Richard ri looks at how David, son of henry the first, intervened in england's affairs. He says he set up what appears to be a royal judicial system under his reign. But it was complicated by matilda who would succeed him as king because she was married to geoffrey of anjou and not hugely popular. Richard ri: "David has got a very great hand to play"
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact of David I of Scotland (c1084-1153) on his kingdom and on neighbouring lands. The youngest son of Malcolm III, he was raised in exile in the Anglo-Norman court and became Earl of Huntingdon and Prince of Cumbria before claiming the throne in 1124. He introduced elements of what he had learned in England and, in the next decades, his kingdom saw new burghs, new monasteries, new ways of governing and the arrival of some very influential families, earning him the reputation of The Perfect King.
With
Richard Oram
Professor of Medieval and Environmental History at the University of Stirling
Alice Taylor
Professor of Medieval History at King’s College London
And
Alex Woolf
Senior Lecturer in History at the University of St Andrews
Producer: Simon Tillotson