Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria ( enm, Wallef, on, Valþjóf) (died 31 May 1076) was the last of the
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
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 ...
s and the only English aristocrat to be executed during the reign of
William I
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 Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...
.
Early life
Waltheof was the second son of
Siward, Earl of Northumbria
Siward ( or more recently ) or Sigurd ( ang, Sigeweard, non, Sigurðr digri) was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname ''Digri'' and its Latin translation ''Grossus'' ("the stout") are given to him by near-c ...
. His mother was Aelfflaed, daughter of
Ealdred, Earl of Bernicia
Ealdred was an Earl in north-east England from the death of his uncle, Eadwulf Cudel, soon after 1018 until his murder in 1038. He is variously described by historians as Earl of Northumbria,Stenton, p. 390, n. 1 Earl of Bernicia (northern Northumb ...
, son of
Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria. In 1054, Waltheof's brother,
Osbeorn, who was much older than he, was killed in battle, making Waltheof his father's heir. Siward himself died in 1055, and Waltheof being far too young to succeed as Earl of Northumbria,
King Edward appointed
Tostig Godwinson
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 killed ...
to the earldom.
Waltheof was said to be devout and charitable and was probably educated for a
monastic
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...
life. Around 1065, however, he became an earl, governing
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
and
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...
. Following the
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...
he submitted to William and was allowed to keep his pre-Conquest title and possessions. He remained at William's court until 1068.
First revolt
When
Sweyn II invaded
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
in 1069, Waltheof and
Edgar Aetheling
Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear").
Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, r ...
joined
the Danes and took part in the attack on
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. He would again make a fresh submission to William after the departure of the invaders in 1070. He was restored to his earldom, and went on to marry William's niece,
Judith of Lens
Judith of Lens (born in Normandy between 1054 and 1055, died c1090) was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale and Lambert II, Count of Lens.
Life
In 1070, Judith married Ea ...
. In 1071, he was appointed
Earl of Northampton
Earl of Northampton is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times.
Earls of Northampton, First Creation (1071)
* Waltheof (d. 1076)
* Maud, Queen of Scotland (c.1074–1130/31)
*Simon II de Senlis (1103–1153)
* Simon II ...
.
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 ...
mentions Waltheof ("''Walleff''"): "'In
Hallam ("''Halun''"), one manor with its sixteen hamlets, there are twenty-nine ''carucates''
14 km²to be taxed. There Earl Waltheof had an "Aula"
all or court
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* All (All album), ...
There may have been about twenty ploughs. This land Roger de Busli holds of the Countess Judith." (Hallam, or
Hallamshire
Hallamshire (or Hallam) is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, approximating to the current City of Sheffield local government area.
The origin of the name is uncertain. The English Place-Name Society describe "Hall ...
, is now part of the city of
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
)
In 1072, William expelled
Gospatric from the earldom of Northumbria. Gospatric was Waltheof's cousin and had taken part in the attack on York with him, but like Waltheof, had been pardoned by William. Gospatric fled into exile and William appointed Waltheof as the new earl. Construction of
Durham Castle
Durham Castle is a Norman castle in the city of Durham, England, which has been occupied since 1837 by University College, Durham after its previous role as the residence of the Bishops of Durham. Designated since 1986 as a cultural World Herit ...
began under Waltheof in 1072 after receiving orders to commence this project from William. The castle would be significantly expanded by Bishop
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 ...
and his successors in later years.
Waltheof had many enemies in the north. Amongst them were members of a family who had killed Waltheof's maternal great-grandfather,
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 ...
, and his grandfather
Ealdred. This was part of a long-running blood feud. In 1074, Waltheof moved against the family by sending his retainers to ambush them, succeeding in killing the two eldest of four brothers.
Second revolt and death
In 1075 Waltheof was said to have joined the
Revolt of the Earls
The Revolt of the Earls in 1075 was a rebellion of three earls against William I of England (William the Conqueror). It was the last serious act of resistance against William in the Norman Conquest.
Cause
The revolt was caused by the king's refu ...
against William. His motives for taking part in the revolt are unclear, as is the depth of his involvement. Some sources say that he told his wife - The Countess Judith - about the plot and that she then informed Archbishop
Lanfranc
Lanfranc, OSB (1005 1010 – 24 May 1089) was a celebrated Italian jurist who renounced his career to become a Benedictine monk at Bec in Normandy. He served successively as prior of Bec Abbey and abbot of St Stephen in Normandy and then ...
who then told her uncle William, who was at the time in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. Other sources say that it was Waltheof who told the bishop of the plot. On William's return from Normandy, Waltheof was arrested, brought twice before the king's court and sentenced to death.
He spent almost a year in confinement before being beheaded on 31 May 1076 at St. Giles's Hill, near
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
. He was said to have spent the months of his captivity in prayer and fasting. Many people believed in his innocence and were surprised when the execution was carried out. His body was initially thrown into a ditch, but was later retrieved and buried in the chapter house of
Crowland Abbey
Crowland Abbey (also spelled Croyland Abbey, Latin: ''Croilandia'') is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire. It is a Grade I listed building.
History
A ...
in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
.
An otherwise unknown Norse poet, Þorkell Skallason, composed a memorial poem for Waltheof - ''Valþjófsflokkr''. Two stanzas of this poem are preserved in ''
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...
'', ''
Hulda-Hrokkinskinna'' and, partially, ''
Fagrskinna
''Fagrskinna'' ( ; is, Fagurskinna ; trans. "Fair Leather" from the type of parchment) is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It is an intermediate source for the ''Heimskringla'' of Snorri Sturluson, containing histories of Norwegian k ...
''. The first of the two stanzas says that Waltheof made a hundred retainers of William burn in hot fire - "a scorching evening for the men" - and wolves ate the corpses of the Normans. The second says that William betrayed Waltheof and had him killed.
Cult of martyrdom
![Waltheof, earl of Northumbria Croyland Abbey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Waltheof%2C_earl_of_Northumbria_Croyland_Abbey.JPG)
In 1092, after a fire in the chapter house, the abbot had Waltheof's body moved to a prominent place in the abbey church. When the coffin was opened, it is reported that the corpse was found to be intact with the severed head re-joined to the trunk. This was regarded as a miracle, and the abbey, which had a financial interest in the matter began to publicise it. As a result, pilgrims began to visit Waltheof's tomb. He was commemorated on 31 August.
After a few years, healing miracles were reputed to occur in the vicinity of Waltheof's tomb, often involving the restoration of the pilgrim's lost sight. They are described in the ''Miracula Sancti Waldevi''. Waltheof's life thus became the subject of popular media, heroic but inaccurate accounts being preserved in the ''Vita et Passio Waldevi comitis'', a Middle English ''Waltheof saga'', since lost, and the Anglo-Norman ''Waldef''.
[A.J. Holden (ed.), ''Le Roman de Waldef'', Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, Textes, 5 (Coligny-Genève, Fondation Martin Bodmer 1984).]
Family and children
In 1070 Waltheof married Countess
Judith de Lens, daughter of
Lambert II, Count of Lens and
Adelaide of Normandy
Adelaide of Normandy (or Adeliza) ( 1030 – bef. 1090) was the ruling Countess of Aumale in her own right in 1069-1087. She was the sister of William the Conqueror.
Life
Born 1030, Adelaide was an illegitimate daughter of the Duchy of Normand ...
, Countess of
Aumale
Aumale (), formerly known as Albemarle," is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. It lies on the River Bresle.
History
The town's Latin name was ''Alba Marla''. It was raised by William th ...
. Countess Judith was the niece of William the Conqueror. Waltheof and Judith had three children, the eldest of whom,
Maud, brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband,
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 Malcolm ...
, and another, Adelise (Alice of Northumbria) married the Anglo-Norman noble
Raoul III of Tosny Raoul III of Tosny (1079-1126), Lord of Conches-en-Ouche (A commune in the Eure département in northern France), was an Anglo-Norman nobleman of the House of Tosny.
Life
Born in 1079, Raoul was the son of Raoul II of Tosny and Isabel de Montfort. ...
.
One of Waltheof's grandsons was
Waltheof (died 1159),
abbot of Melrose
The Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a ...
.
In popular culture
* Waltheof was portrayed by actor
Marcus Gilbert in the TV drama ''Blood Royal: William the Conqueror'' (1990).
* Waltheof is the subject of
Juliet Dymoke's 1970 historical novel ''Of the Ring of Earls''
* Waltheof is a major character in
Elizabeth Chadwick
Elizabeth Chadwick (born 1957) is an author of historical fiction. She is a member of Regia Anglorum, a medieval reenactment organisation.
Biography
Elizabeth Chadwick was born in Bury, Lancashire in 1957. She moved with her family to Scotlan ...
's 2002 historical novel ''The Winter Mantle''
* Waltheof is a character in
Parke Godwin
Parke Godwin (January 28, 1929 – June 19, 2013) was an American writer. He won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella in 1982 for his story "The Fire When It Comes". He was a native of New York City, where he was born in 1929. He was the g ...
's 1991 historical novel ''Sherwood''
References
Sources
*
* Chronicle of Britain
*
*
*Joseph Bain, ed, ''Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland Preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office, London.''(Edinburgh: H M General Register House, 1881), I:3, Digital Image ''Internet Archive'' http://thehennesseefamily.com/getperson.php?personID=I53812&tree=hennessee accessed 10 April 2021). No 13.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waltheof, 1st Earl Of Northampton
1076 deaths
11th-century English nobility
History of Sheffield
People from Sheffield
People executed under the Normans
Executed English people
11th-century executions
People executed by the Kingdom of England by decapitation
Earls of Northampton
Earls of Huntingdon (1065 creation)
Earls of Northumbria (Peerage of England)