Osulf or Oswulf (died 1067) was the son of
Eadwulf IV,
Earl of Bamburgh
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-Saxon ...
(killed 1041), and grandson of
Uhtred the Bold
Uhtred of Bamburgh (sometimes Uchtred); died c. 1016), was ruler of Bamburgh and from 1006 to 1016 the ealdorman of Northumbria. He was the son of Waltheof I, ruler of Bamburgh (Bebbanburg), whose family the Eadwulfings had ruled the surrou ...
,
ruler of Bamburgh and
ealdorman of Northumbria (killed 1016). Oswulf’s family ruled Bamburgh from 954 until 1041, though their independence may have been compromised after 1041 when
Siward the Stout killed Eadwulf and gained hegemony over the north.
In 1065,
Morcar
Morcar (or Morkere) ( ang, Mōrcǣr) (died after 1087) was the son of Ælfgār (earl of Mercia) and brother of Ēadwine. He was the earl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066, when he was replaced by William the Conqueror with Copsi.
Dispute with t ...
succeeded
Tostig
Tostig Godwinson ( 102925 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was kille ...
as ealdorman of Northumbria and nominal overlord of Oswulf, ruling the portion north of the
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...
. However, because of Morcar’s resistance to the
Norman invasion of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conquer ...
by
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 ...
in 1066, he was deposed and imprisoned. William then appointed
Copsi
Copsi (or Copsig; ang, Cōpsige; died 1067) was a Northumbrian magnate in late Anglo-Saxon England. He was a supporter of Tostig, and was exiled along with him in 1065. Copsi soon fled to Orkney (then a part of Norway). The next year (1066), ...
(sometimes Copsig), Tostig’s former deputy, as Morcar's replacement.
In February 1067, Copsi came north and forced Oswulf to seek shelter in the hills. Oswulf began to gather an army. Because Copsi was seen as an invader and a tax-gatherer for William, he was deeply unpopular among the Northumbrians north and south of the Tyne, and Oswulf had no trouble in gathering recruits. On 12 March, he surprised Copsi and his men at a banquet at
Newburn-upon-Tyne
Newburn is a semi rural parish, former electoral ward and former urban district in western Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. Situated on the North bank of the River Tyne, it is built rising up the valley from the river. It is situ ...
. Copsi fled to a nearby church but this was set on fire, forcing Copsi out. Oswulf then had Copsi's
head cut off.
Oswulf appears to have seized control of the earldom of Bamburgh, and was not threatened by any expeditions to remove him. However, in the autumn of 1067, Oswulf, who appears to have been carrying out his duties as
earl
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
, intercepted an outlaw and was run through by the man’s spear.
He was succeeded as earl by his cousin,
Gospatric, who allegedly paid King William for the latter's recognition of his earldom.
Sources
* Aird, William M., "Osulf , earl of Bamburgh (d. 1067)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
, accessed 30 Dec 2008*
Kapelle, William E., ''The Norman Conquest of the North'', University of North Carolina Press, 1979.
*
Stenton, Sir Frank M. ''Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition''.
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1971.
External links
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oswulf 02 Of Bamburgh
1067 deaths
11th-century English nobility
Anglo-Saxon warriors
Year of birth unknown
Rulers of Bamburgh