The Scalacronica. 67 



which would befall the people of England on account of their 

 sins and the treason of the great prelates and others, until the 

 green tree which was cut from the trunk and removed the space 

 of three acres, returned to its trunk without any help, recovered 

 moisture, rejoined it at the root, and bore fruit. Then a remedy 

 for these evils was to be expected. The chronicles suppose that 

 the tree was cut down and severed from the root by the space of 

 three acres, when the realm was dissevered from the right royal 

 line by the space of the reigns of three kings, to whom it did not 

 belong, that is to say, after St. Edward — Harold, William the 

 Conqueror, and his son William Rufus ; until Henry the First, of 

 his free will brought back the tree which had been cut from the 

 trunk when he married Maude, daughter of St. Margaret, of the 

 right root and of the royal seed, which bore fruit. 



King Henry assembled before him all the great Lords of 

 England and made them take the oath of fealty to his daughter, 

 the Empress Maude. William, Archbishop of Canterbury, was 

 the first to take the oath ; then David, King of Scotland, to whom 

 he had given the Earldom of Huntingdon ; and afterwards all the 

 Earls and Barons of the land swore fealty to the Empress and her 

 heirs. 



After the death of Edgar, King of Scotland, his brother 

 Alexander reigned. King Stephen in the first year of his reign 

 gathered a large army and marched towards Scotland to wage war 

 with King David. But David came to meet the King in peace 

 and goodwill and made an agreement with him. But he did not 

 do him homage, because he had done it to the Empress. How- 

 ever, his son did him homage. King Stephen gave to David 

 King of Scotland the castles of Cardoil (Carlisle) and New- 

 castle at their first agreement, when they made peace. David 

 had seized these in the time of this war. The town of Hunting- 

 don and the Earldom which were the gift of King Henry were 

 confirmed to him. King Stephen marched with an armv to 

 Scotland, because David the King was inclined to keep the oath 

 which he had taken to his cousin the Empress, and had com- 

 manded his men to help her. They acted with great cruelty to 

 King Stephen's adherents, killed even the small sucklings, be- 

 headed priests, and put their heads upon the heads of the 

 crucifixes. Therefore King Stephen laid waste the March of 



