Ada De Warenne
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Ada de Warenne (or Adeline de Varenne) ( 1120 – 1178) was the Anglo-Norman wife of Henry of Scotland,
Earl of Northumbria Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian people, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman England, Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the ...
and Earl of Huntingdon. She was the daughter of William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey by Elizabeth of Vermandois, and a great-granddaughter of Henry I of France. She was the mother of Malcolm IV and William I of Scotland.


Life

Ada and Henry were married in England in 1139. As part of her marriage settlement, the new Countess Ada was granted the privileges of Haddington, amongst others in
East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...
. Previously the seat of a thanage Haddington is said to be the first
royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...
in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, created by Countess Ada's father-in-law,
David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic, Modern Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was David I as Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 112 ...
, who held it along with the church and a mill.Miller, James, ''The Lamp of Lothian'', Haddington, 1900: 2 In close succession both her husband and King David died, in 1152 and 1153 respectively. Following the death of Henry, who was buried at Kelso Abbey, King David arranged for his grandson to succeed him, and at
Scone A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...
on 27 May 1153, the twelve-year-old was declared Malcolm IV, King of Scots. Following his coronation, Malcolm installed his brother William as
Earl of Northumbria Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian people, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman England, Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the ...
(although this county was "restored" to King
Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...
by Malcolm in 1157), and Ada retired to her lands at Haddington. On Thursday 9 December 1165 King Malcolm died at the age of 24 without issue. His mother had at that time been attempting to arrange a marriage between him and Constance, daughter of
Conan III, Duke of Brittany Conan III, also known as Conan of Cornouaille and Conan the Fat (, and ; c. 1093–1096 – 17 September 1148) was duke of Brittany, from 1112 to his death. He was the son of Alan IV, Duke of Brittany and Ermengarde of Anjou (d. 1146), Ermengard ...
, but Malcolm died before the wedding could be celebrated. Following his brother's death Ada's younger son William became King of Scots at the age of twenty three. William the Lion was to become the longest serving King of Scots to that date, serving until 1214.


Church patronage

Religious houses were established in Haddington at an early date. They came to include the Blackfriars (who came into Scotland in 1219) and most notably the Church of the Greyfriars, or Minorites (came into Scotland in the reign of Alexander II), which would become famous as ''"Lucerna Laudoniae"''- The Lamp of Lothian, the toft of land upon which it stands being granted by King
David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic, Modern Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was David I as Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 112 ...
to the Prior of St. Andrews (to whom the patronage of the church of Haddington belonged). David I also granted to the monks of
Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...
"unam mansuram" in Haddington, as well as to the monks of Haddington a full toft "in burgo meo de Hadintun, free of all custom and service." Ada devoted her time to good works, improving the lot of the Church at Haddington, where she resided. Countess Ada gave lands to the south and west of the
River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...
near to the only crossing of the river for miles, to found a convent of Cistercian Nuns ("white nuns") dedicated to St. Mary, in what was to become the separate Burgh of Nungate, the extant remains are still to be seen in the ruined parish church of St. Martin. The nunnery she endowed with the lands of Begbie, at Garvald and Keith Marischal amongst other temporal lands. Miller, however, states that she only "founded and richly endowed a nunnery at the Abbey of Haddington" and that "Haddington, as demesne of the Crown, reverted to her son William the Lion upon her death".


Haddington seat

According to inscriptions within the town of Haddington, Countess Ada's residence was located near the present day County buildings and
Sheriff Court A sheriff court () is the principal local civil and criminal court in Scotland, with exclusive jurisdiction over all civil cases with a monetary value up to , and with the jurisdiction to hear any criminal case except treason, murder, and ra ...
. Countess Ada died in 1178 and is thought to be buried locally. Her remaining dower-lands were brought back into the Royal demesne and, later, William the Lion's wife, Ermengarde de Beaumont, is said to have taken to her bed in Countess Ada's house to bear the future Alexander II. Miller states that when the future King was born in Haddington in 1198 it took place "in the palace of Haddington".


Issue

Ada's children (in an approximate order of birth) were: * Ada of Huntingdon, who married Count Floris III of Holland * Margaret of Huntingdon, who married 1) Conan IV, Duke of Brittany and 2) Humphrey III de Bohun * Malcolm IV, King of Scots *
William the Lion William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...
, King of Scots * David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon, who married Matilda of Chester. Through their daughter, Isobel, they were the ancestors of
Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
. * Matilda (or Maud) of Huntingdon, who died unmarried in 1152. * Marjorie of Huntingdon, who married Gille Críst, Earl of Angus. They were also ancestors of Robert the Bruce.Roberts, John L., ''Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages'', (Edinburgh, 1997), pp. 53–54: (author states, "Almost nothing is known of him ille Críst, 'Earl of Angus'except that he married Marjorie of Huntingdon, the daughter of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon and Ada de Warenne, and that he was succeeded by his son Donnchad before 1206. His daughter Bethóc (Beatrix) was married to Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland and was mother to Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland".).


Ancestry


References


Bibliography

* ''The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with their descendants, Sovereigns and Subjects'', by Messrs. John and John Bernard Burke, London, 1851, vol.2, page xlvii and pedigree XXIX. * ''Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica'', edited by Joseph Jackson Howard, LL.D., F.S.A., New Series, volume I, London, 1874, p. 337. * ''Scottish Kings – A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005–1625'' by Sir Archibald H. Dunbar, Bt., Edinburgh, 1899, p. 65. * Oram, Richard, ''The Canmores: Kings & Queens of the Scots 1040–1290.'' Tempus, Stroud, 2002. * * ''The Bretons'', by Patrick Galliou and Michael Jones, Oxford, 1991, p. 191. {{DEFAULTSORT:Warenne, Ada De Ada 1120s births 1178 deaths Scoto-Normans People from Haddington, East Lothian 12th-century Scottish nobility Ada Daughters of British earls People from East Lothian Mothers of Scottish monarchs