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Origins of Balfour (1600 - Current)

Origins of Balfour

As I found out over the past 20 years while I have been conducting our family research, it is a lot like the professional investigations I am often called upon to undertake for multinational clients. The initial phases are outlines only, with sometimes little concrete evidence, and affected by the distance into the past, which at this stage of the story goes back some 1,000 years. Whilst keeping an independent and objective mindset I had to construct certain alternative hypotheses, using known sources and evidence and logically deriving the most likely picture in absence of some key information.

Fortunately, the internet is expanding daily, and more and more information is becoming accessible from a distance, reducing the need to visit musea and libraries which is a phase of the research I will undertake as I am older and have more time to do so. One risk with the internet is that many researchers will take other's research even if the facts presented are plainly impossible. For example, the marriage of a daughter at childhood and her ability to beget progeny before the age of 10 years old, because it looks authoritative and appears at first sight to be logical. During my writing on the family history I will often also bring in certain historical accounts, related to society, politics and religion, to round out the research and also to confirm or disprove its credibility.

Another important factor I learnt over the years, is to do matching and make comparisons of different historic accounts, as many researchers narrowly focused on one particular link or person in their ancestry without following up further on any relationships not directly in line. This means, for example, that it is useful to find out as much as possible about any and all participants in any historical event as there are often surprising connections and details provided on sites and in sources not directly related to this research. As I found out, many hypotheses can be confirmed about past actions when the family histories and relationships between all participants become clear.

This chapter, on the Origins of Balfour, appears to have commenced some time in the early 11th century when a Viking warrior descended of a longboat that had made its way across from Denmark. His name was Siward Biornsson. He may have stepped of the longboat at that time or joined his father earlier as part of King Canute's entourage. What is quite certain, based on the following facts, is that Siward was a relative of the Danish royal family through his father Biorn Ulfsson, whose ancestors may have arrived in England a few generations earlier already as part of the Viking colonisation of Britain. Some historians suggest that Siward arrived in England with King Canute I (Knut) and that Canute vested him with the title and position of Earl of Northumberland in 1031. In 1032 he was also given the title of Earl of Deira as at the time Canute was replacing all the old Anglo-Saxon nobility with his own trusted men. So the longboat, of which a similar picture is below, had probably arrived as a convoy of ships led by Canute.

The Vikings were at that time the most powerful people in northwestern Europe and had been for nearly five centuries from about AD 800. Their longboats were fast and sleek. Powered by sail or oars, they were ideally suited for raiding because their shallow draught meant that they could travel up estuaries and rivers. The Vikings traveled from Norway east to the Black Sea and west to found colonies in Iceland and Greenland

Siward, in Danish, means sword and is an ancient name given to boys. The analysis of names and languages can often give a clue to the person and corroborate other facts and incidents. In this case it was an especially appropriate name for our Siward Biornsson who went on to live a very interesting martial life.

He was, through his sons and grandsons, the founder of many royal families in Europe as well as the progenitor of many others, as evidenced by the many websites where his name is found. One of the families that descend from him, through his grandson Siward Radbairn (the Red) is the Balfour clan. The other is the Armstrong clan which descended from another, Siward Fairbairn (the Fair).

On my father's side, Ferdinand Coenraad Balfoort (sr), our family is related to the Scottish clan Balfour. Balfoort is a Dutch version of the name Balfour that went through many changes, from Balfourt, Balford and later on, when the Napoleonic administration started registering names officially from the early 19th century, Balfoort. The Balfour family has a long martial tradition starting in Scandinavia during the times of the Visigoths. Family members, including Siward, joined the Viking excursions to England in the late 10th Century, intermarrying with Anglo Saxon families and occupying senior positions by virtue of services rendered during wars and conflicts as well as family ties to the royal families of Normandy, Scandinavia, England, and Northern and Eastern Europe.

Siward was related to King Canute through his father's lineage and was his second cousin. His father, Biorn Ulfsson (born about 975 AD in Denmark), was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson (Born about 933 AD in Halland, Denmark) and Estrid Margaret Svendsdottir, (born about 967, Denmark) who was the daughter of Sven I, Forkbeard (Tveskagg) Haraldsson, and half sister to King Canute. Sven I was a king of Denmark and England about whom the following is known:

Lineage

The following lineage is based on these sources: (www.packrat-pro.com/th.htm, Official documents related to the Lineage of the Family of Balfour of Trenabie submitted to the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh in 1842, Burkes Peerage.)

Siward, Earl of Northumberland (Siward Biornsson)
b. abt 1000 Denmark
d. 1055 York, Yorkshire, England, b. St Olaf's Church, York
Parents: Bjorn Ulfsson
Spouse: Ælfled of Bernicia
Children: Sybil, Osbern/ Osbairn (Aswulph), Waltheof II

Bjorn Ulfsson
b. abt 975, Denmark
d. 1049, murdered
Parents: Ulf Thorkilsson of Skane, Jarl of Denmark and Estrid Margaret Svendsdottir
Spouse: unknown
Child: Siward Bjornsson, Earl of Northumberland

Ulf Thorkilsson
b. abt 933, Halland, Sweden
b. Hellige-Trelog Kirken, Roskilde, Denmark
Parents: Thorgils Sprakaleg Styrjornsson and Sigrid c 970
Spouse: Estrid Margaret Svendsdottir, daughter of Sven I Forkbeard Haraldsson
Children: Bjorn Ulfsson of Denmark, Osbern of Denmark, Swen II Estridsson, King of Denmark 1047-1076

Right: Roskilde Cathedral, town of Roskilde, the Island of Sjælland.

Sven I Forkbeard Haraldsson
King of Denmark 985-1014
King of England 25 Dec 1013 to 02 Feb 1014 (40 days)
b. abt 960, Denmark
d. 02 Feb 1014, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England aged 54
b. Roskilde Cathedral, Hellig Trefoldigheds, Roskilde, Denmark
Parents: Harald Gormsson Bluetooth (Blauzahn)
Spouse 1: Gunhilda
Child: Canute I m Emma of Normandy, son Harthacanute (Hardaknut)
Spouse 2: Sigrid Storrada (the Haughty) of Svietoslava, Queen of Sygryda
Child: Estrid Margaret Svendsdottir
Child: Harald IV, King of Denmark 1014-1016

Siward's life and times

Sources: Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700, by Frederick Lewis Weis, Line 98A-23. E. A. Freeman, The Norman Conquest, vols. ii. and iii. (1870-1876); and W. F. Skene, Celtic Scotland (1876-1880)

In 1033, after being appointed Earl of Northumberland, Siward married into the Northumbrian princely house, that of Bamburgh, apparently after winning their admiration as a warrior. Ælfled, granddaughter of Uchtred, former Earl of Northumbria, thus became his wife and he thereby strengthened his own position by intermarrying with a prominent Anglo Saxon family. The Earl of Northumberland was traditionally a very important position as he was tasked to protect the Danish capital at York and the English kings' interests, while the reins of power swung between the English (Saxon) kings and Viking rulers.

Some sources say that through this marriage, Siward became distantly related to Duncan I of Scotland. I researched this question further and found that Malcolm II, King of Scotland, (1005 - 1034 A.D), had one child, Bethoc. Bethoc subsequently married Crinan, Lay Abbott of Dunkeld, and had two children. These were Duncan I, King of Scotland, (1034-1040); and Maldred, Lord of Allerdale, Regent of Strathclyde, who married Ældgatha, daughter of Uchtred, and granddaughter of King Ethelred (The Unready), of England. Ældgatha is also known as Ealdgyth or Agatha. It was King Ethelred who had fled to Normandy in 1013 providing King Sven the opportunity to consolidate his power by conquering London.

Siward's wife Ælfled was a niece of Ældgatha, who was in turn the sister-in-law of Duncan. It seems logical that Siward, as a renowned and seasoned warrior, would have been drawn into or taken charge during any conflicts on behalf of his in-laws as is elsewhere reported in this family history.

Another historical version often mentioned is that Siward's own sister Sybil became wife of king Duncan I. According to the Anglo Saxon Chronicles, Siward's sister's son, also called Siward, died in the battle of Dunsinane against MacBeth, but unfortunately his mother's name is not mentioned. It is therefore fairly certain that Bjorn Ulfsson had a daughter, and possible that she was called Sybil. As often happens the names were repeated from generation to generation and so it was not surprising that Siward's own daughter would also be called Sybil. Nothing seems to be known of the wife Bjorn Ulfsson married, Siward's mother, or when Bjorn first came to England. Quite a bit is known about his death in 1049 which appears to have been a case of murder. The Anglo Saxon Annals relate the following history (My clarifications in italics):

A.D. 1049

"This year the emperor gathered an innumerable army against Baldwin of Bruges, because he had destroyed the palace of Nimeguen (presently Nijmegen in the Netherlands), and because of many other ungracious acts that he did against him. The army was immense that he had collected together. There was Leo, the Pope of Rome, and the patriarch, and many other great men of several provinces. He sent also to King Edward, and requested of him naval aid, that he might not permit him to escape from him by water. Whereupon he went to Sandwich, and lay there with a large naval armament, until the emperor had all that he wished of Baldwin.

Thither also came back again Earl Sweyne, who had gone from this land to Denmark, and there ruined his cause with the Danes. He came hither with a pretence, saying that he would again submit to the king, and be his man; and he requested Earl Beorn (Siward's dad) to be of assistance to him, and give him land to feed him on. But Harold, his brother, and Earl Beorn resisted, and would give him nothing of that which the king had given them. The king also refused him everything. Whereupon Swevne retired to his ships at Bosham.

Then, after the settlement between the emperor and Baldwin, many ships went home, and the king remained behind Sandwich with a few ships. Earl Godwin also sailed forty-two ships from Sandwich to Pevensey, and Earl Beorn went with him. Then the king gave leave to all the Mercians to return home, and they did so. Then it was told the king that Osgod lay at Ulps with thirty-nine ships; whereupon the king sent after the ships that he might dispatch, which before had gone homewards, but still lay at the Nore. Then Osgod fetched his wife from Bruges; and they went back again with six ships; but the rest went towards Essex, to Eadulf's-ness, and there plundered, and then returned to their ships. But there came upon them a strong wind, so that they were all lost but four persons, who were afterwards slain beyond sea.

Whilst Earl Godwin and Earl Beorn lay at Pevensey with their ships, came Earl Sweyne, and with a pretence requested of Earl Beorn, who was his uncle's son (Confirming the relationship between Beorn, Siward and King Knut), that he would be his companion to the king at Sandwich, and better his condition with him; adding, that he would swear oaths to him, and be faithful to him. Whereupon Beorn concluded, that he would not for their relationship betray him. He therefore took three companions with him, and they rode to Bosham, where his62 ships lay, as though they should proceed to Sandwich; but they suddenly bound him (Earl Beorn), and led him to the ships, and went thence with him to Dartmouth, where they ordered him to be slain and buried deep.

He was afterwards found, and Harold his cousin fetched him thence, and led him to Winchester, to the old minster, where he buried him with King Knute, his uncle. Then the king and all the army proclaimed Sweyne an outlaw."

Quite a few sources mention that Sybil was Siward's daughter and married Duncan I, but this is unlikely as Sybil would have been born after the marriage of her parents in 1033 and would have been too young to bear Duncan children before his defeat and death in 1040 at Pitgaveny, near Elgin, at the hands of Thorfinn MacBeth. John of Fordun's account on this relationship between Siward and Duncan I, which is the original source of part at least of Shakespeare's version, claims that Malcolm II Canmore's mother was a niece of Siward, (Source: Fordun, IV, xliv) but an earlier king-list gives her the Gaelic name Suthen. (Source: Duncan, p. 37; M.O. Anderson, p. 284). Other sources claim she came from Leinster.

As a result of Siward's family ties through intermarriage as well as blood (Duncan I was his brother-in-law by marriage) the infant Malcolm was sent to Northumbria to be guarded by Siward.[citation needed] following MacBeth's defeat of Malcolm's father King Duncan I in 1040. Siward apparently provided protection, shelter and military training for the future Scottish ruler. Based on Fordun's account, it was assumed that Malcolm passed most of Mac Beth's seventeen year reign in the Kingdom of England at the court of Edward the Confessor. (Source: Barrell, p. 13; Barrow, Kingship and Unity,p. 25)

Siward's relationship with the Scottish royal family, through marriage and by guardianship, would later dramatically affect the landscape of Scottish politics, including the claim by the Kings of Scotland to the Earldom of Huntingdon and to Northumbria, which put them in direct conflict with the English royal house.

Bamburgh and Ælfled

Above: Bamburgh Castle photographed by David Simpson

To understand our genealogy better it is vital to know the environment of the time, both political and social. To clarify the reasons for Siward's marriage to Ælfled as well as the significance of his appointment by King Canute as Earl of Northumbria, we need to go back to the place where his wife was born. The village of Bamburgh is to this day dominated by its great sandstone castle which stands on a massive sill outcrop, overlooking the Farne Islands. When viewed from the golf course near the Harkess Rocks to the north of the village, the castle in its lofty coastal location looks to good to be true. The building is well described in William Tomlinson's Guide to Northumberland;

"A more impregnable stronghold could not be imagined. For rugged strength and barbaric grandeur it is the king of Northumbrian castles. From nearly every point of the compass its majestic outlines are visible. To the mariner plying between the Tyne and the Elbe it is the most conspicuous landmark on the North East coast."

In pre Anglo-Saxon times Bamburgh was called Din Guyardi, and was a tribal stronghold of an ancient British tribe called the Votadini. The old name has lead some to believe that Bamburgh was in fact the legendary `Joyous Guard', the castle of Sir Lancelot and Sir Gallahad in the time of King Arthur.

Bamburgh's recorded history begins in 547 A.D when King Ida the Flamebearer established the royal city and capital of Bernicia in Bamburgh. Bernicia was an expanding kingdom centred upon the Rivers Tyne and Wear. King Ida's people were Angles, a fierce piratical race originating from a region now in southern Denmark near the border with Germany. As Bernicia expanded it conquered the ancient Celtic speaking tribes of the region including the kingdom of Catraeth (centred on the River Tees) and the kingdom of Rheged, in what is now Cumbria.

The rise of Bernicia reached a climax in A.D 603 when King Ætelfrith of Bernicia (Grandson of Ida), seized control of the neighbouring Angle kingdom of Deira (now the Yorkshire wolds). This resulted in the formation of a new powerful kingdom called Northumbria, stretching from the River Humber northwards. Northumbria, occupying almost a third of the whole British mainland became, at the height of its influence, one of the strongest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain and was ruled from two capitals at York and Bamburgh. Although for a time the supremacy of the Northumbrian kings was challenged by the great midland kingdom of Mercia, and the later Viking kingdom of York, Northumbria remained a fiercely independent Anglo-Saxon province, right up until the time of the Norman Conquest.

The name Bamburgh originates from the time of Ætelfrith, the first King of Northumbria, who named the fortress or `burgh' after his wife and queen called Bebba. Over the years the name Bebba's Burgh was simplified to Bamburgh. Before Ætelfrith's time Bamburgh had continued to be known by its Celtic-British name Din Guyardi. Over the centuries Bamburgh Castle has been greatly restored, most notably by the Victorian industrialist William, Lord Armstrong (1810-1900) and the oldest remaining part of the building, is now the twelfth century keep. Today the modern visitor to the castle is more likely to be reminded of the Victorian age of Armstrong than of Bamburgh's Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and medieval history. Nevertheless when viewed from afar, the castle still retains a romantic historical appearance. Noteworthy is that Lord Armstrong was a direct descendant of Siward and Ælfled through their grandsons, both called Siward.

After his appointment, Siward was encouraged to settle disputes between his deputies Carl the Hold of York and Eadulf, the Earl of Bamburgh, but was ultimately unsuccessful. The dispute had started in 1016 when Uchtred the Bold, Ælfled's grandfather, was murdered by Carl's father Thurbrand the Hold during their meeting with King Canute. Eadulf had superceded as Earl (only of Bernicia) since the death of his brother Ealdred, Uchtred's oldest son, sometime after 1019. Ealdred had ended up killing Thurband the Hold to avenge his father and in turn Carl the Hold killed Ealdred.

In 1041 Eadulf III of Bernicia, the Earl of the North-East, was killed. The assailant was probably Siward, who became Earl of Northumbria. Siward continued to rule all of Northumbria (including Bernicia) from 1041 until his death in 1055. His marriage produced two sons, the older Osbern and the younger Waltheof II, as well as a daughter Sybil.

Taking this information into account, especially the size of territory and strategic significance of Northumberland; his royal lineage; the agreement by Canute and Harthacanute later to appoint Siward; the marriage into a significant local royal family; and the delegation of responsibilities by Canute to solve major conflicts between noblemen, Siward was highly respected and a well regarded member of the King's family and entourage.

Conquests

Siward served as a general to King Harthacanute (second son of King Canute) and Edward the Confessor, and gained great renown for his skills as a soldier. In 1053, Edward the Confessor agreed to assist the now adult Malcolm in taking the throne of Scotland, and designated Siward, his uncle, as leader of the English army (over 10,000 strong).[citation needed]

In 1054 Siward led the English invasion of Scotland. He defeated Macbeth's forces when the two armies clashed on July 27 1054 (some historians as well as Shakespeare in the play "MacBeth" suggest that Siward's army disguised their attack by concealing themselves behind tree branches and wood "used as camouflage" from nearby Birnam forest). The Annals of Ulster reported that the Battle of Dunsinane left 3000 Scots and 1500 English dead. Thus, the incursion was met with limited success, even though it succeeded in capturing the fortress of Dunsinane. This battle was later romanticised by Shakespeare in the play MacBeth.

Although Macbeth's army suffered heavy losses, Macbeth himself managed to escape North and continued to rule for another three years until his final and decisive defeat in 1057 at the Battle of Lumphanan at the hands of Malcolm III Canmore.
Siward's oldest son, Osbern, and his nephew [Anglo Saxon Chronicles], were killed during the campaign in Scotland. Following is the account written in that year in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles:

"A.D. 1054. This year died Leo the holy pope, at Rome: and Victor was chosen pope in his stead. And in this year was so great loss of cattle as was not remembered for many winters before. This year went Earl Siward with a large army against Scotland, consisting both of marines and landforces; and engaging with the Scots, he put to flight the King Macbeth; slew all the best in the land; and led thence much spoil, such as no man before obtained. Many fell also on his side, both Danish and English; even his own son, Osborn, and his sister's son, Sihward: and many of his house-carls, and also of the king's, were there slain that day, which was that of the Seven Sleepers."

According to the lineage of Trenabie referred to earlier, as well as Burkes Peerage, Osbern was survived by his son Siward.

Death and burial

Siward died in York in early 1055, never seeing the final defeat of Macbeth. Siward himself deeply regretted 'dying like a cow'[citation needed] and not having been killed in battle. He is reputed to have risen from his death-bed and donned his armour to meet his end more fittingly. Siward is reputedly buried at St Olave's Church, York, which he is said to have founded. This church is dedicated to King (Saint) Olaf of Norway and is located in Siward Street, York.

St Olave's church
(Source: York Press)

The original nucleus of the great mother abbey, of the Benedictines at York (St Mary's Abbey) was the church of St. Olaf, founded by Siward in about 1050, as his own burial-place, endowed with a few acres of land. Round this church the abbey grew. The saint (Olaf) was therefore held in honor by that community, as likewise he would be by the colony from York settling on the coast of Cumberland. St. Olaf died in 1030. (Source: Charter of Godred II to St Bees. By this charter, probably circulated 1175, Godred of Man gave to St. Bees Priory, 'Asmundestoftes and Eschedala,' in exchange for the Church of St. Olaf and the villula which is called Euastad)

In around 1850, William Baxter composed a poem about Siward's death, drawn by the romantic nature of his life and the legends that surrounded him. It is copied below.

The Death of Siward

(Source: William Baxter, Southern Literary Messenger, Richmond, June 1851)

Siward, the conqueror of Macbeth, when he found death approaching, ordered himself to be clothed in complete armor, and sitting erect on a couch with a spear in his hand, said, "In this posture, the only one worthy of a warrior, I will meet the tyrant. If I cannot conquer, I can at least face the combat."--Russell's Europe.

The hero oft had met the foe,
Upon the bloody field,
Oft on the battle plain, his breast
Had been his country's shield.

His banner waved above the host,
Which smote fierce Macbeth down.
Who slew his kingly guest in sleep,
That he might wear his crown.

He had been first to press his way,
Where darts flew thick and fast,
The first to lead to victory,
When forced to fly, the last.

For oh! he loved the battle's din,
More than the mirthful song,
War's stern delights, more than the joys
Found in the festal throng.

Though age had chilled his fiery blood,
And blanched his raven hair,
Unstrung the vigor of his arm;
The spirit still was there.

That spirit which had never known
Fear, in the battle field,
When death was nigh, was fearless still,
And could not brook to yield.

But rising on his couch of pain,
He bade his page to bear
His corslet, and his gleaming helm,
His pennon and his spear.
"Clothe me," he cried, "in burnished steel,
And gird upon my side
My falchion, which has often turned
The battle's bloody tide".

"Oh place my well tried spear in rest,
And raise my battle cry,
Advance my pennon that I may
Seem in the strife to die".

"Thus, would I meet the tyrant Death,
Not as the timid slave;
But with a calm, unshrinking eye,
As best becomes the brave".

"I must be vanquished in this field,
The last to which I go;
But spear in hand, I would await,
The coming of the foe".

"Thus ever was I wont to stand;
And now, I will not fly
But boldly meet thee, mighty death,
And in my armor die".

The page raised up his dying chief,
Put on his warlike vest,
Flung out his pennon to the breeze,
And laid his spear in rest.

Then flashed the dying chieftain's eye,
And with his failing breath,
He strove to raise his battle shout,
And yielded but to death.

Rumoured to be a man of unusual strength and size (some referring to him as a "giant") it was traditionally said that Siward's grandfather was a bear and Siward himself was the dragon-slayer of Orkney. In the 20th century excavations were made of Siward's grave in St Olave's Church. Supposedly these revealed a skeleton of a man who would have been 6'7" tall.

Siward's Progeny

Waltheof II, Earl of Huntingdon and Northumberland was Siward's second son. The name Waltheof is no accident, as it had been his great-great-grandfather's name during the 10th century as well and historical records may have used the Latin number 2 (II) to tell them apart. I have often found the same first names recurring over many generations, together with Latin numerical postscripts, and I do not believe this to be coincidence.

Waltheof appears to have been prepared as a child for a life in the Church. This all changed when Siward's eldest son, Osbern, was killed in 1054. This left Waltheof at the likely age of 10, as Siward's heir. When Siward died from natural causes in 1055 the earldom was given to Tostig Godwinson, the brother of Harold Godwinson, future King Harold, who was defeated by William the Conqueror at Hastings. Waltheof (and Siward) were obviously too young to control a vital strategic region. Further details of Waltheof's life and times are contained in the chapter "Waltheof".

Osbern's children

Both the Trenabie lineage which was presented to the Lord Lyon in 1842, as well as Burke's Peerage, are consistent that Aswulph, the son of Siward, had a son called Siward. The name Aswulph is in fact the Anglo Saxon version of the name Osbairn or Osbern. Wulph in old Germanic means offspring (in old Dutch welp is still used for the offspring of a wolf). At the same time, bern or bairn is a Gaelic word for child and also used in Friesian which has many similarities to Gaelic.

The following is an extract from one of the many websites about clan Armstrong, which includes a very informative one at www.armstrong.org.

"Osbern "Bulax" (NB: I have no records or citation for the moniker) had two sons named Siward Barn (sic) the Red (Radbairn) and Siward Barn (sic) the White (Fairbairn). Not much is known about Siward the Red, but it is known that Siward Barn the White became a refugee and fled to Scotland with many other men of distinguished renown including Edgar the Aetheling, the rightful King of England."

Malcolm III, the 85th King of Scotland, greeted Siward Barn the White (his cousin as discussed earlier) with great kindness, and together they fought against William the Conqueror in Northumbria. An interesting legend involves Siward the White (Fairbairn) during a battle against England. During this battle, King Malcolm's horse was killed under him partially crippling him. Young Siward fought his way to the King's side. Passing his left arm around the King's body under his arms, he reportedly fought his way with a great Sword through the enemy to a place of safety. For his courageous act he was knighted by the King, given land and a castle on the Scottish border, and from that time on was referred to as the Sword (Siward) of the Strong Arm (or Armstrong). This was how he and his descendants came to inherit the lands of Mangerton in Liddesdale". Note the prominent use of a strong arm in the crest, referring to this historical incident, similar to the use of an otter's head for Siward the Red as described above.

Another mention in documents of that time noted that Siward bairn (the child) joined Edwin (Earl of Mercia, and his brother Morcar (the brother of Earl of Northumbria, Gospatric) in the rebellion of 1071 against William the Conqueror and had land holdings in Notts (Refer http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/landowners.html). This mention is important for two reasons. Firstly, it confirms Siward, and most likely both the Siward brothers, were on the side of the Anglo Saxon nobility fighting a rearguard action against William, and still working closely with their uncle, Waltheof II. The uprising mentioned, fomented and led by Gospatric, was part of the cause of the later undoing of Waltheof and his execution in 1076. Gospatric was a son of Maldred, the brother of Duncan I and as previously stated, thereby related to both Waltheof and the Siward brothers. The unsuccessful uprising was in support of the failed invasion of King Swegyn Astrithson of Denmark to lay claim to the English throne. King Swegyn was also a blood relative of Waltheof and the Siwards, which can just about justify the claim that this was a family affair all the way.

Secondly, the authors recognized the name Siward as being prominent as nothing else was indicated except for the suffix "Bairn" which, as earlier discussed means "Child" in gaelic. One can assume that the authors would only have been confident of referring to Siward in this singular way if his descent from Siward, his grandfather, was quite obvious, but specified this further by adding Bairn so as to not confuse the grandson with the grandfather. Once again, the repetitious use historical references to either Siward on its own, or combined with "Bairn", "Redbairn" or "Fairbairn" is in my opinion a strong indication that these persons were related to Siward, Earl of Northumbria.

This leaves us to further analyze Siward Radbairn (The red). The Annals of Dunfermline provides a list of travelers on the ships that came to Scotland with Edgar the Atheling and his sister Margaret and includes both Gospatric (Source: Hailes' An. Scot. vol. i. pp.7-8) and Siward. (Source: Freeman's Norman Conquest, vol. iv). They were no doubt the commencement of a flood of arrivals from Northumbria as William continued his efforts to establish control.

In 1093 Malcolm III was killed at the Battle of Alnwick by Robert de Mowbray. In 1097 his son Edgar ascended the Scottish throne and immediately had to contend with a challenge to the throne from his dad's half brother, Donald Bane, who had joined forces with a Danish warrior called Ottar the Dane. Edgar promptly asked and received the assistance from Siwarth II (his blood relative, second cousin) as referred to in historical documents. Assuming that Siward the Fair was by now Siward Fairbairn Armstrong with his own lands and titles, it is reasonable to deduce that it was Siward the Red who was asked by Edgar to support him in the battles against Donald Bane, which he apparently did in good order. There is no doubt that Siward's Danish ancestry and his family relationship with Donald Bane must have made the job easier in terms of making an approach to Ottar the Dane. There is also no doubt that Edgar would have had to trust someone close and related for such a "delicate" job.

As a result of Siward the Red's support of Edgar he was given land and a coat of arms that are quite different from the Armstrong Coat of Arms and land titles. At the same time both Armstrong and Balfour lands were located in the contested Borderlands of Scotland, a strategic necessity to ensure safety in a fairly contested and tumultuous region. The original coat of arms was adopted by Siwarth II "cui dat Edgar rex vallem de Or at Maey pro capite Ottar Dani". Translated from Latin it means that: "King Edgar of Scotland gives to Siwarth II the Or valley and the Isle of May in return for the head of Ottar the Dane". It seems likely that Ottar was one of the Scandinavian allies who supported the usurper Donald Bane against his nephew, Edgar. King Edgar, obviously a man of his time, put out his uncle's eyes and left him to rot in prison.

Note that historical records, including Burkes Peerage, refer to this Siward as Siward II. Logic indicates that this Siward was a descendant from the first Siward, the Earl of Northumberland, his grandfather, and therefore given a different number to distinguish the two. Alternatively, if there were two Siwards and they were often confused with one another historians may have given them numbers to tell them apart. The otter's head has ever since appeared in the Arms of all Siwarth's legitimate descendants.