The Absence of Regnal Years from the Dating Clause of Charters of Kings of Scots, 1195–1222

Summary

The year 1195 witnessed a clutch of curious decisions by William I. Although these were not directly related to each other, they were all concerned in different ways with Scotland’s interaction with England. The most striking decision is relayed to us by Roger of Howden, who tells us, during his account of events in June 1195, that in this year King William fell ill in the royal ‘vill’ at Clackmannan, and decided that Otto of Brunswick, King Richard I’s nephew, should marry his eldest daughter, Margaret, and succeed him as king of Scots, despite the fact that there was already a male heir, William’s brother, David earl of Huntingdon. This, it transpires, was an imaginative attempt to break the impasse over William’s claim to Northumbria, whichWilliam had pressed unsuccessfully while staying at Richard I’s court the previous year. The plan faltered in the end only when William’s queen, Ermengarde, became pregnant and William hoped for a son.

The second decision is much less surprising: this was the renewal of the Scottish coinage recorded in the Chronicle of Melrose in its annal for 1195. As a result, pennies produced in Scottish mints once again resembled English pennies, whose design had been altered in the recoinage of 1180, featuring a double short cross on the reverse. The change is perfectly understandable, given that most coin in circulation in Scotland was English. What is curious is why it was decided upon in 1195, and not earlier. It is notable that later changes in the design of English pennies were reproduced much more promptly.

The third curious decision takes us back to Clackmannan, probably shortly after Easter. There, probably by 17 April, a standard form of dating royal charters was determined which, with some very rare exceptions, was adhered to until it began to be modified in 1221. This, like the recoinage, also involved a delayed adoption of English practice; the particular puzzle here, though, is why English example was not followed more diligently. From the outset of Richard I’s reign (even before his coronation on 3 September 1189), English royal charters conferring or confirming perpetuities concluded with a dating clause giving the place, the day of the month, and the regnal year; this was preceded by a statement, beginning with the words per manum, identifying the chancery official who produced the charter.