Walter fitz Alan
Walter FitzAlan was a twelfth-century Anglo-Norman baron who became a Scottish magnate and Steward of Scotland. He was a younger son of Alan fitz Flaad and Avelina de Hesdin. In about 1136, Walter entered into the service of David I, King of Scotland. He became the king's dapifer or steward in about 1150, and served as such for three successive Scottish kings: David, Malcolm IV and William I. In time, the stewardship became hereditarily held by Walter's descendants.
Walter started his career as a minor English baron. Upon arriving in Scotland, however, he received a substantial grant of lands from his Scottish sovereigns. These included the western provincial lordships of: Mearns, Strathgryfe, Renfrew and North Kyle. The caput of Walter's holdings is uncertain, although there is reason to suspect it was either Dundonald Castle or Renfrew Castle. Walter was a benefactor of several religious houses, and was the founder of Paisley Priory.
There is reason to suspect that Walter took part in the Siege of Lisbon against the Moors in 1147. He probably assisted Malcolm in the series of Scottish invasions of Galloway in 1160, which resulted in the downfall of Fergus, Lord of Galloway. Walter and the other colonial lords settled in western Scotland were probably intended to protect the Scottish realm from external threats located in regions such as Galloway and the Isles. In 1164, Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, King of the Isles invaded Scotland and was defeated near Renfrew. It is possible that the commander of the local Scottish forces was Walter himself.
Walter was married to Eschina de Londres, an apparent member of the Londres/London family. There is reason to suspect that she was also matrilineally descended from a family native to southern Scotland. If correct, this could explain why Walter was granted the lands of Mow. Alternately, it is possible that Eschina's rights to Mow merely stemmed from her marriage to Walter. Eschina and Walter were the parents of Alan, Walter's successor. The couple may have also been the parents of a Christina, a woman who married into the Brus and Dunbar families. Walter was an ancestor of the Stewart family, from which descended the royal House of Stuart; he is therefore an ancestor of every Scottish monarch since Robert II and every English or British monarch since James VI and I. He died in 1177.
Ancestry and arrival in Scotland
Walter was a member of the Fitz Alan family. He was born in about 1110. Walter was a son of Alan fitz Flaad and Avelina de Hesdin. Alan and Avelina had three sons: Jordan, William and Walter.Walter's father was a Breton knight who was granted lands in Shropshire by Henry I, King of England. Previous to this, Alan had acted as steward to the bishops of Dol in Brittany. Walter was a minor English landholder. He held North Stoke, north of Arundel, by way of a grant from his brother, William. There is reason to suspect that Walter also held Manhood, south of Chichester. He also held land at "Conelon" or "Couten", a place that possibly refers to Cound in Shropshire.
Walter appears to have arrived in Scotland in about 1136, during the reign of David I, King of Scotland. Following Henry's death in 1135, the Fitz Alans evidently sided with David in his support of the contested English royal claims of Henry's daughter, Matilda. Certainly, both William and Walter witnessed acts of Matilda in 1141. In any event, the date of Walter's introduction into Scotland may be marked by the original part of the so-called "foundation charter" of Melrose Abbey, which records Walter as a witness.
Walter served as David's dapifer or senescallus. He served in this capacity for three successive Scottish kings: David, Malcolm IV and William I. Walter is increasingly attested by royal charters from about 1150, and it is possible that it was at about this time that David granted him the stewardship to be held heritably. As the king's steward, Walter would have been responsible for the day-to-day running of the king's household. Whilst the chamberlain was responsible for the king's sleeping compartments, the steward oversaw the king's hall. It is possible that David sought to replace the Gaelic office of rannaire with that of the steward. This office certainly appears to have been a precursor to the stewardship. Walter's ancestors were stewards to the Breton lords of Dol. In fact, his elder brother, Jordan, inherited this stewardship from their father, and held this office at the time of Walter's own establishment in Scotland. As such, it is probable that Walter possessed a degree of experience in the profession.
File:Walter fitz Alan.png|upright|thumb|right|alt=Map of Britain|Twelfth-century secular lordships on the western seaboard of Scotland. Walter's domain included the depicted regions of Strathgryfe, Renfrew, Mearns and North Kyle. Clydesdale and South Kyle were royal lordships, whilst Cunningham was a Morville lordship.
Walter lived during a period in history when Scottish monarchs sought to attract men to their kingdom by promising them gifts of land. To such kings, royal authority depended upon their ability to give away territories in the peripheries of the realm. Although the twelfth-century Scottish monarchs did not create any new earldoms for the incoming Anglo-Norman magnates, they did grant them provincial lordships. The most important of these mid-century colonial establishments were: Annandale for Robert de Brus; Upper Eskdale and Ewesdale for Robert Avenel; Lauderdale and Cunningham for Hugh de Morville; Liddesdale for Ranulf de Sules; and Mearns, Strathgryfe, Renfrew and North Kyle for Walter himself. As a result of their tenure in high office, and their dominating regional influence, these provincial lords were equal to the native Scottish earls in all but rank.
File:Walter fitz Alan.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Black and white photograph of a mediaeval charter|Walter's charter of Birkenside, Legerwood and Mow from Malcolm IV, King of Scotland
In 1161×1162, Malcolm confirmed Walter's stewardship, and confirmed David's grants of Renfrew, Paisley, Pollock, "Talahret", Cathcart, Dripps, Mearns, Eaglesham, Lochwinnoch and Innerwick. He also granted Walter West Partick, Inchinnan, Stenton, Hassenden, Legerwood and Birkenside, as well as a toft with twenty acres in every burgh and demesne in the realm. For this grant, Walter owed his sovereign the service of five knights. The grant of lodgings in every important royal settlement would have only been entrusted to people particularly close to the king, and to those who were expected to travel with him. The impressive list of twenty-nine eminent men who attested this transaction appears to be evidence that the proceedings took place in a public setting before the royal court.
At some point during his career, Walter received North Kyle from either David or Malcolm. Also in 1161×1162—perhaps on the same date as Malcolm's aforesaid charter to Walter—the king granted Walter the lands of Mow for the service of one knight. There is reason to suspect that David's original grant of lands to Walter took place in 1136. Certainly in 1139×1146, Walter witnessed a charter of David to the cathedral of Glasgow in which the king invested the cathedral with assets from Carrick, Cunningham, Strathgryfe and Kyle. In 1165, Walter is stated to have held lands worth two knight's fees in Shropshire. As such, the vast majority of his holdings were located north of the Anglo-Scottish border.
Ecclesiastical actions
Walter was a benefactor of Melrose Abbey, and granted this religious house the lands of Mauchline in Ayrshire. He also granted his lands in Dunfermline and Inverkeithing to Dunfermline Abbey.Walter founded Paisley Priory in about 1163. This religious house was initially established at Renfrew—at King's Inch near Renfrew Castle—before removing to Paisley within a few years. The fact that Walter made this a Cluniac monastery could be evidence that he was personally devoted to the Cluniac Wenlock Priory in Shropshire. Alternately, the decision to associate Wenlock with his foundation at Renfrew could have stemmed from a devotion to the cult of Wenlock's patron saint: St Milburga.
File:Siege of Lisbon by Roque Gameiro.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Painting of a mediaeval siege|An early-twentieth-century depiction of the Siege of Lisbon in 1147. There is reason to suspect that Walter was amongst the Scots who took part in the campaign to liberate Lisbon from the Moors.
Walter's priory at Paisley was dedicated in part to St James the Greater. This, coupled with the fact that Walter did not witness any of David's acts during a span of time in 1143×1145, could be evidence that Walter undertook a pilgrimage to the shrine of St James the Greater at Santiago de Compostela. In the spring of 1147, Scots joined an Anglo-Flemish fleet in Dartmouth, and set off to join the Second Crusade. The presence of Scots in this multi-ethnic fighting force is specifically attested by the twelfth-century texts De expugnatione Lyxbonensi and Gesta Friderici imperatoris. In June, this fleet of Englishmen, Flemings, Normans, Rhinelanders and Scots arrived at Lisbon, and joined the King of Portugal's months-long siege of the city. Some of the adventurers who participated in the expedition—a fifty-ship detachment of Rhinelanders—clearly visited Santiago de Compostela. It is possible that Walter was one of the Scots who took part in the Lisbon expedition.
Renfrew may well have served as the caput of the Strathgryfe group of holdings held by Walter, and could have been the main caput of all his holdings. The fact that he chose Paisley to serve as a priory does not necessarily mean that Renfrew was his principal caput. There is reason to suspect that North Kyle served as Walter's power centre. For example, Walter granted this religious house a tithe from all his lands except North Kyle. The fact that he granted away only one piece of land in North Kyle—as opposed to his extensive donations elsewhere—suggests that North Kyle was his largest block of his own demesne. As such, the archaeological evidence of a twelfth-century motte at Dundonald could indicate that Walter constructed Dundonald Castle, an earth and timber fortress, as his principal caput.
The uneven distribution of Walter's grants to Paisley Priory seems to have been a result of the fact that he had subinfeudated most of Strathgryfe by the time of its establishment. Walter's extensive territories consisted of regions inhabited by native speakers of English, Cumbric and Gaelic. From the years spanning 1160–1241, there are roughly one hundred vassals, tenants and dependants of Walter and his succeeding son and grandson. A considerable number of these dependants were drawn from the vicinity of the Fitz Alan lands in Shropshire. The latter region was largely Welsh-speaking at the time, and it is possible that these languages were then mutually intelligible with Breton, Cumbric. If so, it could indicate that Walter and his dependents were purposely settled in the west to take advantage of this linguistic affiliation. As such, it may have been hoped that such incoming settlers would possess a degree of legitimacy from the natives as "fellow Britons". Alternately, the early concentration of Walter's fiefs in the area may reflect a policy of defending what was a vulnerable coastline and doorway to Scotland.