Does David I deserve his reputation as the "king who created Scotland"? Inaugurated King of Scots in 1124, it is clear that David I had a considerable impact on Scotland, but is it correct to describe him as the 'King who made Scotland'? His medieval reputation casts him as a religious king whose goal was to civilize what was perceived as a barbaric country. Modern historians, however, tend to focus on the progress he made in the development of Scottish culture. He made such cultural advances through his dedication to the expansion of religion in medieval Scotland. David was infamous for his founding of monasteries and burghs and is often referred to as "ane saw sanct for the Croune". He also granted land to Anglo-Norman immigrants, who in turn anglicized southern Scotland. David I had a further impact through his Reform of Government. He brought a large amount of Norman influence to Scotland when he began his rule. Although David spent much of his early years in Scotland, he was forced into exile due to the death of his parents in 1093. He then spent much time under. the court of Henry I, acquiring the Anglo-Norman influence of the English court. So it was inevitable that in 1124, when David claimed the Scottish throne, there would be a huge change in the government of the country. Many refer to the changes brought about by David as the "Davidian Revolution". This summarizes the changes David brought to the Scottish Kingdom, both through reform and expansion. Say No to Plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned.” '? Get an original essay To analyze the claim that David was the 'King who created Scotland' one must first examine the enormous impact he had through the founding of the religious order. He had great admiration for religion and encouraged monasticism in the Premonstratensian, Tyronian, and Cistercian forms of worship. Many of these houses would become economic goldmines in the future with colossal sheep farming undertaken by the Border Abbeys. He invested a large amount of money in the creation of a large number of monasteries such as Melrose and Holyrood. Contemporary sources agree that his piety was great, Ailred of Rievaulx proclaimed “He found three or four bishops in all the Scottish kingdom, and the rest tottering without a shepherd with loss both of morals and estates; when he died, he left nine, both ancient bishoprics restored by himself and new ones erected by him”. This huge investment in religious expansion had a huge impact on Scottish culture. It changed and adapted people's moral beliefs. This also created the foundations of the church as a social instrument in Scotland. With the Church becoming a source of local aggregation. It is well known that David I did not create the structure of the late medieval Scottish church, but it was under his reign that it began to take its crucial shape. Something that perhaps would not have been possible without his devoted support and help in spreading the monasteries. David made great use of the recreation of the diocesan structure. Not only did it bring Scotland into line with the rest of Europe, but it allowed bishops scattered throughout the kingdom to be valuable royal agents. David also had the power to appoint, or at least recommend bishops, meaning he had created power from within the Scottish Church. Many have claimed that David may have had internal reasons for his religious expansion, but there is no evidence to substantiate these claims. Scotland had such a dispersed population that such expansion was actually necessary. So, to conclude, David I may not have created thestructure nor the trends of the medieval Church of Scotland, he had an enormous influence in its growth and success, together with his impact on the country generally. But it was David's founding of many Burghs that had the greatest social impact. It allowed the country to truly expand, with a new economic stimulus that was crucial to Scotland's development. David also invested much of Scotland's new wealth in the creation of many royal burghs, such as Edinburgh and Perth. There was also great social progress, as Burghs began to develop, as well as their social structure. "Let it be known to all of you, dearly beloved, that we, with the help of God and the permission of our king David, have founded a borough in St. Andrew, and in that borough we have appointed this man Mainard the Flemish provost with the consent of the king and his firm peace…” David had created an opportunity to advance the way communities functioned, with much greater focus on how they could be managed effectively. This would show its clear effects in the near future, with the creation and advancement of many Burgh laws and customs. Burghs soon began to have a sense of new self-government with a lively trade of imports and exports, especially with England Bartlett portrays the need for a constitutional form in his writings on Norman-style cities. “It also meant the creation and diffusion of new types of legal status and corporate identity, as the recognized European city slowly took shape and required a new constitutional form.” David knew this and allowed the merchants to have a form of self-government where they could support their own internal and external governance. It was these new forms of community responsibility that allowed the Burghs to truly develop under David I. While it is important to remember that these Burghs were not large in size, their ingenious geographical location allowed them to prosper both economically and socially. David had them specially placed near the new royal castles, so as to allow assistance in their civilisation. All of this of course went hand in hand with the religious expansion of the time, with new social advances within Burghs creating even more religious support. It is not difficult to understand why many praised David I as a saint sent by God. The majority were raised with enormous religious influence, making their documents resonate with biblical connotations such as David slaying Goliath. David I's attention to the placement of Scotland's new boroughs was hugely important to the country's development, and is real evidence to support the claim that he was the 'King who made Scotland'. Another crucial impact David had on Scotland was the way he was governed. He had spent the better part of forty years immersed in the south of England at the Anglo-Norman court, also acquiring a wife and a Norman earldom. So it is not very surprising that he brought such a Norman influence to Scotland. The key aspect of this was the introduction of feudalism. This meant that in exchange for military service, Scottish nobility would be granted lands by the crown. Lords could then acquire "vessels" who were usually granted a castle or lands to help the monarch maintain order. This was crucial in the development of Scotland's social structure with the pyramid list of sub-tenants down to the farmers' fund. This, along with the religious impact, began the ideology of the king as the overlord. Historians such as Smout convey: "Provided it was controlled by a strong personality at the top, it was an extremely effective way of governing a defused medieval state." David.