supporting the claims to the Orkney earldom of Harald's rival Erlend Haraldsson, granting him half of Caithness in opposition to Harald. King Eystein responded in turn by making a similar grant to this same Erlend, cancelling the effect of David's grant. David's weakness in Orkney was that the Norwegian kings were not prepared to stand back and let David reduce their power. Death and succession Perhaps the greatest blow to David's plans came on 12 July 1152, when Henry, Earl of Northumberland, David's only son and successor, died, although Henry might have been ill for some time before. David himself had under a year to live, and may have known that he himself was not going to live much longer. David quickly arranged for his grandson Máel Coluim to be made his successor, and for his younger grandson William to be made Earl of Northumberland. Donnchad I, mormaer of Fife, the senior Gaelic magnate in Scotland-proper, was appointed as rector, or regent, and made to take the 11-year-old Máel Coluim around Scotland-proper on a tour to meet and gain the homage of his future subjects. David's health began to fail seriously in the Spring of 1153 and he died on 24 May 1153. In his obituary in the Annals of Tigernach, he is called Dabíd mac Mail Colaim, rí Alban & Saxan, "David, son of Máel Coluim, King of Scotland and England", a title which acknowledged the new Scoto-Northumbrian identity of David's realm. Notes References Primary sources Anderson, Alan Orr (ed.), Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286, 2 Vols, (Edinburgh, 1922) Anderson, Alan Orr (ed.), Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers: AD 500–1286, (London, 1908), republished, Marjorie Anderson (ed.) (Stamford, 1991) Barrow, G. W. S. (ed.), The Acts of Malcolm IV King of Scots 1153–1165, Together with Scottish Royal Acts Prior to 1153 not included in Sir Archibald Lawrie's '"Early Scottish Charters' , in Regesta Regum Scottorum, Volume I, (Edinburgh, 1960), introductory text, pp. 3–128 Barrow, G. W. S. (ed.), The Acts of William I King of Scots 1165–1214 in Regesta Regum Scottorum, Volume II, (Edinburgh, 1971) Barrow, G. W. S. (ed.), The Charters of King David I: The Written acts of David I King of Scots, 1124–1153 and of His Son Henry Earl of Northumberland, 1139–1152, (Woodbridge, 1999) Clancy, Thomas Owen (ed.), The Triumph Tree: Scotland's Earliest Poetry, 550–1350, (Edinburgh, 1998) Donaldson, G. (ed.), Scottish Historical Documents, (Edinburgh, 1970)