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William I the Lion King of Scotland1
b. 1143, d. 4 December 1214, #22332
Pop-up Pedigree

Father   Henry 1st Earl of Huntington and Northumberland b. circa 1114, d. 12 June 1152
Mother   Ada Adelaide de Warren b. circa 1125, d. circa 1178

research* Find William's reign was much longer than his predecessor lasting 49 eventful years, a notable achievement at this period. It is likely that he was known as 'the Lion' because he adopted the use of the lion rampant as his coat of arms.

illiam remained unmarried until 1186, although he did have several illegitimate children, when he married Ermengarde de Beaumont. He was 56 when his first legitimate child was born, the future king Alexander II. In 1201 William held an assembly at Musselburgh to ensure the smooth transition of the crown to his son, he must have felt insecure about the succession as he also extracted promises from the leading barons at his deathbed.

illiam strengthened the feudal system in Scotland and founded burghs at Ayr, Dumfries, Dundee, Inverness and Elgin. Although unpopular he also extended the network of sheriffs and justices - often employing Anglo-French officials, this possibly explains the unpopularity of these measures.

alloway was still a problem to the crown and in 1174 there was a rebellion there led by Gilbert, the son of Fergus who had led a rebellion against Malcolm. After Gilbert died in 1185 the rebellion was crushed and William instigated the building of castles and the establishment of royal burghs in the area. Under William the north was finally brought under royal control, he subdued Easter Ross in 1179 and built castles at Redcastle on the Black Isle and Dunskeath on the Cromarty Firth. In 1187 these castles helped William withstand the revolt of Donald MacWilliam who was killed by the loyal Roland of Galloway near Inverness. In 1197 an army advanced as far north as Thurso to defeat Harald Maddadson, Earl of Orkney. Four years later, however, Harald Maddadson was back invading Scotland and on this occasion he also mutilated the Bishop of Caithness before being defeated yet again. This time Harald's son, Thorfin was blinded and castrated as a punishment. One more raid was led by Guthred but this too was a failure and this left William as undisputed master of the whole of the Scottish mainland.

he King and Pope had been in dispute between 1178 and 1182 when Scotland was briefly put under an interdict over the appointment of the Bishop of St Andrews, but it was also during William's reign that the Pope declared Scotland to be under his jurisdiction and not that of the English church. This was declared in the Bull Super Anxietatibus which was confirmed in 1192.

hroughout his reign William had an obsession with obtaining Northumberland but during the first eight years of his reign a tense peace existed between Scotland and England. In 1173 he made the mistake of joining Henry II's sons in a rebellion against their father demanding Northumberland as the price of his loyalty. William was not a great general and was captured at the Battle of Alnwick in 1174. He had his legs chained together beneath his horse and was taken to Henry at Falaise in France. He was then forced to accept some humiliating terms - he did homage to Henry for the kingdom of Scotland and also surrendered some key castles, such as Edinburgh and Stirling, to the English. Edinburgh Castle was returned in 1186 on William's marriage to Ermengarde de Beaumont. It was only because Richard I desperately needed funds for the Crusades that Scotland gained its freedom from Henry's demands. In the Quit Claim of Canterbury Richard revoked the treaty of Falaise for 10,000 merks. Now William only had to do homage to the English king for his lands in England. William never gave up his dream of ruling Northumberland but although he held protracted negociations with Richard's brother, John, he was no nearer his ambition when he died in 1214.2 
research Find William the Lion was the younger brother of Malcolm IV. A year after his accession, he went to Normandy with Henry II and later spent Easter 1170 at Windsor. In 1174, however, he joined Henry II's son in his rebellion against his father, and invaded England. He was captured at Alnwick, Northumberland and brought to Henry II with 'his feet shackled beneath the belly of his horse.' He was then held prisoner first in Yorkshire, later at Northampton and finally in France. He was released by the terms of the Treaty of Falaise of 8 December 1174, having been forced to agree to do homage to Henry II 'for Scotland and for all his other lands', and surrender key Scottish castles such as Edinburgh and Stirling.
As William's feudal lord, Henry now had the right to arrange his marriage, and he gave him Ermengarde de Beaumont, whose father was the son of an illegitimate daughter of Henry I. William eventually recovered Scotland from the English king's feudal overlordship, however, when Henry II was succeeded by Richard I. Richard, determined to raise money for his third Crusade, surrendered his feudal superiority over Scotland for 10,000 merks by the Quitclaim of Canterbury on 5 December 1189 and Scotland was an independent country once more. In 1196-7, William established his sovereignty in Caithness.

Under William, the development of feudal institutions continued; in part, the Scottish monarchy's government closely resembled England's. William established royal burghs in eastern Scotland up to moray Firth, and extended the use of sheriffs in the same area. Perth and Stirling became major centres of royal administration.

William I was a vigorous royal patron of the Scottish Church - he founded Arbroath Abbey, Angus in or before 1178. In 1182 Pope Lucius III sent him the Golden Rose and in 1188 Pope Clement III took the Scottish Church under his special protection. In 1192, the Pope granted a Bull to William that recognised the separate identity of the Scottish Church (previously the Church in Scotland had been brought under the authority of the Archbishop of York), and its independence of all ecclesiastical authorities apart from Rome. Gervase of Canterbury described William as 'a man of outstanding sanctity ... much preferring to have peace than the sword and to provide for his people by wisdom rather than iron'. William died at Stirling on 4 December 1214, aged 71, and was buried at Arbroath.3
 
Name Variation William I the Lion King of Scotland was also found as King William I Scotland. 
HYPER HYPERLINK this file: William I colors.  
Birth* 1143 William I the Lion was born in 1143.4 
AssocWith* William was also associated with the daughter of Adam de Hythus but not married. It is said that they had at least one child. Since this daughter Margaret was sent to England under the sponsorship of William, to find a suitable husband, it is likely that this is so.1 
AssocWith William was associated with Isabella de Avenal though not married. It is purported that they had 8 children.4,5 
HYPER* HYPERLINK this file: Scone palace, text and picture C:\books\html links\scone palace Also try to link the html file of great houses of Scotland.6  
Ruled* from 24 December 1165 to 1214 When Malcolm IV the Maiden, King of Scotland, grandson of David I and brother of William died in Dec of 1165, he was succeeded by his brother, William I the Lion. William was crowned on 24 Dec 1165 at Scone.7,8,4,5 
!AInfoNew 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.9 
!AInfoNew* 13 July 1174 On 13 July 1174 King William I the Lion of Scotland was captured while invading Northumberland. 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.7,10 
!AInfoNew 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.9 
Marriage 5 September 1186 William I the Lion King of Scotland married Ermengarde de Beaumont, daughter of Viscount Richard de Beaumont and Princess Constance of England, 5 September 1186 in Oxfordshire, 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. Tompsett gives 4 children to this marriage. Alexander, Margaret, Isabelle and Marjorie. Margaret and Marjorie may be the same person and their(her) mother may not be Ermengarde but Isabelle de Avenal.

If daughter Isabelle is the daughter of Ermengarde then Ermengarde is the 27th ggm of the children of Leslyn C. Black.11,9,5,4,12 
!AInfoNew About 1189, 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.9 
HYPER* 1200 HYPERLINK this file: Simplified map of Scotland C:\book\map\scotareas.gif.
 
HYPER HYPERLINK this file: Stirling castle C:\Book\linked html\stirling. html

Views of Sterling castle C:\book\linked pix\Sterling1 and Sterling 2.  
Death* 4 December 1214
Old and senile, William I the Lion died on 4 December 1214 at Scotland.4,1 
Burial* William was interred, Scotland. Arbroath Abbey is situated in the centre of Arbroath. Founded in 1178 by William the Lion and dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury, it was from here that the famous Declaration of Arbroath, asserting Scottish Independences, was issued in 1320. Important remains of the church survive; these include one of the most complete examples of an abbot's residence.5 
HYPER HYPERLINK this file: Picture or lext stored as C:\Books\Linkedpix\arbroath Abbey.  

Family 1  
Child  1. Ada+ d. 1200

Family 2   Isabella de Avenal
Children  1. Princess Isabella of Scotland+ b. c 116313
  2. Ada of Scotland 1

Family 3   un-named concubine daughter of Adam de Hythus
Child  1. Margaret 1

Family 4   Ermengarde de Beaumont b. circa 1156, d. 11 February 1233/34
Children  1. Margaret of Scotland+ b. c 1193, d. 129514
  2. Alexander II , King of Scotland+ b. 24 Aug 1198, d. 8 Jul 1249

Citations
  1. Download, Ed Mann Medieval-L.
  2. Download, http://www.scotlandspast.com/.
  3. Download, Ancestry http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1710670&id=I20876.
  4. .
  5. Download, http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal2231.
  6. Download, http://www.great-houses-scotland.co.uk/ghs/ghs_sc01.htm.
  7. [S9721] Unknown subject, Encarta.
  8. Scottish Kings, online Alan Frazer.
  9. Download, http://members.aol.com/skyewrites/thelion.html
    This original composition was written exclusively for Skye's Scottish &Medieval History Web Site. (http://members.aol.com/skyelander/). by : Robert Gunn

    .
  10. Download, http://members.aol.com/skyewrites/thelion.html
    This original composition was written exclusively for Skye's Scottish &Medieval History Web Site. (http://members.aol.com/skyelander/). by : Robert Gunn.
  11. John Lackland, online Robert Bradley.
  12. Download, http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal2232.
  13. Magna Carta Signers, online unknown compiler.
  14. Download, Ed Mann Medieval-L Louda and MacLagan.
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