Waltheof, 1st Earl of Northampton
Encyclopedia
Waltheof 1st Earl of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton
and last of the Anglo-Saxon
earl
s was the only English aristocrat to be executed during the reign of William I
.
. His mother was Aelfflaed, daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bernicia
, son of Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria
. In 1054, Waltheof’s brother, Osbearn, 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
to the earldom.
He was said to be devout and charitable and was probably educated for a monastic life. In fact around 1065 he became an earl, governing Northamptonshire
and Huntingdonshire
. Following the Battle of Hastings
he submitted to William and was allowed to keep his pre-Conquest title and possessions. He remained at William’s court until 1068.
, daughter of Lambert II, Count of Lens
and Adelaide of Normandy
, Countess of Aumale
. They had three children, the eldest of whom, Maud
, brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband, David I of Scotland
, and another, Adelise, married the Anglo-Norman noble Raoul III of Tosny
. Their son Uchtred of Tynedale married Bethoc; daughter of Donald III, King of Scotland.
One of Waltheof's grandsons was Waltheof (d. 1159), abbot of Melrose
.
invaded Northern England
in 1069, Waltheof and Edgar Ætheling
joined the Danes and took part in the attack on York
. 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
. In 1072, he was appointed Earl of Northampton
.
The Domesday Book
mentions Waltheof ("Walleff"); "'In Hallam
("Halun"), one manor with its sixteen hamlets, there are twenty-nine carucates [~14 km²] to be taxed. There Earl Waltheof had an "Aula" [hall or court]. There may have been about twenty ploughs. This land Roger de Busli holds of the Countess Judith." (Hallam, or Hallamshire
, is now part of the city of Sheffield
)
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.
Waltheof had many enemies in the north. Amongst them were members of a family who had killed Waltheof’s maternal great-grandfather, Uchtred the Bold
, 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.
against William. His motives for taking part in the revolt are unclear, as is the depth of his involvement. However he repented, confessing his guilt first to Archbishop Lanfranc
and then in person to William, who was at the time in Normandy
. He returned to England with William but was arrested, brought twice before the king's court and sentenced to death.
He spent almost a year in confinement before being beheaded on May 31, 1076 at St. Giles's Hill, near Winchester
. 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 in a ditch, but was later retrieved and was buried in the chapter house of Croyland Abbey
.
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.
Earl of Huntingdon
Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The title is associated with the ruling house of Scotland, and latterly with the Hastings family.-Early history:...
and last of the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
s was the only English aristocrat to be executed during the reign of William I
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
.
Early life
Waltheof was the second son of Siward, Earl of NorthumbriaSiward, Earl of Northumbria
Siward or Sigurd was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname Digri and its Latin translation Grossus are given to him by near-contemporary texts...
. His mother was Aelfflaed, daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bernicia
Ealdred, Earl of Bernicia
Ealdred was Earl of Bernicia from 1020/25 until his murder in 1038. He was the son of Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria, who was murdered by Thurbrand the Hold in 1016 with the connivance of Cnut...
, son of Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria
Uchtred the Bold
Uchtred , called the Bold, was the ealdorman of all Northumbria from 1006 to 1016, when he was assassinated. He was the son of Waltheof I, ealdorman of Bamburgh, whose ancient family had ruled from the castle of Bamburgh on the Northumbrian coast.In 995, according to Symeon of Durham, when the...
. In 1054, Waltheof’s brother, Osbearn, 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
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
appointed Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson, the last crowned english King of England.-Early life:...
to the earldom.
He was said to be devout and charitable and was probably educated for a monastic life. In fact around 1065 he became an earl, governing Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
and Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
. Following the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
he submitted to William and was allowed to keep his pre-Conquest title and possessions. He remained at William’s court until 1068.
Family and children
In 1070 Waltheof married Judith of LensJudith of Lens
Countess Judith , 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....
, daughter of Lambert II, Count of Lens
Lambert II, Count of Lens
Lambert II, Count of Lens was a French nobleman.He was the son of Eustace I, Count of Bologne and of Maud de Leuven . He married Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale, daughter of Robert I, Duke of Normandy. Lambert was killed at the Battle of Lille. He had a daughter, Judith of Lens and two...
and Adelaide of Normandy
Adelaide of Normandy
Adelaide of Normandy was the sister of William the Conqueror.She was the daughter of Robert the Magnificent, Duke of Normandy. Different chroniclers writing in the Gesta Normannorum Ducum call her sister of William the Conqueror either by the same mother or by different mothers...
, Countess of Aumale
Aumale
Aumale is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in north-western France.-Geography:A village of farming and associated light industry, situated in the valley of the Bresle River of the Norman Pays de Bray in Normandy on the border with Picardie. It is around ...
. They had three children, the eldest of whom, Maud
Maud, 2nd Countess of Huntingdon
Maud of Northumbria , Countess of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton, was the daughter of Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria and Judith of Lens, the last of the major Anglo-Saxon earls to remain powerful after the Norman conquest of England in 1066.- Biography :Maud was married to Simon of...
, brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband, David I of Scotland
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
, and another, Adelise, married the Anglo-Norman noble Raoul III of Tosny
Raoul III of Tosny
Raoul III of Tosny , seigneur de Conches-en-Ouche, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman of the house of Tosny.-Life:In the war between the two surviving sons of William the Conqueror, Raoul III chose to support the younger brother, Henry I "Beauclerc", recently crowned king of England...
. Their son Uchtred of Tynedale married Bethoc; daughter of Donald III, King of Scotland.
One of Waltheof's grandsons was Waltheof (d. 1159), abbot of Melrose
Abbot of Melrose
The Abbot and then Commendator of Melrose was the head of the monastic community of Melrose Abbey, in Melrose in the Borders region of Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1136 on the patronage of David I , King of Scots, by Cistercian monks from Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire...
.
First revolt
When Sweyn IISweyn II of Denmark
Sweyn II Estridsson Ulfsson was the King of Denmark from 1047 to 1074. He was the son of Ulf Jarl and Estrid Svendsdatter. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more, including the five future kings Harald III Hen, Canute IV the Saint, Oluf I Hunger, Eric I Evergood and Niels...
invaded Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
in 1069, Waltheof and Edgar Ætheling
Edgar Ætheling
Edgar Ætheling , or Edgar II, was the last male member of the royal house of Cerdic of Wessex...
joined the Danes and took part in the attack on York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. 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
Countess Judith , 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....
. In 1072, he was appointed Earl of Northampton
Earl of Northampton
Earl of Northampton is a title that has been created five times.-Earls in for the Honour of Huntingdon, first Creation :*Waltheof *Maud, Countess of Huntingdon** m. Simon I de Senlis** m...
.
The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
mentions Waltheof ("Walleff"); "'In Hallam
Hallam
-Places:* Hallamshire, an area in South Yorkshire, England; the source of the name for:** Hallam F.C. - a non-league football club in Sheffield.** Hallam FM, a radio station based in Sheffield.** Royal Hallamshire Hospital...
("Halun"), one manor with its sixteen hamlets, there are twenty-nine carucates [~14 km²] to be taxed. There Earl Waltheof had an "Aula" [hall or court]. There may have been about twenty ploughs. This land Roger de Busli holds of the Countess Judith." (Hallam, or Hallamshire
Hallamshire
Hallamshire is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, in the current city of Sheffield.The origin of the name is uncertain. The English Place-Name Society describe "Hallam" originating from a formation meaning "on the rocks"...
, is now part of the city of Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
)
In 1072, William expelled Gospatric
Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria
Gospatric or Cospatric , , was Earl of Northumbria, or of Bernicia, and later lord of sizable estates around Dunbar...
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.
Waltheof had many enemies in the north. Amongst them were members of a family who had killed Waltheof’s maternal great-grandfather, Uchtred the Bold
Uchtred the Bold
Uchtred , called the Bold, was the ealdorman of all Northumbria from 1006 to 1016, when he was assassinated. He was the son of Waltheof I, ealdorman of Bamburgh, whose ancient family had ruled from the castle of Bamburgh on the Northumbrian coast.In 995, according to Symeon of Durham, when the...
, and his grandfather Ealdred
Ealdred, Earl of Bernicia
Ealdred was Earl of Bernicia from 1020/25 until his murder in 1038. He was the son of Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria, who was murdered by Thurbrand the Hold in 1016 with the connivance of Cnut...
. 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 joined the Revolt of the EarlsRevolt of the Earls
The Revolt of the Earls in 1075 was a rebellion of three earls against William I of England . It was the last serious act of resistance against William in the Norman Conquest.-Course:...
against William. His motives for taking part in the revolt are unclear, as is the depth of his involvement. However he repented, confessing his guilt first to Archbishop Lanfranc
Lanfranc
Lanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by birth.-Early life:Lanfranc was born in the early years of the 11th century at Pavia, where later tradition held that his father, Hanbald, held a rank broadly equivalent to magistrate...
and then in person to William, who was at the time in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. He returned to England with William but was arrested, brought twice before the king's court and sentenced to death.
He spent almost a year in confinement before being beheaded on May 31, 1076 at St. Giles's Hill, near Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
. 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 in a ditch, but was later retrieved and was buried in the chapter house of Croyland Abbey
Croyland Abbey
Crowland Abbey is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire.-History:...
.
Cult of martyrdom
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.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.
In popular culture
- Waltheof was portrayed by actor Marcus GilbertMarcus GilbertMarcus Gilbert is a British actor, known for his roles in Jilly Cooper's Riders and Army of Darkness ....
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's 2002 historical novel The Winter Mantle