Gospatric II (died 1138) was
Earl of Lothian or
Earl of Dunbar
The title Earl of Dunbar, also called Earl of Lothian or Earl of March, was the head of a comital lordship in south-eastern Scotland between the early 12th century and the early 15th century. The first man to use the title of Earl in this earldom ...
in the early 12th century.
He was the son of
Gospatric I, sometime
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 ...
(d. after 1073). In the earliest sources, occurring at dates between 1120 and 1134 he is not styled "earl", but the "brother of Dolfin", the latter style being used in his own seal.
Later accounts say that he was granted lands by king
Máel Coluim III, although it is possible that he received them from his father, while his brother
Dolfin received much of Cumberland. As Gospatric held lands from both King
David I of Scotland
David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...
and King
Henry I of England it is impossible to label him either "English" or "Scottish". He witnessed the charter of
Alexander I of Scotland
Alexander I ( medieval Gaelic: ''Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim''; modern Gaelic: ''Alasdair mac Mhaol Chaluim''; c. 1078 – 23 April 1124), posthumously nicknamed The Fierce, was the King of Scotland from 1107 to his death. He succeeded his broth ...
founding
Scone Abbey
Scone Abbey (originally Scone Priory) was a house of Augustinian canons located in Scone, Perthshire (Gowrie), Scotland. Dates given for the establishment of Scone Priory have ranged from 1114 A.D. to 1122 A.D. However, historians have long be ...
.
Gospatric enjoyed the benefits of the renewed prominence given to native Englishmen in the reign of Henry I. He and his children obtained many lands in England proper, and he himself gained jurisdiction over some northern English legal duties. He appears to have attained the status of "earl" by the year 1134, when that style first appears in documentary sources.
Earl Gospatric, described as "the chief leader of the men of Lothian" was killed at the
Battle of the Standard, being "struck by an arrow, he fell".
He had four sons,
Gospatric III (his successor), Adam, Edward, and Edgar. His daughter, Juliana, married
Ralph de Merlay.
[Jones, M. (2003) ''England and Her Neighbours, 1066-1453: Essays in Honour of Pierre Chaplais'' Continuum International (vi]
Google Books
Ralph and Juliana founded
Newminster Abbey
Newminster Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Northumberland in the north of England. The site is protected by Grade II listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument status.
Ranulph de Merlay, lord of Morpeth, and his wife, Juliana, daughter of ...
.
References
*
Anderson, Alan Orr (ed.), ''Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers: AD 500–1286'', (London, 1908)
* Macdonald, Alastair J., "King's of the Wild Frontier? The earls of Dunbar or March, c. 1070-1435", in Steve Boardman and Alasdair Ross (eds.), ''The Exercise of Power in Medieval Scotland'', (Portland/Dublin, 2003), pp. 139–58
* McDonald, R. Andrew, ‘Gospatric, first earl of Lothian (d. 1138)’, in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press'', 200
, accessed 22 Nov 2006* McDonald, Andrew, ‘Waltheof, third earl of Lothian (d. 1182)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
, accessed 28 Nov 2006
1138 deaths
Anglo-Saxon earls
Earls of Lothian
People from East Lothian
People from Northumberland
People from the Scottish Borders
Year of birth unknown
12th-century mormaers
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