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The The Dark Ages - life  in  this  period  for  cheiftan  and  commoner  was  brief,  violent  and    Unpleasant. Apart from inter-tribal warfare, leprosy and plague were common.  Most people died before they were 40 and men of 50 were considered old men.  Children of seven were expected to do a full day's work in the fields and marry at twelve.  Slavery was commonplace up until the year 1000. (The bones of a middle-aged woman and a two year old child dating from the ninth century were found in a funeral urn opposite Pollok House in 1863.Almost everyone was concerned in self-sufficient agriculture; fields as we know them did not exist at this period. Land was cultivated in strips. Oxen pulled wooden ploughs and carried loads of hay and grain crops. Everyone worked from dawn till dusk and went to bed. With the setting sun, for few could afford candles. One great problem was the storage of food for the winter.  Turnips and other root crops were unknown until the 17th century. There was little feeding for livestock, so most were slaughtered in the autumn, leaving only n small number for breeding purposes the following spring.  There was a temporary glut of meat at Christmas, followed by lean times in February and March, as meat could only be {reserved by antisocial services' if they can be called such, centered on the Church. Monks administered herbal medicines.  Lepers had to wear wooden clappers around their necks and ask for alms in kind. Coined money was not in common use, as fear of catching leprosy from money was common. Local roads were mere tracks, full of deep ruts and pot holes, impassable in winter. Short journeys were undertaken on foot, rarely further than Pasgel-liath (Paisley) or (Glaschu Glasgow). All people beyond the immediate bounds of the area were 'foreigners' and potential Enemies.    Mediaeval Period - Much of  the  mediaeval  history of  the Darnley  area  stems  from  the  familiyOf Robert de Croc and from the family of Marcus. When King David I returned from England in 1124, he brought with him a number of Norman and Saxon knights, one of whom was Walter Fitzalan, High Steward of Scotland.  King David granted to Fitzalan the lands of Strathgryffe (the old lands of Renfrewshire).  This was a feudal gift and the people of Strathgryffe became serfs, including the people of Darnley. In 1168, Sir Robert de Croc, in return for services rendered, received the fief of the Lever; Valley from Fitzalan.  However de Croc was required to do two things; firstly to build a stronghold from which to maintain law and order and secondly to organize a parish and build a church.  Crookston Castle was the stronghold he built and the church he built at Neilston and then gifted to Paisley Abbey. He also found founded an old men's hostel on the banks of the Levern Water in Nitshill in 1180. De Croc also brought with him from the South a Welsh­man called le Walays, an ancestor of William Wallace. Around the year 1200, Marion, the daughter of Sir Robert de Croc was married to the grandson of Walter Fitzalan (although she was only 12 years old).She was given the district of darnley These passed to Her Husband and from their union arose the Lennox family