William the Conqueror returns from Normandy in the spring of 1072 and marches his forces through Northumberland and Lothian, confronting the Scots king Malcolm III at Abernathy.

Malcolm, declining to offer battle, acknowledges William’s suzerainty and pays homage, probably giving up his son Duncan as a hostage for the peace.

Perhaps another stipulation of the treaty is the expulsion of Edgar the Ætheling, Malcolm’s brother-in-law, from the Scottish court; he leaves Scotland to seek refuge in Flanders.