to retain Newcastle and Bamborough in his own possession, for which an equivalent was to be provided in the south of England--Henry on his side guaranteeing to preserve unaltered throughout his new fiefs, “the laws and customs” of the late king Henry, and to respect the rights of the Archbishop of York and of the Bishop of Durham. The barons of Northumberland then swore fealty to their new Earl, who, delivering up the sons of five of the principal nobles of Scotland as hostages for the due performance of his part of the agreement, accompanied the queen upon her return to the south, when the treaty was confirmed by Stephen at Nottingham.[255] During the whole of the following summer Henry remained in England, sedulously courting popularity by his lavish munificence and gallant bearing--qualities so acceptable to the Norman chivalry of the age. He accompanied Stephen to the siege of Ludlow Castle, narrowly escaping capture on this occasion; for, on approaching too closely to the walls, he was unhorsed by a hook suddenly launched from the battlements, owing his rescue solely to the prompt and daring gallantry of the king. In the course of the same year he was united to Ada de Warenne, the youngest daughter of the great earl of that name; and as the bride’s family were staunch adherents of the cause of Stephen, and the Scottish prince, bound by no ties to the empress, was probably far more attached to the amiable character of Queen Matilda--whose influence seems traceable in the marriage--than to her haughty and imperious cousin, the arrival of the latter in England with the Earl of Gloucester, appears to have produced no interruption of cordiality between Henry and the English king. He was again present with his countess at the English court in the following year, [Sidenote: A. D. 1140.] in spite of the civil war then raging, barely escaping, on his return to Scotland, the machinations of his ancient enemy the Earl of Chester, the grant of Carlisle being once more the cause of their quarrel. Ranulph, tempted by the prevailing anarchy, had planned the seizure of Henry and the Countess Ada, counting probably upon extorting, as their ransom, a surrender of the coveted fief; but the queen, anticipating his design, warned Stephen of the danger, who, in accordance with her suggestions, escorted his guests in person to the north, thus frustrating the intentions of Ranulph, but, by so doing, drawing upon himself the hatred of that fickle and revengeful baron.[256] [Sidenote: A. D. 1141.]