David (1083 - 1153) was a 12th century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots. The youngest son of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada and Margaret, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England in 1093. At some point, perhaps after 1100, he became a hanger-on at the court of King Henry I and experienced long exposure to Norman and Anglo-French culture. When David's brother Alexander I of Scotland died in 1124, David chose, with the backing of Henry I, to take the Kingdom of Scotland (Alba) for himself. He was forced to engage in warfare against his rival and nephew, Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair. Subduing the latter took David ten years, and involved the destruction of Óengus, Mormaer of Moray. David's victory allowed him to expand his control over more distant regions theoretically part of his Kingdom. After the death of his former patron Henry I, David supported the claims of Henry's daughter and his own niece, the former Empress-consort, Matilda, to the throne of England; in the process, he came into conflict with King Stephen and was able to expand his power in northern England, despite his defeat at the Battle of the Standard in 1138. The term "Davidian Revolution" is used by many scholars to summarise the changes which took place in the Kingdom of Scotland during his reign.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_I_of_Scotland
_________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1120:
William Adelin, the only legitimate son of King Henry I of England, drowned in the White Ship Disaster, leading to a succession crisis which would bring down the Norman monarchy of England. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Ship)
1177:
The 16-year-old King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, already ravaged by leprosy, destroys a Muslim army led by Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard, saving the Crusader states from invasion. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Montgisard)
1795:
Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last King of Poland, was forced to abdicate after the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_August_Poniatowski)
1970:
Japanese author Yukio Mishima committed the ritual suicide seppuku at the Japan Self-Defense Forces headquarters in Tokyo after an unsuccessful attempt to inspire the soldiers to stage a coup d'etat to restore the powers of the Japanese Emperor prior to the 1947 constitution. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukio_Mishima)
1992:
Legislators in Czechoslovakia voted to dissolve their country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, effective January 1, 1993. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_Czechoslovakia)
_______________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
ombudsman (n) 1. An appointed official whose duty is to investigate complaints against institutions such as government departments. 2. A designated internal mediator in an organization whose duty is to assist members with conflict resolution. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ombudsman)
______________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer. --Will Rogers (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Will_Rogers)