Death of David I of Scots

May 24th, 1153

The principal architect of the medieval kingdom of Scotland has been described as dragging his backward country by the scruff of its neck into mainstream Europe. David I was the sixth and youngest son of Malcolm III Canmore (Big Head) and his strong-minded wife Margaret, of the English royal house. A grand-daughter of Edmund Ironside, celebrated for her piety, she was canonised long afterwards in 1250. Her ferocious husband went in some awe of her and she gave four of their sons names from the royal lineage of Wessex: Edward, Edgar, Edmund and Ethelred. The other two were Alexander and David. Significantly, none of the names came from the old Celtic Scots tradition.

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