280 Statements concerning Sir Walter Scott. 



Matthew Paris is the authority for his son, Alexander II., 

 more than seventy years later, having assembled a force (so 

 large that the numbers must certainly be exaggerated) at 

 Caldenlee for an invasion of England, which had so little 

 result that it does not seem to be even mentioned by Mr 

 Skene in Celtic Scotland. 



William's capture, on the contrary, is one of the most 

 important events in the history of Scotland, for it was then 

 that the English claim of homage for Scotland became a 

 reality. That he should have given up the independence of 

 Scotland to obtain his own liberation seems almost too bad 

 to be believed ; though, as Sir Walter says (I think in his 

 second history) the king was then so com])letely the organ 

 of government that the country could not get on without 

 him ; while it has been suggested that he might have 

 resigned in favour of his brother David. But I believe 

 his reason to have been one which has never been fully 

 recognised, and that it was so far a religious one. William's 

 capture followed within two days after Henry II. had done 

 penance in England for his share in the death of Thomas 

 a Becket; and I have no doubt that it was to the might 

 of the saint, the martyr of Rome, that he surrendered. The 

 independence of Scotland, as is well known, was restored for 

 a very moderate money payment by Richard Coeur-de-Lion, 

 when he wanted money for his Crusade ; as Sir Walter also 

 says, besides having the advantage of leaving a friend behind 

 him instead of an enemy, Richard was not the man to forget 

 that William had been partly fighting on his behalf ; his 

 father wished to disinherit him in favour of John. He 

 offered, however, the bribe of admitting the old Scotch, 

 that is Pictish, claim on Northumberland. 



The odd thing is such a writer as Mr E. W. Robertson 

 (see Scotland under her Early Kings) having noticed the 

 fact that William's abbey of Arbroath, where he is buried, 

 was dedicated to St. Thomas a Becket, and inferred from 

 this that he acquiesced, in the supernatural theory of his 

 capture, without seeing that this was of course the reason 

 of his otherwise infamous submission. 



The English claims, as I have said before, certainly must 

 have originated in Oswy of Northumberland, like one of 

 his brothers, having married a Pictish princess. The mor© 



