[378] Chron. Man, p. 8, 9. An. F. M., 1106. An. Inisfal, 1094. The chronology, though very defective up to this point, is easily rectified. As Olave Godfreyson died in 1152, after a reign of forty years, he must have succeeded in 1112. Lagman, who was king at the time of Magnus Barefoot’s expedition, reigned seven years, which, added to the six years of Sigurd’s rule in the Orkneys, places his death thirteen years after that of his father, which occurred in 1095—or in 1108. The remaining four years are accounted for by Donald’s regency, and the interval before the arrival of Ingemund.
[379] Chron. Man, p. 12, 13. The character of Olave is described in a passage redolent of the spirit of the age:—“Dedit ecclesiis insularum terras et libertates, et erat circa cultum divinum devotus et fervidus, tam Deo quam hominibus acceptabilis, propter quod isti domestico vitio Regum indulgebant.” The privileges of Furness Abbey were confirmed by a Bull of Pope Celestine, quoted in Camd. Brit., p. 1450. Wimund is one of the bishops called into existence by Stubbs, to be consecrated with the apocryphal Michael of Glasgow, by Archbishop Thomas of York, who died in 1114—(Twysden, p. 1713). It is scarcely necessary to point out the discrepancy of this date with the real period of Wimund’s adventures, as detailed by the contemporary Newbridge. Wendover calls Wimund the first Bishop of Man, and he is probably right in a certain sense; for the bishopric seems to have been revived or remodelled, as in the cases of Glasgow and Galloway, when Olave solicited a colony of monks from Furness; and as the Irish Northmen looked upon their bishops as members of the Anglo-Norman rather than of the Irish Church, Olave would naturally turn to the Archbishop of York to consecrate the first bishop of his newly-created diocese, which soon afterwards became dependant upon the Archbishop of Drontheim.
[380] Chron. Man, p. 13–15.
[381] Chron. Man, p. 15, 10.
[382] An. F. M., 1142, 1146, 1160, 1167, 1170, 1171.
[383] Chron. Man, p. 16, 17.
[384] Chron. St. Crucis and Chron. Mel., 1156.
[385] Chron. St. Crucis, 1157. Reg. Dunf., No. 40.
[386] Newbridge, l. 2, c. 4. Hoveden, a confidential servant of the English king, distinctly states that Henry made oath at Carlisle that if he ever ascended the throne of England, he would make over to David and his heirs Newcastle and Northumberland, and allow the kings of Scotland to possess without reserve all the lands between Tyne and Tweed (ad an. 1148–49). Diceto, who had no object in favouring the Scottish claims, says as decidedly that Northumberland had not only been long in the possession of David, but that it had been granted and confirmed to him by charter (ad an. 1173). Newbridge is more guarded, remarking that Malcolm might have brought forward the oath which Henry is said to have sworn—ut dicitur—to David. John of Hexham does not allude to the agreement, for it was probably kept secret, and could hardly have transpired when he closed his history four years later; but he incidentally confirms its existence when he states that the Earl of Chester waived his claim upon Carlisle in favour of David, receiving the Honor of Lancaster in exchange, for which he performed homage to the Scottish king. At this time, then, Carlisle must have been the acknowledged property of David, and the homage of Ranulph in connection with the Honor of Lancaster, the subsequent claim raised by William in 1196 upon the same fief, and the grant of Furness to Wimund, look very much as if Lancashire, or its northern frontier, was also in the hands of David. His authority, however, extended far beyond the Tyne, and the possession of the castles of Carlisle, Bamborough, and Newcastle, goes far to prove that whilst he held all beyond that river in the name of the Empress Queen, he had stipulated that the earldom, which he looked upon as the rightful inheritance of his wife, should be permanently made over to himself and his heirs. Small facts are sometimes significant, and as most of the important meetings between the English and Scottish kings were held near their mutual frontiers, it is worth noticing that though Henry subsequently met Malcolm at Carlisle, the cession of the northern counties was made—at Chester. The possession of the northern counties was a matter of grave importance to both kings, for had they been held hereditarily by the Scottish princes, they would from their local position have undoubtedly become gradually incorporated with the Scottish kingdom. It was naturally the policy of the English kings to throw every obstacle in the way of such a contingency, and in estimating Henry’s conduct on this occasion, it would be the safest course for those who seek to palliate it, to ground their defence on the plea of “expediency.”
[387] Newbridge, l. 2, c. 4. Hoveden 1157. Wendover 1157. Matthew of Westminster, far better informed than any contemporary authority, fabricates an invasion of England in order that Henry may be introduced as “vigorously repulsing” the Scots. This recalls the practice of some of the earlier chroniclers, who invariably raise a rebellion of the Scots at the commencement of every fresh reign, that they may easily and effectually crush the revolt with the same weapon that raised it—the pen. To the fiefs surrendered by Malcolm according to the contemporary authorities, Wendover adds “the whole county of Lothian,” a passage appearing also in Diceto; but I have given my reasons in Appendix L, pt. 2, for regarding it as an interpolation upon the “Imagines Historiarum,” and of no authority in either case. The meaning of a reservation in Malcolm’s homage, “salvis dignitatibus suis,” has occasioned some controversy, and has sometimes been considered equivalent to a reservation of the independence of his kingdom. I should be more inclined to regard the saving clause as applicable to all those points which, at the time of William’s homage to Richard at Canterbury, were left for the decision of four barons of each kingdom, and subsequently confirmed by a charter from the English king. Compare Appendix L, pt. 2.