General Notes

[1700591.ged]
Earl of Huntingdon. Earl of Northampton. Prince of Cambria. Popularly
reputed as a Saint, His feast day is 24th May. 9th son of Malcolm III. 
United Alba with Strathclyde.
Raised in England, David rules south of Forth during Alexander's rule to
the North. Upon Alex's death in 1124, David inherits all of Scotland.  He
rules for 30 years as a powerful king who creates a stronger church,
burghs, a number of towns, and
introduces a justice system. He is a patron of arts and learning. Marries
an English heiress.  Brings formal feudalism to Scotland, along with many
Norman families that come up later in Scottish nationalist history:
deBrus (ancestor of Robert the
Bruce), fitzAlan (descendant to become powerful High Steward), Sir
William Graham (staunch friend and supporter of William Wallace),
deBailleul, deComines. His norman feudalism was at odds with the older
Celtic clann traditions and bitterly hated.
This continued the lowland/highland dichotomy begun by Malcolm III.
When David came to the throne in 1124, Scotland was, even by the
standards of the day,  a very primitive country, with a handful of towns
and little industry or commerce. People lived in wooden houses and
existed with barter. The country was fragmented
geographically into 7 provinces with many gaelic dialects and areas of
latin, french, norse, and english. local chieftains often disregarded the
king to do as the pleased. The church had 3 bishoprics, no parish system,
and little power. When David died
just a quarter century later, Scotland was a very different place,
especially the lowlands.  a new efficient Anglo-Norman feudal system had
been fully implemented. Scotland had also known relative peace for a
time, allowing it to develop.  He
distributed large estates to his norman friends, established a central
administration, mostly out of Stirling, and a system of justice that
included justiciars and sheriffs. he appointed court officials, such as
Chamberlain, Constable, Steward, and
Marshal. He encouraged foreign trade, a standard system of weights and
measures, and 2 royal mints. He was the first king to issue his own
autonomous coinage. He granted burgh status to a number of towns that
gave them political and economic advantages
like limited monopolies on products, the right to hold markets and fairs,
and freedom from tolls. He established many parishes, built many
churches, founded 6 more bishoprics (given to normans), and endowed the
three great lowland monasteries-
Dryburgh, Kelso, and Melrose. He also encouraged the scottish clergy to
maintain their independance from Rome, creating a debate that would
linger in scotland for centuries. He annexed Northumbria during the
battle of succession between Maud and
Stephen.
The Complete Peerage vol.V,pp.641-2.