Although given the name of “The Fierce” by his subjects, Alexander was not of an irreligious temperament. From Queen Margaret, his mother, he inherited an interest in ecclesiastical affairs, and although he was not such a lavish patron of the clergy as was his brother David, he to some extent remodelled the Scottish Church. Alexander died in Stirling Castle, leaving the crown and a prosperous realm to David I., who made the fortress one of his chief residences, many of his charters being dated at “Striuelin.” During the reign of the “sair sanct for the Croun,” as David was called by his descendant, James I., the castle did not conspicuously figure in history; not till the time of William the Lion did it appear as a place of national importance. Then, however, its name became prominent in the convention that brought Scotland’s pride to a fall. The Treaty of Falaise is the most humiliating document in the records of Scottish history. It proclaims the feudal subjection of Scotland to Henry II. of England. The circumstances leading to this unhappy situation may be briefly stated. Young Henry of England rebelled against his father, and procured the assistance of William the Lion by offering him Northumberland. The King of Scots accordingly swept across the Border, but was captured under the walls of Alnwick in 1174. The royal prisoner was taken by the English King to the Castle of Falaise in Normandy, where he lay in chains for several months till conditions of peace were arranged. The terms of the treaty were that he, his brother, his barons and his clergy were to be vassals of Henry II., that the English Church was to exercise the rights which it was wont to claim over the Scottish Church, and, in order to ensure the fulfilment of the conditions, the castles of Roxburgh, Berwick, Jedburgh, Edinburgh and Stirling were to be garrisoned by English soldiers.[6] Henry, however, seems to have been satisfied with the occupation of Roxburgh, Berwick and Edinburgh, for when Richard I. fifteen years later acknowledged the independence of Scotland, he handed over only the two Tweedside fortresses, and made no mention of Jedburgh and Stirling. Edinburgh Castle was restored a few years earlier as the dower of Ermengarde de Beaumont, who, in compliance with the wishes of Henry II., married King William the Lion. It is to the credit of the King of Scots that he adhered to the convention made at Falaise. When summoned he attended his suzerain’s court, and even journeyed to Normandy to meet his lord. The terms of a treaty, although signed under compulsion, were held by William to be sacred, and his behaviour is in striking contrast to the conduct of the chivalry-loving Francis I. of France, who, when placed in similar circumstances three and a half centuries later, broke his oath to the Emperor Charles V. and renounced the Treaty of Madrid on the ground that a promise could not be binding when extorted from a reluctant prisoner.