Edwin (

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

: ''eadwine'') (died 1071) was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of

Leofric, Earl of Mercia Leofric (died 31 August or 30 September 1057) was an Earl of Mercia. He founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock and was a very powerful earl under King Cnut and his successors. Leofric was the husband of Lady Godiva. Life Leofric was ...

. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's death in 1062. He appears as Earl Edwin (''Eduin comes'') in 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

Family

His younger brother, Morcar was elected Earl of

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

when Tostig Godwinson was ejected by the Northumbrians (3 October, 1065). Tostig had been accused of robbing churches, depriving men of their lands and lives, and acting against the law. Edwin's sister, Ealdgyth, had been married to Harold Godwinson until the latter's death at

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

on 14 October 1066.

Career

In 1066 Tostig raided in Mercia but was repulsed by Edwin and Morcar and fled to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Later in the year he returned, accompanied by King

Harald Hardrada Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' in the sagas, was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. He unsuccessfully claimed the Monarchy of Denma ...

of Norway at the head of a huge Norwegian army, which defeated Edwin and Morcar at the Battle of Fulford near

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

(20 September). Harald and Tostig were in turn defeated and slain by Harold Godwinson's army, five days later at the

Battle of Stamford Bridge The Battle of Stamford Bridge () took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, on 25 September 1066, between an English army under Harold Godwinson, King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force l ...

(25 September). After Harold's death at the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...

, where Edwin and Morcar were absent, they were the principal supporters of a new regime under

Edgar the Ætheling Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Middle Ages; it was, howeve ...

, though they had wished the public to elect one of them king, but failed to take effective steps against the invading

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

and soon submitted to Duke William. In 1068, Edwin and Morcar attempted to raise a rebellion in Mercia but swiftly submitted when William moved against them. Edwin died in 1071; while making his way to Scotland he was betrayed by his own retinue to the Normans and killed.

Lands

Edwin's lands centred at Gilling West in his brother's Northumbrian earldom, were given to Alain Le Roux (also known as Alan Rufus) in 1071 or perhaps earlier, and the district was renamed

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = Non-metropolitan district , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_em ...

, or the

Honour of Richmond The Honour of Richmond (or Richmondshire) was a feudal barony in what is now mainly North Yorkshire, England. The honour was two tiers below Yorkshire, the middle tier being the North Riding. Before the honour was created, the land was held ...

Depictions in fiction

Edwin was portrayed by Adam Bareham in the TV drama ''Blood Royal: William the Conqueror'' (1990). He is mentioned in ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'' (1865) by Lewis Carroll, when the

mouse A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...

attempts to dry itself and other characters by reciting a dry example of English history. This inclusion in Carroll's book is made interesting as he is distantly related to both Edwin and Morcar. (Martin Gardner, The Annotated Alice, Clarkson Potter, New York (1960), pp 46-7.)

References

External links

* {{Norman Conquest 1071 deaths 11th-century English nobility Anglo-Saxon warriors Earls of Mercia Year of birth unknown Norman conquest of England