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
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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)
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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)
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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)