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", particula ...

of Lothian 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, was a 12th-century

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to peopl ...

- Scottish 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 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 Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 ...

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 Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

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 not to invade England, which William did anyway in 1174; and arbitrating a dispute between the

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 ...

and

Richard de Morville Richard de Morville (died 1189), Lord of Cunninghame succeeded his father Hugh de Morville (died 1162) as Constable of Scotland and in his Scottish estates and English lands at Bozeat in Northamptonshire, and Rutland, as well as a number of f ...

. 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 The ''Chronicle of Melrose'' is a medieval chronicle from the Cottonian Manuscript, Faustina B. ix within the British Museum. It was written by unknown authors, though evidence in the writing shows that it most likely was written by the monks at ...

''. 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