Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the Norse Kingdom of York. In the seventh century, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira were united in the kingdom of Northumbria, but this was destroyed by the Vikings in 867. Southern Northumbria, the former Deira, then became the Viking kingdom of York, while the rulers of Bamburgh commanded territory roughly equivalent to the northern kingdom of Bernicia. In 1006 Uhtred the Bold, ruler of Bamburgh, by command of Æthelred the Unready became ealdorman in the south, temporarily re-uniting much of the area of Northumbria into a single jurisdiction. Uhtred was murdered in 1016, and Cnut then appointed Eric of Hlathir ealdorman at York, but Uhtred's dynasty held onto Bamburgh. After the Norman Conquest the region was divided into multiple smaller baronies, one of which was the earldom of Northumberland, with others like the earldoms of York and numerous autonomous liberties such as the County Palatine of Durham and Liberty of Tynedale.
West Saxon- and Danish-Era ealdormen
edit| Ealdormen before 1066 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruler | Accession | End | Notes |
| Oslac | 963×966 | 975 | |
| Thored | 975×979 | 992x994 | |
| Ælfhelm | c.994 | 1006 | |
| Uhtred of Bamburgh | 1006 | 1016 | |
| Eiríkr Hákonarson | 1016 | 1023×1033 | |
| Siward | 1023×1033 | 1055 | |
| Tostig Godwinson | 1055 | 1065 | Deposed after rebellion. |
| Morcar | 1065 | c.1068 | |
Post-Conquest ealdormen
edit| Ealdormen after 1066 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruler | Accession | End | Notes |
| Gospatric | c. 1068 | c. 1068 | Unclear if he was just ruler of Bamburgh or what if any jurisdiction he exercised south of the Tyne. Gospatric and his descendants were the forerunners of the earls of Dunbar.[1] |
| Robert de Comines | 1068 | 1069 | Killed by rebels at Durham |
| Waltheof of Northampton | c.1070 | 1075 | |
| Walcher | 1075 | 1080 | Also bishop of Durham. |
| Aubrey de Coucy | 1080 | 1086 | |
| Robert de Mowbray | c.1086×1090 | 1095 | |
Anglo-Norman-Era baronial title
edit| Scottish earls | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruler | Accession | End | Notes |
| Henry of Scotland | 1139 | 1152 | |
| William of Scotland | 1152 | 1157 | Title and holdings confiscated by Henry II of England. Later Purchased by Hugh de Puiset, the Bishop of Durham in 1189, and held until 1191 or so.[2] |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Aird, William M. (2004). "Gospatric, earl of Northumbria (d. 1073x5)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/11110. Retrieved 25 August 2013. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ Barlow, Frank (1988). The Feudal Kingdom of England 1042–1216 (Fourth ed.). New York: Longman. p. 352. ISBN 0-582-49504-0.