Gospatric, Earl Of Northumbria
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Gospatric or Cospatric (from the
Cumbric Cumbric is an extinct Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North", in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the ot ...
"Servant of aint Patrick"), (died after 1073), was
Earl of Northumbria Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian people, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman England, Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the ...
, or of
Bernicia Bernicia () was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England. The Anglian territory of Bernicia was approximately equivalent to the modern English cou ...
, and later lord of sizable estates around
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 Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...
. His male-line descendants held the Earldom of Dunbar, later known as the Earldom of March, in south-east
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 ...
until 1435, and the Lordship and Earldom of Home from 1473 until the present day.


Background

Symeon of Durham __NOTOC__ Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (fl. c.1090 to c. 1128 ) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. Biography Symeon was a Benedictine monk at Durham Cathedral at the end of the eleventh century. He may have been one of 23 mo ...
describes Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria, as maternal grandson, through his mother Ealdgyth, of Northumbrian ealdorman Uchtred the Bold and his third wife, Ælfgifu, daughter of King Æthelred II. This follows the ancestry given in the earlier '' De obsessione Dunelmi'', in which Gospatric's father is named as Maldred, son of ''Crinan, tein'' (
thegn In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were ...
Crínán), perhaps the Crínán of Dunkeld who was father of Scottish king Duncan I. Even were thegn Crínán the same as Crínán of Dunkeld, it is not certain Maldred was born to Duncan's mother, Bethóc, daughter of the Scots king
Malcolm II Máel Coluim mac Cinaeda (; anglicised Malcolm II; c. 954 – 25 November 1034) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba (Scotland) from 1005 until his death in 1034. He was one of the longest-reigning Scottish Kings of that period. He was ...
. The ''Life of
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 â€“ 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
'', commissioned by Queen Edith, contains an account of the
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
of Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria. It tells how a band of robbers attacked Tostig's party in Italy, seeking to kidnap the Earl. A certain Gospatric "was believed because of the luxury of his clothes and his physical appearance, which was indeed distinguished" to be Earl Tostig, and succeeded in deceiving the would-be kidnappers as to his identity until the real Earl was safely away from the scene. Whether this was the same Gospatric, or a kinsman of the same name, is unclear, but it is suggested that his presence in Tostig's party was as a hostage as much as a guest.


Harrying of the North

After his victory over Harold Godwinson 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 ...
, William of Normandy appointed a certain Copsi or Copsig, a supporter of the late Earl Tostig, who had been exiled with his master in 1065, as Earl of Bernicia in the spring of 1067. Copsi was dead within five weeks, killed by Oswulf, grandson of Uchtred, who installed himself as Earl. Oswulf was killed in the autumn by bandits after less than six months as Earl. At this point, Gospatric, who had a plausible claim to the Earldom given the likelihood that he was related to Oswulf and Uchtred, offered King William a large amount of money to be given the Earldom of Bernicia. The King, who was in the process of raising heavy taxes, accepted. In early 1068, a series of uprisings in England, along with foreign invasion, faced King William with a dire threat. Gospatric is found among the leaders of the uprising, along with Edgar Ætheling and Edwin, Earl of Mercia and his brother Morcar. This uprising soon collapsed, and William proceeded to dispossess many of the northern landowners and grant the lands to Norman incomers. For Gospatric, this meant the loss of his earldom to Robert Comine and exile in Scotland. King William's authority, apart from minor local troubles such as
Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Old English pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/ , modern English pronunciation / ) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resistance to the Norman Conquest of E ...
and
Eadric the Wild Eadric ''the Wild'' (or Eadric ''Silvaticus''), also known as Wild Edric, Eadric ''Cild'' (or ''Child'') and Edric ''the Forester'', was an Anglo-Saxon magnate of Shropshire and Herefordshire who led English resistance to the Norman Conquest, acti ...
, appeared to extend securely across England. Gospatric joined the invading army of
Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...
, Scots, and Englishmen under Edgar the Aetheling in the next year. Though the army was defeated, he afterwards was able, from his possession of Bamburgh castle, to make terms with the Conqueror, who left him undisturbed until 1072. The widespread destruction in Northumbria known as the
Harrying of the North The Harrying of the North was a series of military campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, where the presence of the last House of Wessex, Wessex claimant, Edgar Ætheling, had encour ...
relates to this period.


Exile

According to Anglo-Norman chroniclers, in 1072
William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
stripped Gospatric of his Earldom of Northumbria,Anderson, Alan O., MA Edin., ''Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers AD500 to 1286'', London, 1908, p.96 and replaced him with Siward's son Waltheof, 1st Earl of Northampton. Gospatric fled into exile in Scotland and not long afterwards went to
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
. When he returned to Scotland he was granted the castle at "Dunbar and lands adjacent to it" and in the Merse by King
Malcolm III Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...
, his cousin. This earldom without a name in the Scots-controlled northern part of Bernicia would later become the Earldom of Dunbar. Gospatric did not long survive in exile according to
Roger of Hoveden Roger of Howden or Hoveden (died 1202) was a 12th-century English chronicler, diplomat and head of the minster of Howden in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Roger and Howden minster Roger was born to a clerical family linked to the ancient minst ...
's chronicle: Neil McGuigan has argued that Waltheof's Norman earldom did not extend beyond 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, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...
, and that Gospatric may have continued to rule the territory to the north from Bamburgh until the late 1070s.


Issue

Gospatric was the father of three sons, and several daughters. The sons Dolfin, Waltheof and Gospatric are named in '' De obsessione Dunelmi'' and by
Symeon of Durham __NOTOC__ Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (fl. c.1090 to c. 1128 ) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. Biography Symeon was a Benedictine monk at Durham Cathedral at the end of the eleventh century. He may have been one of 23 mo ...
, while a document from about 1275 apparently prepared to instruct advocates in a land dispute reports that of these three sons, only Waltheof was born to a legitimate marriage and that he was full sibling of Gospatric's daughter Ethelreda.Joseph Bain, ed., ''Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland'', vol. II AD 1272-1307, p. 1

/ref> A second document with some "nearly identical" content prepared about the same time names three sisters of Waltheof of Allerdale, Gunnilda, Matilla and Ethreda, their husbands, as well as Ethreda's son William Fitz Duncan.The so-called ''Chronicon Cumbriæ'' or ''Distributio Cumberlandiæ ad Conquestum Angliæ'', surviving in several error-prone copies with many differences, published by: J. E. Prescott, ed., ''The register of the Priory of Wetherhal'', p. 38

James Wilson, ed., ''The Register of the Priory of St. Bees'', p. 49

and William Digdale, ''Monasticum Angliae'', vol. 3, p. 58

Gospatric's children were: * Dolfin of Carlisle, Dolfin, oldest son, received from Malcolm the government of
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
. * Gospatric who was killed at the battle of the Standard in 1138. * Waltheof, Lord of Allerdale and Abbot of Crowland * Ethelreda (Ethreda), married Duncan II of Scotland, the son of
Malcolm III of Scotland Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...
; mother of William fitz Duncan; also married to Waltheof, son of Gillemin.T. Graham, 'The Honour of Cockermouth', ''Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society'', 2nd series, 29:69-79 * Matilda/Matilla married Dolfin, son of Aylward * Gunhilda (Gunnild), married Orm of Workington, son of Ketil


Notes


References

* * Barrow, G.W.S., ''The Kingdom of the Scots.'' Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2003. * Fletcher, Richard, ''Bloodfeud: Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England.'' London: Penguin, 2003. * Forte, Angelo, Oram, Richard, & Pedersen, Frederik,
Viking Empires
'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. * * Higham, N.J., ''The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100.'' Stroud: Sutton, 1993. * Stenton, Frank M., ''Anglo-Saxon England.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1973.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Northumbria 11th-century deaths Year of death uncertain 11th-century English nobility Year of birth unknown Rulers of Bamburgh Gospatric Earls of Northumbria (Peerage of England)