Máel Bethad of Liberton

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Máel Bethad of Liberton was a powerful landowner in Lothian in the reign of King David I of Scotland. Although he was a Gael, his estate may have been predominantly Middle English-speaking, as it bears the name "Liberton", which, unless it is an improbable Anglo-Romance compound meaning "book settlement" or "free settlement", is a corruption of early Middle English hlith bere tun, "barley hill settlement". [1] Liberton is about two and a half miles (4.0 km) south of Edinburgh's Old Town, and is now a suburb. Liberton parish consisted of 6,600 acres (27 km2) of land, and it is likely that Máel Bethad owned the upper part of the parish. [2] Máel Bethad's name occurs as a witness on many of King David's charters, where it is rendered in a number of corrupt forms, e.g. "Malbead de Libertona", [3] "Malbet de Libertune", [4] "Malbeth de Libertona", [5] "Makbet de Libertona", [6] "Malbet de Libertone", [7] and perhaps "Macbetber" [8] Two of these names represent a confusion with the name Mac Bethad ("son of Life"), whereas the name is certainly Máel Bethad ("tonsured devotee of Life"); "Life" here is an abstract Gaelic religious concept meaning "eternal life" or "christian immortality".

Lothian Place

Lothian is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other significant towns include Livingston, Linlithgow, Bathgate, Queensferry, Dalkeith, Musselburgh, Prestonpans, North Berwick, Dunbar, and Haddington.

David I of Scotland 12th-century King of Scots, Prince of the Cumbrians

David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of the Scots from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Malcolm III and Margaret of Wessex, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England temporarily in 1093. Perhaps after 1100, he became a dependent at the court of King Henry I. There he was influenced by the Anglo-French culture of the court.

Gaels Ethnic group

The Gaels are an ethnolinguistic group native to northwestern Europe. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic. Historically, the ethnonyms Irish and Scots referred to the Gaels in general, but the scope of those nationalities is today more complex.

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Notes

  1. ↑ Alternatively, it may be leper settlement, leper tun, but this is unlikely. see David Ross, Scottish Place-Names, (Edinburgh, 2001), s.v. "Liberton", p. 141.
  2. ↑ Sir Archibald Lawrie, Early Scottish Charters Prior to A.D. 1153, (Glasgow, 1905), p. 384.
  3. ↑ Lawrie, op. cit., charter no. LXXII, p. 59, as a witness in a grant to the Church of St. Cuthbert in Edinburgh (c. 1127).
  4. ↑ Lawrie, op. cit., charter no. CXXXIV, p. 101, as a name in a charter of David I granting "Clerchetune" to the Church of St. Mary in Haddington (c. 1141).
  5. ↑ Lawrie, op. cit., charter no. CXXXV, p. 103, as a name in a charter of David's son Earl Henry granting "Clerchetune" to the Church of St. Mary in Haddington (c. 1141).
  6. ↑ Lawrie, op. cit., charter no. CXLVIII, p. 114, as a name in a charter of King David granting "Ruchale" to Newbattle Abbey (c. 1142).
  7. ↑ Lawrie, op. cit., charter no. CLX, p. 123, as a witness to a charter of King David granting 52 acres (210,000 m2) of Dalkeith land to Holyrood Abbey (c. 1144).
  8. ↑ Lawrie, op. cit., charter no. CLII, p. 116, as a name in a charter confirming the rights of Holyrood Abbey.

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