26.3 Europe: a.d. 1101 to 1200  (Page 7/8)

Near the end of the century, Richard I, son of Henry II and more French than English, became king, fought with Philip of France, lived the life of an adventurer and participated in the 3rd Crusade. Returning from this jaunt to the Near East he was taken prisoner by the Holy Roman Emperor and was finally ransomed at a high price. When Richard, called the Lion-Hearted, died in 1199 he was succeeded by his brother John.

Scotland

There was continued racial and political turmoil in Scotland. After Edgar and Alexander I, David I, another son of Malcolm and Margaret, reigned from 1124 to 1153 and continued the gradual Normanization as an Anglo-Norman aristocracy arose including the Baliols (de Bailleul), Bruces (de Brus), Lindsays and Fitz Alans. These Normans–built timber palisaded towers with fortresses throughout the southern regions and the local people were greatly impressed by the apparent strength of the new rulers. Put to a test by a Celtic revolt from the men of Moray, the Norman horsemen were easy victors and subsequently raided and burned the Moray glens. Battles with English troops also occurred with the loyalties of the new Norman-Scottish aristocracy divided so that the outcomes were only confusing. David founded the city of Edinburgh, giving his friends strips of land on either side of the castle rock. Upon his death there was incessant fighting for years over the succession and stability was not regained until 1165 when David's second son, William I, called "The Lion"

Ireland

Irish-English conflict began in this century when an Irish chieftain, Tiernan O' Rourke, lost his kingdom and wife to a rival and sought aid from Henry II of England. The king sent some Normans from Wales, including Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare, Fitzgerald, Fitz Henry and Carew, among others, and then even went himself in 1171, calling himself "Lord of Ireland". Norman castles arose at Maynooth, Trim, Carrickfirgus and Dublin, but in the end the Irish absorbed the Normans into Irish culture. As a result, however, the

Irish never again quite trusted the English. Belfast was founded in northern Ireland in 1177 as a castle to command a ford across the Lagan River. (Ref. 170,222) Additional Notes

Wales

The prince of north Wales, Gruffydd ap Cynan, and his sons worked in the first half of the century to rebuild native Welsh power behind the Snowdonian range. Elsewhere Wales had become the home of many of the Norman nobility and they were the Welch-Norman buccaneers sent by the English king to Ireland when an internal dispute there offered an excuse for intervention. Tintern Abbey was founded in the Wye Valley by Cistercian monks in 1131. (Ref. 222)

Scandinavia

Civilization progressed rapidly among these sturdy people. Work was held in honor and great craftsmen developed, particularly in woodworking and shipbuilding. There was wide distribution of the land among a free peasantry. Polygamy was practiced among the wealthy in spite of acknowledgment of Christianity. The great Scandinavian epic poems called the "Edda", with sources from Norway, Iceland and Greenland, appeared at some time between the 8th and this 12 century. Additional Notes