Aubrey de Coucy (a.k.a. Alberic) was the

earl of Northumbria Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the Norse Kingdom of York. In the seventh century, the Anglo-Saxo ...

from 1080 until about 1086. Aubrey de Coucy was a Norman from

Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Its population in 2019 was 992. Geography Coucy is located west of Laon on the road between Tergnier (north) and Soissons (south) nor ...

, Aisne which was the inheritance of his wife, Ada, daughter of Letétard de Marle (himself a son of Count Ivo de

Beaumont-sur-Oise Beaumont-sur-Oise (, literally ''Beaumont on Oise'') is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. The classical cellist Jean-Henri Levasseur (1764–1823) was born in Beaumont-sur-Oise. Population Notable p ...

).K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, ''Domesday People, A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents 1066-1166'', Vol. I, Domesday Book (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1999), p. 131 In 1080,

Walcher Walcher (died 14 May 1080) was the bishop of Durham from 1071,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 241 a Lotharingian and the first Prince-bishop (appointed by the King, not the Pope). He was the first non-Englishman to hold tha ...

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

and earl of Northumbria, was murdered in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

during a feud between his household knights and the old Northumbrian aristocracy.

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

then gave the earldom to Aubrey, a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

baron from Coucy with large possessions in the Midlands. However, de Coucy soon resigned, probably shortly after a threat of Danish invasion in 1085. He is listed as a tenant in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086, but the notices suggest that he had recently forfeited his English possessions. According to the chronicler

Symeon of Durham __NOTOC__ Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (died after 1129) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. Biography Symeon entered the Benedictine monastery at Jarrow as a youth. It moved to Durham in 1074, and he was professed in 1085 or ...

, de Coucy, "being of very little use in difficult affairs, returned to his country";

Robert de Mowbray Robert de Mowbray (died 1125), a Norman, was Earl of Northumbria from 1086 until 1095. Robert joined the 1088 rebellion against King William II on behalf of Robert Curthose, but was pardoned and later led the army that killed Malcolm III of Scotl ...

was then given the earldom. When King William was dying at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

in 1087, he decided that his eldest son,

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose, or Robert II of Normandy ( 1051 – 3 February 1134, french: Robert Courteheuse / Robert II de Normandie), was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 1087, reigning until 1106. ...

, would be allowed to succeed in Normandy, but not in England, and de Coucy was sent to tell Robert the news. De Coucy died at his

Château de Coucy The Château de Coucy is a French castle in the commune of Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique, in Picardy, built in the 13th century and renovated by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century. During its heyday, it was famous for the size of its cent ...

. His sister Ermengarde had warned him of a plot to kill him by an Engeran who, according to the ''Vita Sancti Arnulfi'' (AASS Aug. 11, p. 240), subsequently became his widow's second husband.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coucy, Aubrey de 11th-century English nobility Anglo-Normans Earls of Northumbria (Peerage of England)