Note 1745 — Chapter VIII · THE LATER YEARS OF RICHARD. 1194–1199.

William the Lion had been sick almost to death, and having no son, had proposed to leave his crown to his eldest daughter, under the protection of Richard, whose nephew he wished her to marry. The opposition of his barons, and the restoration of his own health, caused him to drop the scheme of bequest (Rog. Howden (Stubbs), vol. iii. pp. 298, 299). That of the marriage however was still pursued, and accepted by Hubert in Richard’s name, on somewhat singular conditions: Lothian, as the bride’s dowry, was to be given over to Richard’s custody, while Northumberland and the county of Carlisle were to be settled upon Otto and made over to the keeping of the king of Scots. The negotiation, however, dragged on for a year, and was again checked by the hope of an heir to the Scottish crown (ib. p. 308); and the fulfilment of this hope in August 1198 led to its abandonment. Ib. vol. iv. p. 54.