Legend relates that King David I of…

Legend relates that King David I of Scotland, while hunting in the forests to the east of Edinburgh during the Feast of the Cross in 1127, was thrown from his horse after it had been startled by a hart.

According to variations of the story, the king was saved from being gored by the charging animal when it was startled either by the miraculous appearance of a holy cross descending from the skies, or by sunlight reflected from a crucifix which suddenly appeared between the hart's antlers while the king attempted to grasp them in self-defense.

As an act of thanksgiving for his escape, David I founds Holyrood Abbey on the site in 1128.

The abbey is originally served by a community of Augustinian Canons Regular from Merton Priory and the layout of the original church at Holyrood, now known only from excavations, probably came from the 1125 church at the priory.

David constructs numerous castles as centers of royal authority and creates a number of towns.