• General Notes

  [SUSANNA KEENE.FTW]
  
  REF: Scottish History website: When Malcolm IV died in 1165,
  his brother, known as William the Lion (for his red rampant
  lion on a yellow field) was king of Scotland. These colors and
  the red rampant
  lion were to become Scotland's heraldic colours (Royal
  Standard). William the Lion of Scotland began an alliance with
  France that would eventually lead to the "Auld Alliance."
  Lowland Scotland and England had been having a series of
  battles over possession of Northumbria in North England.
  William the Lion wanted it back, (as his predecessor Malcolm IV
  had returned it to England under threat of invasion), and
  started the alliance with France leading to a conflict with
  Anglo-Norman England. He launched a grand invasion of England
  in 1174 to reclaim Northumbria. Henry II was now King of
  England and involved in
  France, so William the Lion invaded. But the enterprise
  misfired, due to their own rashness and to an east coast mist,
  attributed by both sides to be divine intervention. The Scots
  were heavily defeated at Alnwick and William the Lion himself,
  taken prisoner and sent to Normandy. There he was forced to
  sign the Treaty of Falaise. By this humiliating document,
  Scotland was placed under feudal subjection to England, the
  Scottish church put under the jurisdiction of the English
  Primate, Northumbria confirmed as English territory and the
  castles of Southern Scotland garrisoned by English troops.
  Fifteen years would pass before William the Lion was able to
  redress the balance. In 1189, Richard Coeur de Lion (Richard
  the Lionhearted), needing money for a Crusade, agreed to give
  back the castles and renounce his feudal
  superiority over Scotland in return for 10,000 marks. This sum
  was a huge sum of money for Scotland to pay and it took them
  many years and much taxation before they were able to
  repurchase their own castles and land. Three years later, Pope
  Celestine III released the Scottish church from English
  supremacy and declared that thenceforth, it should be under
  direct jurisdiction of Rome. It was the beginning of nearly 100
  years of relative peace between England and Scotland. Scots
  kings had other problems to worry about though, Celtic
  Chieftains of the west (who still enjoyed a great measure of
  independence) were in a more or less state of insurrection
  against the central monarchy. Fergus, Prince
  of Galloway had rebelled no less than three times against
  Malcolm IV, and now in the reign of William the Lion, Fergus's
  sons rose again, massacring with particular gusto, the
  Anglo-Norman garrisons which had been stationed in southeast
  Scotland under the Treaty of Falaise. It was to be a long time
  before this last Celtic stronghold in the southwest Lowlands
  was to be pacified. Further north and west were the dominions
  of the Lords of the Isles and the Lords of Lorne. They regarded
  themselves as independent rulers of their own kingdoms. These
  are the Norse/Scots, with no particular loyalty or obligations
  to the Royal House of Scotland. Their allegiance (loosely)
  being to the Kings of Norway. Remember that in the reign of
  Malcolm IV, William the Lion's predecessor, the Norse/Scot
  blooded Somerled, King of Morvern, Lochaber, Argyll and the
  southern Hebrides and Uncle by marriage to the Norwegian King
  of the Isles,
  had shown his contempt for Scottish Kings by sailing up the
  River Clyde in his ships and sacking Glasgow. They were
  eventually overcome by Malcolm's High Steward, Walter FitzAlan,
  and Somerled himself was laid low by an unlucky spear thrust.
  But to the Norse/Scots hearty warriors, that was just a setback
  and Somerled's descendants, the MacDougall Lords of Lorne or
  Lorn, and the MacDonald's Lord of the Isles; as well as the
  MacLeods (pronounced MacClouds) and the MacLeans (pronounced
  MacClane) were, in their turn, to carry out the tradition of
  independence.
  
  REF: Scottish History website: Shortly after his accesssion to
  the throne, he spent some time at the English court of Henry
  II; then quarrelling with Henry, he arranged an alliance
  between the two countries, Scotland and France, which would
  take root again over 100 years later (in 1294) and last until
  1746, known as the "Auld Alliance." The oldest mutual
  self-defence treaty in Europe. He arranged this treaty with
  French King Louis VII; and even assisted Henry's sons in their
  revolt against their father (Henry II of England) in 1173. In
  return for this aid, the younger Henry granted Northumberland,
  a possession which William had sought, in vain, from the
  English king. William was a ferocious fighter and military
  commander, but of questionable ability as a tactician, by
  English chronicle accounts. He led a band of well armed men, a
  mix of wild Irish Kerns, Norman-Scots, Celts and Galloway men.
  According to the chroniclers the kerns "slaughtered children,
  ripped open pregnant women, and cut down priests at their
  atlars." But, this type of description of William's actions
  were written by frightened and highly
  propagandized English chroniclers, whose prose was so
  compelling that later chroniclers and writers would use this
  same propaganda when they described the behaviour of William
  Wallace's men. The scarlet rampant lion on its yellow field,
  soon to be Scotland's own standard, was fixed outside Carlisle
  Castle as William attacked. But the castle kept the gates shut
  so William's horsemen raided manors on both sides of Hadrian's
  Wall, burning and killing with the dedicated ferocity of
  knightly valour.
  In 1174, at Alnwick, William the Lion and a small detachment
  reached Alnwick Castle which he attempted to beseige. It was
  not a wise decision. William was outnumbered by the English
  garrison and even worse, a relief force of English soldiers
  under Ralf de Glanvil was approaching from the south. Exactly
  what happened next depends, somewhat, on which version you
  read. One version claims that in a severe mist (common to both
  versions), William saw a group of knights on horseback
  approaching, and thinking them to be his men he rode to them.
  When he got closer, he saw they were instead a body of English
  cavalry, he was said not to be afraid, but couched his lance
  and exclaimed "Now it will appear who knows how to be a
  knight!" according to this version, a spear from the English
  brought down his horse, and with his feet securely tied beneath
  the belly of another, this time as a prisoner, he was taken to
  English King Henry II in Northhampton. The other version
  differs only in the manner of his unhorsing. In it, he was
  skirmishing valiantly in a deep mist when he was unhorsed.
  Before he could get up from the ground, his own horse rolled on
  top of him and pinned him down whence the English took him
  prisoner.
  He was sent in chains to Henry II at Northhampton, but Henry,
  was said to be too busy to deal with the captive king, so
  William the Lion of Scotland was taken through England to the
  Kent coast and from there, across the Channel to Henry II's
  castle at Falaise in Normandy. The English king had recently
  scourged his own body in penance for the murder of Thomas
  Becket. Henry, now feeling purified by this, accepted Williams
  capture as a gift from God and the dead archbishop (Becket).
  Henry sent the Scots king to a prison in Falaise and sent an
  avenging English army to Scotland, where it took the castles of
  Berwick, Roxburgh, Jedburgh and Edinburgh, wasting or taxing
  all the country. In bitter exile in Falaise,
  Normandy, The Lion became a sheep. William was not married and
  his brother was also a prisoner, the line of Canmore (from
  Gaelic Cean more - large or big head), faced extinction, or at
  least expulsion, if both were imprisoned until death. Henry II
  now extracted an oath of allegiance from William, that Henry
  was his feudal superior (a claim that Edward I and other future
  English kings would use on Scotland). This time the English
  king spelled out exactly what the act of homage meant: William
  held Scotland only by permission of Henry II. Scottish soldiers
  were to be evacuated from the castles and garrisons, and
  replaced by English troops. And the entire expense(s) of the
  English garrisons, now all over Scotland, were to be paid by
  the Scots for the English occupation!  It was a bitter and
  humilating treaty for Scotland, the Scots had to endure this
  humiliating subserviance to England and all it meant for 15
  years. It was to be known as the Treaty of Falaise, and was a
  sour pill for Scotland to swallow. In fact, the payments to the
  English, for the Scots own land and castles, so severly taxed
  the population,
  Scotland nearly reverted to a country of peasants. Already a
  just a moderate nation, in terms of wealth, compared to their
  English neighbours, this taxation nearly destroyed Scotland.
  But, luckily for Scotland, after 15 years of this occupation
  and taxation, a new king was on the throne of England.  The new
  English king, Richard Coer de Lion; Richard Lionheart (more
  commonly known as Richard the
  Lionhearted), was much more interested in fame, battle and
  glory he might receive from battling the infidels in the Holy
  Land. So much so, he made overtures to William the Lion.
  Richard was badly in need of quick funds, to mount a Crusade
  (the third). Richard Lionheart agreed that for 10,000 merks of
  silver for supplies and transportation to the Holy Land, he
  would release William the Lion of Scotland from the humiliating
  Treaty of Falaise, and would also return to William all the
  Castles the English Crown still held in Scotland. William
  agreed and even comtemplated purchasing Northumbria from
  Richard Lionheart, which he was willing to sell for an
  additional 15,000 merks. But Richard insisted on keeping the
  castles in Northumbria, and without them, William realised it
  would be impossible for him to keep a hold on Northumbria and
  he withdrew the offer to purchase Northumbria - but did
  repurchase Scotland and all its castles for the high sum agreed
  upon.  Scotland was nearly bankrupt from 15 years of taxation
  and William's repurchase of his own land and castles must have
  been another particularly nasty pill to ingest. It had been a
  humiliating experience for him, for Scotland and its people.
  But, he did so and thus saved Scotland (after nearly losing
  it), barely, from becoming a North English province. Scotland
  ecame independent once again and the surrendered castles were
  returned for the agreed price and replaced with Scottish
  garrisons. Richard Lionheart set off for the Holy Land on the
  Third Crusade where he gained much fame, and eventual
  imprisonment in Austria and his absense during those years from
  England and English affairs left England in a sorry state with
  John taking over as the new king of England.  At the age of 53,
  William the Lion fathered an heir by the illegitimate
  granddaughter of Henry I whom the English had forced upon him.
  An indication of their affection towards each other is
  evidenced by the fact that they had been married 13 years
  before she bore their son, Alexander. William tried to get his
  claim to the northern counties of England, including
  Northumbria (again), recognised by the new English King John.
  But when this was unsuccessful, old William tried an invasion
  of the area again. A skirmish and then a strange war resulted
  in which William, at the last moment, supposedly due to a
  Divine warning that appeared to him, decided against full
  invasion. That is the legend at least. Most likely, he was
  forestalled by English King John, who crossed the Border
  himself, demanding a compensation for all damage done by
  Williams army to the English Border area. There followed an
  even stranger incident. A set of meetings and conflicts,
  councils and stakes laid -- passed across gambling tables as if
  some game were in progress. Another manor was burnt, an apology
  made along with a gift from William to John of a hunting
  falcon. It was a very strange and bizarre Border war where the
  dependents and vassals were more eager to fight than the
  principals. In the end, two of William's daughters were sent
  south to the English court so that John might find husbands for
  them (or so it was claimed), and until he did, he made them
  pets of his court, kept them well dressed and fed lavish foods
  such as figs. The war or almost-war, ended in weary alliance
  with the dowry of 15,000 merks. In 1209 war became imminent
  again but a peace was made at Norham and three years later
  another amicable
  settlement was reached between the two countries. Old and
  senile, William the Lion died at Stirling on 4 December 1214,
  and was buried at Arbroath. His hopes of expanding his kingdom
  long since abandoned, though he did invest his son Alexander
  (who would become Alexander II) with his own estates in
  England. It is somewhat ironic that Scotlands Royal Standard
  and colours of a red rampant lion on a field of yellow came
  from this nobly named, seemingly brave, but ineffective warrior
  at best.

Details of William I the Lion's family with Isabel Avenal