struck with the admirable position of Carlisle, and its fitness to be a frontier barrier against future invasions from Scotland; upon which he took possession of the district without ceremony, drove out its feudal lord, and proceeded to lay the
foundations of a strong castle, and plant an English colony in the town and
neighbourhood. It was now Malcolm's turn to interpose. Independently of
his kingdom being thus bridled, Carlisle and the whole of Cumberland had for a
long period belonged to the elder son of the Scottish kings, and was one of the
most valuable of their possessions on the English side of the Tweed. War was
about to commence afresh, when Malcolm was invited to Gloucester, where the
English king was holding his court, that the affair might be settled by negotiation; but thither he refused to go, until he had obtained hostages for his safe
return a sure proof that he was an independent king of Scotland, and not a
mere vassal of the English crown. His claims were recognized, and the hostages granted; but on arriving at Gloucester, he was required to acknowledge
the superiority of England by submitting to the decision of its barons assembled
in court. It was an arrogant and unjust demand, and as such he treated it. He
declared that the Scottish kings had never been accustomed to make satisfaction
to the kings of England for injuries complained of, except on the frontiers of
the two kingdoms, and by the judgment of the barons of both collectively;
and after this refusal he hurried home, and prepared for instant war.
That war was not only brief, but most disastrous to Scotland. At the head of an army composed of different races not yet accustomed to act in concert, Malcolm crossed the border, and laid siege to Alnwick. While thus occupied, he was unexpectedly attacked by a strong English and Norman force, on November 13, 1093. His troops, taken by surprise, appear to have made a very short resistance, and Malcolm himself, while attempting to rally them, was slain in the confusion of the conflict. With him also perished his eldest son, Edward, who fell fighting by his side.
While an event so mournful to Scotland was occurring before the walls of Alnwick, another was about to take place within the castle of Edinburgh. There Queen Margaret, the beloved of the kingdom, lay dying. She had already received the viaticum, and was uttering her last prayer, before her eyes should be closed in death, when her son Edgar, who had escaped from the battle, entered the apartment, and stood before her. She hastily asked, "How fares it with the king and my Edward?" The youth could not speak. Eagerly perusing his face with her looks, "I know all," she exclaimed, "I know all; by this holy cross, and by your filial love, I adjure you to tell me the truth." He told her that husband and son had fallen. She raised her eyes to heaven, and said, "Praise and blessing be to thee, Almighty God, that thou hast enabled me to endure such bitter anguish in the hour of my departure, thereby purifying me, as I trust, from the corruption of my sins. And thou, Lord Jesus Christ, who, through the will of the Father, hast given life to the world by thy death, deliver me!" Instantly after she was dead. To this a touching legend has been added. After being canonized by the church, her relics were to be removed from their grave to a more honourable tomb; but it was found impossible to lift the body until that of her husband had been removed also.
It is to be regretted that for the biography of such a man as Malcolm Canmore, the particulars are so few, so obscure, and, in several cases, so contradictory. His life, however, is chiefly to be read not in particular incidents, but in its great national results. If Bruce was the liberator, and Knox the reformer
