1.
Edgar, King of Scotland
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Edgar or Étgar mac Maíl Choluim, nicknamed Probus, the Valiant, was king of Scotland from 1097 to 1107. He was the son of Malcolm III and Margaret of Wessex. Edgar claimed the kingship in early 1095, following the murder of his half-brother Duncan II in late 1094 by Máel Petair of Mearns and his older brother Edmund sided with Donald, presumably in return for an appanage and acknowledgement as the heir of the ageing and son-less Donald. Rufus campaigned in northern England for much of 1095, and during this time Edgar gained control only of Lothian, a charter issued at Durham at this time names him. Son of Máel Coluim King of Scots, possessing the whole land of Lothian and the kingship of the Scots by the gift of my lord William, king of the English, and by paternal heritage. In any event, he did attend the court on occasion, on 29 May 1099, for example, Edgar served as sword-bearer at the great feast to inaugurate Westminster Hall. After William Rufuss death, however, Edgar ceased to appear at the English court, with Donald and Edmund removed, however, Edgar was uncontested king of Scots, and his reign incurred no major crisis. Compared with his rise to power, Edgars reign is obscure, one notable act was his gift of a camel, presumably a souvenir of the First Crusade, to his fellow Gael Muircheartach Ua Briain, High King of Ireland. In 1098, Edgar signed a treaty with Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway, by ceding claims to the Hebrides and Kintyre to Magnus, Edgar acknowledged the practical realities of the existing situation. Edgars religious foundations included a priory at Coldingham in 1098, associated with the Convent of Durham, at Dunfermline Abbey he sought support from Anselm of Canterbury with his mothers foundation from which the monks of Canterbury may have been expelled by Domnall Bán. Edgar died in Edinburgh on 8 January 1107 and was buried at Dunfermline Abbey, unmarried and childless, he acknowledged his brother Alexander as his successor. Edgars will also granted David an appanage in Cumbria, and perhaps also in parts of Lothian. David would later be known as Prince of the Cumbrians There is an account of his death. According to this account, Edgar was killed by his uncle Donald III and this account reports, On the death of Malcolm, king of the Scots, great divisions rose among them, in reference to the succession to the crown. Alexander, however, his brother, slew Donald, and ascended the throne, benjamin Hudson dismisses the story as completely false. But its existence points to the circulation of tales about the monarchs of the late 11th century. A son of the woman of the English, I think it is wretched, that his brother will kill him. The English woman is obviously Saint Margaret, the Anglo-Saxon consort of Malcolm III, but none of her children, male or female, are known to have been killed by one of their own siblings
2.
David I of Scotland
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David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots. The youngest son of Máel Coluim III and Margaret of Wessex, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, perhaps after 1100, he became a dependent at the court of King Henry I. There he was influenced by the Norman and Anglo-French culture of the court, when Davids brother Alexander I of Scotland died in 1124, David chose, with the backing of Henry I, to take the Kingdom of Scotland for himself. He was forced to engage in warfare against his rival and nephew, subduing the latter seems to have taken David ten years, a struggle that involved the destruction of Óengus, Mormaer of Moray. Davids victory allowed expansion of control over more distant regions theoretically part of his Kingdom, after the death of his former patron Henry I, David supported the claims of Henrys daughter and his own niece, the former Empress-consort, Matilda, to the throne of England. In the process, he came into conflict with King Stephen and was able to expand his power in northern England, the term Davidian Revolution is used by many scholars to summarise the changes which took place in Scotland during his reign. The early years of David I are the most obscure of his life, because there is little documented evidence, historians can only guess at most of Davids activities in this period. David was born on an unknown in 1084 in Scotland. He was probably the son of King Máel Coluim mac Donnchada. He was the grandson of the ill-fated King Duncan I, in 1093 King Máel Coluim and Davids brother Edward were killed at the River Aln during an invasion of Northumberland. David and his two brothers Alexander and Edgar, both kings of Scotland, were probably present when their mother died shortly afterwards. According to later tradition, the three brothers were in Edinburgh when they were besieged by their uncle, Domnall Bán. It is not certain what happened next, but an insertion in the Chronicle of Melrose states that Domnall forced his three nephews into exile, although he was allied with another of his nephews, Edmund. John of Fordun wrote, centuries later, that an escort into England was arranged for them by their maternal uncle Edgar Ætheling, William Rufus, King of England, opposed Domnalls accession to the northerly kingdom. He sent the eldest son of Máel Coluim, Davids half-brother Donnchad, Donnchad was killed within the year, and so in 1097 William sent Donnchads half-brother Edgar into Scotland. The latter was successful, and was crowned King by the end of 1097. During the power struggle of 1093–97, David was in England, in 1093, he may have been about nine years old. From 1093 until 1103 Davids presence cannot be accounted for in detail, when William Rufus was killed, his brother Henry Beauclerc seized power and married Davids sister, Matilda
3.
Dunfermline
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Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh, and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground 3 miles from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The earliest known settlements in the area around Dunfermline likely date as far back as the Neolithic period, the area was not regionally significant until at least the Bronze Age. The town was first recorded in the 11th century, with the marriage of Malcolm III, King of Scotland, as his Queen consort, Margaret established a new church dedicated to the Holy Trinity, which evolved into an Abbey under their son, David I in 1128. Following the burial of Alexander I in 1160, the abbey graveyard confirmed its status as the place of Scotlands kings and queens up to. The town is a service centre for west Fife. Dunfermline retains much of its significance, as well as providing facilities for leisure. Employment is focused in the sector, with the largest employer being Sky UK. Other large employers in the area include Amazon, Best Western, CR Smith, FMC Technologies, Lloyds, there have been various interpretations of the name, Dunfermline. The first element, dun translated from Gaelic, has accepted as a hill. The rest of the name is problematic, the first record of a settlement in the Dunfermline area was in the Neolithic period. This evidence includes finds of an axe, some flint arrowheads. A cropmark which is understood to have used as a possible mortuary enclosure has been found at Deanpark House. By the time of the Bronze Age, the area was beginning to some importance. Important finds included an axe in Wellwood and a gold torc from the Parish Churchyard. The first historic record for Dunfermline was made in the 11th century, following her marriage to King Malcolm III, Queen Margaret encouraged her husband to convert the small culdee chapel into a church for Benedictine monks. The founding of new church of Dunfermline was inaugurated around 1072. The foundations of the church evolved into an Abbey in 1128, under the reign of their son, Dunfermline Abbey would play a major role in the general romanisation of religion throughout the kingdom. At the peak of its power the abbey controlled four burghs, Dunfermline had become a burgh between 1124 and 1127, if not before this time
4.
Stirling
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Stirling is a city in central Scotland. The market town, surrounded by farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its merchants and tradesmen, the bridge. Located on the River Forth, Stirling is the centre for the Stirling council area. It is proverbially the strategically important Gateway to the Highlands and it has been said that Stirling, like a huge brooch clasps Highlands and Lowlands together. Similarly he who holds Stirling, holds Scotland is often quoted, stirlings key position as the lowest bridging point of the River Forth before it broadens towards the Firth of Forth, made it a focal point for travel north or south. This invited control for, military advantage in times of unrest, unsurprisingly an excise man was installed in a covered booth in the centre of the bridge to collect tax from any entering the royal burgh with goods. According to a 9th century legend, when Stirling was temporarily under Anglo-Saxon sway, however the sound of a wolf roused a sentry who alerted his garrison to force a Viking retreat. This led to the wolf being adopted as a symbol of the town, even today it appears with a goshawk on the coat of arms along with the recently chosen motto, Steadfast as the Rock. Once the capital of Scotland, Stirling is visually dominated by Stirling Castle, the poet King was educated by George Buchanan and grew up in Stirling. He was later also crowned King of England and Ireland on 25th July 1603, modern Stirling is a centre for local government, higher education, tourism, retail, and industry. The 2011 census recorded the population of the city as 45,750, One of the principal royal strongholds of the Kingdom of Scotland, Stirling was created a royal burgh by King David I in 1130. In 2002, as part of Queen Elizabeths Golden Jubilee, Stirling was granted city status, Stirling was originally a Stone Age settlement as shown by the Randolphfield standing stones and Kings Park prehistoric carvings that can still be found south of the city. The site has been significant since at least the Roman occupation of Britain, due to its naturally defensible crag and tail hill. Coupled to this it enjoys a position which is not far from the Ochil Hills on the border between the Lowlands and Highlands. Its other notable feature is its proximity to the lowest ancient ford of the River Forth. It remained the rivers lowest crossing point until the construction of the Alloa Swing Bridge between Throsk and Alloa in 1885. It is supposed that Stirling is the fortress of Iuddeu or Urbs Giudi where Oswiu of Northumbria was besieged by Penda of Mercia in 655, as recorded in Bede and contemporary annals. Stirling was chartered as a burgh by King David in the 12th century
5.
Dunfermline Abbey
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Dunfermline Abbey is a Church of Scotland Parish Church located in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The minister is the Reverend MaryAnn R. Rennie, the church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was sacked in 1560 during the Scottish Reformation and permitted to fall into disrepair. Part of the old church continued in use at that time and some parts of the abbey infrastructure still remain to this day. Dunfermline Abbey is one of Scotlands most important cultural sites, Malcolm III or Malcolm Canmore, and his queen, St Margaret of Scotland. At its head was the Abbot of Dunfermline, the first of which was Geoffrey of Canterbury, former Prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, the Kent monastery that probably supplied Dunfermlines first monks. At the peak of its power it controlled four burghs, three courts of regality, and a portfolio of lands from Moray in the north south to Berwickshire. The foundations of the earliest church, namely the Church of the Holy Trinity, are under the superb Romanesque nave built in the 12th century. During the winter of 1303 the court of Edward I of England was held in the Abbey, during the Scottish Reformation, the abbey church was sacked in March 1560. Some parts of the infrastructure still remain, principally the vast refectory. The nave was also spared and it was repaired in 1570 by Robert Drummond of Carnock and it served as the parish church till the 19th century, and now forms the vestibule of a new church. Also of the monastery there still remains the south wall of the refectory, next to the abbey is the ruin of Dunfermline Palace, also part of the original abbey complex and connected to it via the gatehouse. Dunfermline Abbey, one of Scotlands most important cultural sites, has received more of Scotland’s royal dead than any place in the kingdom. One of the most notable names to be associated with the abbey is the northern renaissance poet. The tomb of Saint Margaret and Malcolm Canmore, within the walls of the Lady chapel, was restored and enclosed by command of Queen Victoria. The current building on the site of the choir of the old Abbey church is a Parish Church of the Church of Scotland, in 2002 the congregation had 806 members. The minister is the Reverend Mary Ann R. Rennie, the old building was a fine example of simple and massive Romanesque, as the nave testifies, and has a beautiful doorway in its west front. Another rich Romanesque doorway was exposed in the wall in 1903. A new site was found for this monument in order that the ancient, the venerable structure is maintained publicly, and private munificence has provided several stained-glass windows
6.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
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Chambers, Robert & Thomson, Thomas Napier (1857). Alexander I. A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen. 1. Glasgow: Blackie and son. pp. 46–47.
