The first treaty of Durham was a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

concluded between kings

Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 ...

and

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...

on 5 February 1136. In January 1136, during the first months of the reign of Stephen, David I crossed the border and reached

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. He took Carlisle,

Wark Wark or WARK may refer to: *Wark (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Wark (river), a river in Luxembourg *WARK (AM), talk radio station in Hagerstown, Maryland *Wark on Tweed, a village in Carham parish, in the north of Englan ...

, Alnwick,

Norham Norham ( ) is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, It is located south-west of Berwick on the south side of the River Tweed where it is the border with Scotland. History Its ancient name was Ubbanford. Ecgred of Lindisfarne ...

and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. On 5 February 1136, Stephen reached Durham with an imposing troop of

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

mercenaries, and the Scottish king was obliged to negotiate. Stephen recovered Wark, Alnwick, Norham and Newcastle, and let David I retain Carlisle and a great part of Cumberland and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, alongside

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

. The English king asked the Scottish king to make him oath of allegiance, but David had already sworn one with his niece Empress Matilda, heir to

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

from whom Stephen had usurped the throne. David I asked his son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, to make the oath, in return for which he was made Earl of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton which up to that point had been held by his father. In 1138, David invaded the North of England again, leading to the Battle of the Standard and the

Treaty of Durham (1139) The second treaty of Durham was a peace treaty concluded between kings Stephen of England and David I of Scotland, on 9 April 1139. On 22 August 1138, the Scottish army under the command of David I had been defeated at the Battle of the Standard ...

Primary Sources

Howlett, Richard (Edit.): The Cronicles of Richard, Prior of Hexham (= Chronicles of the Reign of Stephan, Henry II., and Richard I. vol. 3, p. 2) London 1964, p. 146

References

{{Reflist 1136 in England 1136 in Scotland 1136 Durham (1136) Durham (1136) Treaties of medieval England History of Durham, England 12th-century treaties England–Scotland relations