-be successor Eadmer
shows that Alexander's wishes were not always accepted by the religious community, perhaps because Eadmer had the backing of the Archbishop of Canterbury
, Ralph d'Escures
, rather than Thurstan
of York
. Alexander also patronised Saint Andrews, granting lands intended for an Augustinian Priory, which may have been the same as that intended to honour his wife.
For all his religiosity, Alexander was not remembered as a man of peace. John of Fordun
says of him:
He manifested the terrible aspect of his character in his reprisals in the Mormaerdom of Moray. Andrew of Wyntoun
's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland says that Alexander was holding court at Invergowrie
when he was attacked by "men of the Isles". Walter Bower says the attackers were from Moray and Mearns. Alexander pursued them north, to "Stockford" in Ross
(near Beauly
) where he defeated them. This, says Wyntoun, is why he was named the "Fierce". The dating of this is uncertain, as are his enemies' identity. However, in 1116 the Annals of Ulster
report: "Ladhmann son of Domnall, grandson of the king of Scotland, was killed by the men of Moray." The king referred to is Alexander's father, Malcolm III, and Domnall was Alexander's half brother. The Mormaerdom or Kingdom of Moray was ruled by the family of Macbeth
(Mac Bethad mac Findláich) and Lulach
(Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin); not overmighty subjects, but a family who had ruled Alba within little more than a lifetime. Who the Mormaer or King was at this time is not known, it may have been Óengus of Moray
or his father, whose name is not known. As for the Mearns, the only known Mormaer of Mearns
, Máel Petair
, had murdered Alexander's half-brother Duncan II
(Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim) in 1094.
Alexander died in April 1124 at his court at Stirling; his brother David, probably the acknowledged heir since the death of Sybilla, succeeded him.
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
: Alasdair mac Mhaol Chaluim) and nicknamed "The Fierce", was King of the Scots from 1107 to his death.
Life
Alexander was the fourth son of Malcolm IIIMalcolm III of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...
by his wife Margaret of Wessex
Saint Margaret of Scotland
Saint Margaret of Scotland , also known as Margaret of Wessex and Queen Margaret of Scotland, was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Born in exile in Hungary, she was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England...
, grandniece of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
. Alexander was named for Pope Alexander II
Pope Alexander II
Pope Alexander II , born Anselmo da Baggio, was Pope from 1061 to 1073.He was born in Milan. As bishop of Lucca he had been an energetic coadjutor with Hildebrand of Sovana in endeavouring to suppress simony, and to enforce the celibacy of the clergy...
.
He was the younger brother of King Edgar
Edgar of Scotland
Edgar or Étgar mac Maíl Choluim , nicknamed Probus, "the Valiant" , was king of Alba from 1097 to 1107...
, who was unmarried, and his brother's heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
by 1104 (and perhabs earlier). In that year he was the senior layman present at the examination of the remains of Saint Cuthbert at Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
prior to their reinterrment. He held lands in Scotland north of the Forth
River Forth
The River Forth , long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.The Forth rises in Loch Ard in the Trossachs, a mountainous area some west of Stirling...
and in Lothian
Lothian
Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....
.
On the death of Edgar in 1107 he succeeded to the Scottish crown; but, in accordance with Edgar's instructions, their brother David
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
was granted an appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
in southern Scotland. Edgar's will granted David the lands of the former kingdom of Strathclyde
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the celtic people called the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during the post-Roman period...
or Cumbria, and this was apparently agreed in advance by Edgar, Alexander, David and their brother-in-law Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
. However, in 1113, perhaps at Henry's instigation, and with the support of his Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
, David demanded, and received, additional lands in Lothian
Lothian
Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....
along the Upper Tweed
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is long and flows primarily through the Borders region of Great Britain. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" as the Border saying...
and Teviot
River Teviot
The River Teviot, or Teviot Water, is a river of the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, and a tributary of the River Tweed.It rises in the western foothills of Comb Hill on the border of Dumfries and Galloway...
. David did not receive the title of king, but of "prince of the Cumbrians", and his lands remained under Alexander's final authority.
The dispute over Upper Tweeddale and Teviotdale does not appear to have damaged relations between Alexander and David, although it was unpopular in some quarters. A Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
poem laments:
It's bad what Malcolm's son has done,
dividing us from Alexander;
he causes, like each king's son before,
the plunder of stable Alba.
The dispute over the eastern marches does not appear to have caused lasting trouble between Alexander and Henry of England. In 1114 he joined Henry on campaign in Wales against Gruffydd ap Cynan
Gruffydd ap Cynan
Gruffydd ap Cynan was a King of Gwynedd. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was remembered as King of all Wales...
of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
. Alexander's marriage with Henry's illegitimate daughter Sybilla de Normandy
Sybilla de Normandy
Sybilla of Normandy was queen consort of Scotland, wife to Alexander I.Sybilla was the first child of Henry I of England and his mistress Lady Sybilla Corbet of Alcester . Her maternal grandfather was Robert, Count of Mortain, Earl of Cornwall...
may have occurred as early as 1107, or as at late as 1114.
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
's account attacks Sybilla, but the evidence argues that Alexander and Sybilla were a devoted but childless couple and Sybilla was of noteworthy piety. Sybilla died in unrecorded circumstances at Eilean nam Ban (Kenmore on Loch Tay
Loch Tay
Loch Tay is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the district of Perthshire.It is a long narrow loch of around 14 miles long, and typically around 1 to 1½ miles wide, following the line of the valley from the south west to north east...
) in July, 1122 and was buried at Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey is as a Church of Scotland Parish Church located in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. In 2002 the congregation had 806 members. The minister is the Reverend Alastair Jessamine...
. Alexander did not remarry and Walter Bower
Walter Bower
Walter Bower , Scottish chronicler, was born about 1385 at Haddington, East Lothian.He was abbot of Inchcolm Abbey from 1418, was one of the commissioners for the collection of the ransom of James I, King of Scots, in 1423 and 1424, and in 1433 one of the embassy to Paris on the business of the...
wrote that he planned an Augustinian Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
at the Eilean nam Ban dedicated to Sybilla's memory, and he may have taken steps to have her venerated
Veneration
Veneration , or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a saint: an angel, or a dead person who has been identified by a church committee as singular in the traditions of the religion. It is practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic Churches...
.
Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair
Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair or Máel Coluim mac Alasdair was the son of King Alexander I of Scotland and enemy of King David I of Scotland, his uncle...
, who was later to be involved in a revolt against David I
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
in the 1130s. He was imprisoned at Roxburgh
Roxburgh
Roxburgh , also known as Rosbroch, is a village, civil parish and now-destroyed royal burgh. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland...
for many years afterwards, perhaps until his death some time after 1157.
Alexander was, like his brothers Edgar and David, a notably pious king. He was responsible for foundations at Scone and Inchcolm
Inchcolm
Inchcolm is an island in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. Repeatedly attacked by English raiders during the Wars of Scottish Independence, it was fortified during both World Wars to defend nearby Edinburgh...
. His mother's chaplain and hagiographer
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
Thurgot
Thurgot
Thorgaut or Turgot was Archdeacon and Prior of Durham, and the first English or Anglo-Norman Bishop of Saint Andrews ....
was named Bishop of Saint Andrews (or Cell Rígmonaid) in 1107, presumably by Alexander's order. The case of Thurgot's would-be successor Eadmer
Eadmer
Eadmer, or Edmer , was an English historian, theologian, and ecclesiastic. He is known for being a contemporary biographer of his contemporary archbishop and companion, Saint Anselm, in his Vita Anselmi, and for his Historia novorum in Anglia, which presents the public face of Anselm...
shows that Alexander's wishes were not always accepted by the religious community, perhaps because Eadmer had the backing of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Ralph d'Escures
Ralph d'Escures
Ralph , also known as Ralph d'Escures from the family estate Escures, near Sées in Normandy, was a medieval Abbot of Séez, Bishop of Rochester and then Archbishop of Canterbury. He studied at the school at the Abbey of Bec. In 1079 he entered the abbey of St Martin at Séez, and became abbot there...
, rather than Thurstan
Thurstan
Thurstan or Turstin of Bayeux was a medieval Archbishop of York, the son of a priest. He served kings William II and Henry I of England before his election to the see of York in 1114. Once elected, his consecration was delayed for five years while he fought attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury...
of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
. Alexander also patronised Saint Andrews, granting lands intended for an Augustinian Priory, which may have been the same as that intended to honour his wife.
For all his religiosity, Alexander was not remembered as a man of peace. John of Fordun
John of Fordun
John of Fordun was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th century; and it is probable that he was a chaplain in the St Machar's Cathedral of...
says of him:
He manifested the terrible aspect of his character in his reprisals in the Mormaerdom of Moray. Andrew of Wyntoun
Andrew of Wyntoun
Andrew Wyntoun, known as Andrew of Wyntoun was a Scottish poet, a canon and prior of Loch Leven on St Serf's Inch and later, a canon of St...
's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland says that Alexander was holding court at Invergowrie
Invergowrie
Invergowrie is a village on the north bank of the River Tay to the west of Dundee. Although formerly incorporated as part of Dundee, it is located in Perth and Kinross....
when he was attacked by "men of the Isles". Walter Bower says the attackers were from Moray and Mearns. Alexander pursued them north, to "Stockford" in Ross
Ross
Ross is a region of Scotland and a former mormaerdom, earldom, sheriffdom and county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning a headland - perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. The Norse word for Orkney - Hrossay meaning horse island - is another possible origin. The area...
(near Beauly
Beauly
Beauly is a town of the Scottish county of Inverness-shire, on the River Beauly, 10 miles west of Inverness by the Far North railway line. Its population was 855 in 1901...
) where he defeated them. This, says Wyntoun, is why he was named the "Fierce". The dating of this is uncertain, as are his enemies' identity. However, in 1116 the Annals of Ulster
Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
report: "Ladhmann son of Domnall, grandson of the king of Scotland, was killed by the men of Moray." The king referred to is Alexander's father, Malcolm III, and Domnall was Alexander's half brother. The Mormaerdom or Kingdom of Moray was ruled by the family of Macbeth
Macbeth of Scotland
Mac Bethad mac Findlaích was King of the Scots from 1040 until his death...
(Mac Bethad mac Findláich) and Lulach
Lulach of Scotland
Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin was King of Scots between 15 August 1057 and 17 March 1058.He appears to have been a weak king, as his nicknames suggest...
(Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin); not overmighty subjects, but a family who had ruled Alba within little more than a lifetime. Who the Mormaer or King was at this time is not known, it may have been Óengus of Moray
Óengus of Moray
Óengus of Moray was the last King of Moray of the native line, ruling Moray in what is now northeastern Scotland from some unknown date until his death in 1130....
or his father, whose name is not known. As for the Mearns, the only known Mormaer of Mearns
Mormaer of Mearns
The Mormaer or Mormaerdom of Mearns is the most obscure medieval Scottish Mormaerdom. It is known only from one source, a source relating that Máel Petair, Mormaer of Mearns, killed Donnchad II. There is good reason to believe that this is not some mistake, and that Mearns was once a Mormaerdom...
, Máel Petair
Máel Petair of Mearns
Máel Petair of Mearns is the only known Mormaer of the Mearns. His name means "tonsured one of Peter".One source tells us that Máel Petair was the son of a Máel Coluim, but tells us nothing about this. If this weren't bad enough, other sources say that his father was a man called "Loren", and in...
, had murdered Alexander's half-brother Duncan II
Duncan II of Scotland
Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim was king of Scots...
(Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim) in 1094.
Alexander died in April 1124 at his court at Stirling; his brother David, probably the acknowledged heir since the death of Sybilla, succeeded him.
Fictional portrayals
Alexander I has been depicted in a fantasy novel. :- Pater Nostras Canis Dirus: The Garrison Effect (2010). Alexander is depicted troubled by his lack of direct heirs, having no child with his wife Sybilla of Normandy. He points that his father-in-law Henry I of EnglandHenry I of EnglandHenry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
is asking them for a grandson.