Editing William the Lion (section)

== Reign ==
{{Further|Scotland in the Middle Ages#Scoto-Norman kings: David I to Alexander III}}

[[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.<ref name=":0" /> His brother's steward, constable, and chancellor remained in office, and William confirmed Malcolm IV's last bequest to [[Dunfermline Abbey]].<ref name=":0" /> In contrast to his deeply religious, frail brother, William was powerfully built, redheaded, and headstrong.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} 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 King Henry II; then, quarrelling with Henry, he arranged in 1168 the first definite treaty of alliance between France and Scotland.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=William of Scotland|display=William|volume=28|page=665}}</ref>

William was then a key player in the [[Revolt of 1173–1174]] against [[Henry II of England|Henry II]], which was led by Henry's sons with some short-lived assistance from [[Louis VII of France|Louis VII]] of France.<ref name="EB1911" /> In 1174, at the [[Battle of Alnwick (1174)|Battle of Alnwick]], during a raid in support of the revolt, William was surprised in this encampment with only 60 men to the English 400. He 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 upon Tyne|Newcastle]], then [[Northampton]], and then transferred to [[Caen]] then [[Falaise, Calvados, France|Falaise]] in [[Normandy]].<ref name=":0" /> 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 [[Mark (currency)|marks]] (£26,000).<ref>[[Adam Mansfeldt de Cardonnel-Lawson|Cardonnel, Adam de]], ''Numismata scotiæ, or A series of the Scottish coinage, from the reign of William the Lion to the Union. By Adam De Cardonnel, member of the [[Antiquarian|antiquarian society]] of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, MDCCLXXXVI'' [1786].</ref> The church in 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barrow |first=Geoffrey Wallis Steuart |url=https://archive.org/details/actsofwilliamiki0002barr/mode/2up?q=Falaise |title=The acts of William I, King of Scots, 1165-1214 |date=1971 |publisher=Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-85224-142-4 |pages=7–8}}</ref> On 10 August 1175 he swore fealty to Henry II at [[York Castle]] and became his liege man.<ref name=":0" />

The humiliation of the Treaty of Falaise triggered a revolt in [[Galloway]] which lasted until 1186 and prompted the construction of a [[Dumfries Castle|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 [[Lovat Castle|Beauly]] and [[Cromarty Castle|Cromarty Firths]]:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Matheson |first1=Alister Farquhar |title=Scotland's Northwest Frontier: A Forgotten British Borderland |year=2014 |publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-78306-442-7 |page=19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YIZ0BAAAQBAJ&q=William+the+Lion+AND+easter+ross+castles}}</ref> one on the [[Black Isle]] at [[Redcastle|Ederdour]]; and the other at Dunkeath, near the mouth of the Cromarty Firth opposite [[Cromarty]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crowl |first1=Philip Axtell |title=The intelligent traveller's guide to historic Scotland |date=1986 |publisher=Congdon & Weed |page=83 |isbn=978-0865531581 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mh0OAQAAMAAJ&q=%22William+the+Lion%22+castle+%22easter+ross%22}}</ref> The aim was to discourage the [[Norsemen|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 in 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]], a quarrel which arose out of a double choice for the vacant [[Archdiocese of St Andrews|bishopric of St Andrews]]. The king put forward his chaplain, [[Hugh the Chaplain|Hugh]], while the pope supported the archdeacon, [[John Scotus (bishop of Dunkeld)|John Scotus]], who had been canonically elected. A hostile interchange followed; then after the death of Alexander in 1181 his successor, [[Pope 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 [[Baldwin of Forde|English archbishop]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

The Treaty of Falaise remained in force for the next fifteen years. Then the English king [[Richard I of England|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 [[Mormaer of Moray|Moray]] and [[Inverness]]; and a series of campaigns brought the far north, [[Caithness]] and [[Sutherland]], under the power of the crown.<ref name="EB1911"/>

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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Richard |last=Gillingham |first=John |year=2000 |isbn=0-300-09404-3 |page=272|publisher=Yale University Press }}</ref> In 1200, William did homage for Northumbria, not for Scotland, to Richard's successor, [[John, King of England|John]], apparently to save face.<ref name="EB1911" />

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,<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - History - British History in depth: King John, the Lusignan Affair and the Early Years |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/lusig_01.shtml |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref> 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 II of Scotland|Alexander]], for his eldest daughter, [[Joan of England, Queen of Scotland|Joan]].