Waltheof (died 1182),

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 ...

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...

or "

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

" and lord of

Beanley Beanley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Hedgeley in the county of Northumberland, England. It is situated to the north-west of Alnwick, near Eglingham. In 1951 the parish had a population of 53. In 1870–1872, John ...

, was a 12th-century Anglo-

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

noble. He was the eldest son of

Gospatric III, Earl of Lothian Gospatric III or Cospatric III (died 1166) was a twelfth-century Anglo-Celtic noble, who was Earl of Lothian and later the Earl of Dunbar, and feudal Lord of Beanley. He was the son of Gospatric II, Earl of Lothian (later called Earl of Dunbar). ...

by his Scottish wife Deirdre. Waltheof's grandfather Gospatric II died at the

Battle of the Standard The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire, England. English forces under William of Aumale repelled a Scottish army led by King David ...

in 1138, and Waltheof's father Gospatric III became earl. Richard of Hexham reported that in 1139 the son of Earl Gospatric served as a hostage to King Stephen of England after the following peace agreement. It is generally believed, although there can be no proof, that this son was the young Waltheof. Exactly how long Waltheof would have stayed as a hostage is not known, but Waltheof's father Gospatric died in 1166 and Waltheof was apparently earl already in 1165. This was probably because Gospatric had retired to Durham as a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

some time before his actual death. Waltheof's activities as earl included trying to persuade King

William of Scotland William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

not to invade England, which William did anyway in 1174; and arbitrating a dispute between the Abbot of Melrose and Richard de Morville. Waltheof married a woman named Alina, possibly Scottish, and by her fathered three children,

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

(his successor), Causantín (Constantine) and Helen. He died in 1182, and is styled "Earl of Dunbar" by the '' Chronicle of Melrose''. He was the first man to be called "earl of Dunbar" rather than "earl of Lothian".

References

* McDonald, Andrew, ‘Waltheof, third earl of Lothian (d. 1182)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 28 Nov 2006
12th-century births 1182 deaths People from East Lothian People from Northumberland People from the Scottish Borders Earls of Dunbar 12th-century mormaers {{Scotland-earl-stub