Scotland under her early kings, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b a history of the kingdom to the close of the thirteenth centuryRobertson, Eben William
History
Scotland under her early kings, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b a history of the kingdom to the close of the thirteenth century
Robertson, Eben William
Scotland -- History -- To 1603
to be found in the same authorities? We can only judge by _results_.
[171] _Sim. Dun. de Gestis_ and _Chron. Sax._ 1092.
[172] _Sim. Dun. de Gestis_ and _Chron. Sax. ad an._ 1093.
[173] Malcolm was evidently taken by surprise. “He sent and demanded
the fulfilment of the treaty that was promised him. And the king,
William, cited him to Gloucester, and sent him hostages to Scotland,
and Edgar Atheling afterwards and the men returned that brought him
with dignity to the king. But when he came to the king he could not
be considered worthy either of our king’s speech or of the conditions
that were formerly promised him.” Such are the words of the Saxon
Chronicler, yet Malmesbury says (sec. 311), “Malcolm came of his
own accord to Gloucester, an earnest suitor for peace on equitable
conditions, but he obtained nothing, though he was permitted to return
in safety, as the king disdained to capture by fraud one whom he had
subdued by valour.” The safe conduct and the hostages detract something
from this much vaunted magnanimity, but Malmesbury would sacrifice a
good deal for the sake of a well turned period. The assertion which
Simeon and Florence have placed in the mouth of Malcolm conveys a
valuable piece of historical information, though it does not follow
that the king spoke _feudal Latin_ because they have written it. The
presence and intervention of the leading nobles of both kingdoms at
meetings on the frontier implies the independence of both kings;
for if the king of Scotland had been the vassal of England _for
his kingdom_, he and _all his followers_ would have been liable to
have been cited to the court of their suzerain at the will of the
latter, as actually happened in the reign of William the Lion. In
the convention between Rufus and Robert, twelve barons on each side
confirmed the agreement in token of the independence of both parties
(_Flor. Wig._ 1091). In the treaty between Richard and William the
Lion four barons appear in the same way on either side (_Fœd._ vol.
i., pt. 1, p. 50); and both Scottish and English nobles invariably
affix their names to the conventions between their kings, recorded so
often in the Fœdera. In attempting to force Malcolm to submit to the
judgment of the English barons when he had come to Gloucester on an
errand of a totally different description, William appears to have
been actuated principally by overweening arrogance, though he may also
have endeavoured to found a precedent injurious to Scotland; and it is
singular to mark how nearly all the English authorities accuse Malcolm
of “a breach of faith” because he resented the conduct of William,
whilst they pass over without notice the glaring “breach of faith” on
the part of their own king.
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