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Walthe of II (1050 - 1076 AD)

As described in my earlier chapter, Siward (990 - 1100 AD), Waltheof was a younger son of Siward, Earl of Northumberland who passed away in York in 1055. He was therefore the uncle of Siward Fairbairn and Siward Radbairn. (Read an analysis at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siward,_Earl_of_Northumbria ). After the death of Aswulph or Osbern as he is known by some, Waltheof was the rightful heir to take over the title of Earl of Northumberland, but he was too young to do so based on historical accounts, some of which are referred to on Wikipedia, and which I have copied here, based on my research of other documents and sources which confirm their veracity. I refer here to the contents of the Wikipedia entry as at 14 April 2008 as, since the time I wrote the section Balfour 1000 - 1100, there has been major progress in research on the internet.

Waltheof (1050 - 31 May 1076), was the Earl of Northumbria and last of the Anglo Saxon earls. He was the only English aristocrat to be formally executed during the reign of William I (note that there is a family habit for Balfours and Balfoorts to get entangled in intrigue and to die of unusual causes. This pattern is repeated until this day). He was reputed for his physical strength but was weak and unreliable in character (citation needed).

Waltheof took his name from his great-great grandfather, Waltheof I, who is described as follows:

Waltheof (Walþeof) Earl of all Northumbria. Waltheof I was the earl of Northumbria (963-995), the son and successor of Osulf I. His name is Scandinavian and implies that he had Viking ancestors. It remained in his family when Earl Siward married his great-granddaughter and named his son Waltheof. Nothing is known about Waltheof I's reign, despite its length. Waltheof had a son, Uchtred the Bold.

Uchtred (or Uhtred), called the Bold, was the earl of Northumbria from 1006 to 1016, when he was assassinated. He was the son of Waltheof I, Earl of Bernicia, whose ancient family had ruled from Bamburgh north of the Tees since the late ninth century. In 1006, while his father was alive but too aged to fight, Uhtred defeated Malcolm II of Scotland at the siege of Durham, and he was rewarded by King Ethelred II with the earldom of all Northumbria.
In 1013 King Sweyn of Denmark invaded England, and Uhtred submitted to him, but he transferred his allegiance back to King Ethelred II after Sweyn's death in 1014. In 1015 Uhtred supported a rebellion by Ethelred's son Edmund Ironside against his father, but in the same year Sweyn's son, Canute the Great, took up his father's fight (a fight he eventually won), and Uhtred then did homage to him as king of England.

In 1016, invited to a meeting with Canute, Uhtred was murdered by Thurbrand the Hold with the connivance of Canute. Uhtred was succeeded by his brother Eadwulf Cudel, but only in Bernicia. Over all Northumbria, Canute placed Eric of Hlathir. Uhtred's son Ealdred killed Thurbrand and Thurbrand's son Carl killed Ealdred. (Note the involvement of Siward in killing Carl, and the subsequent assassination of two further family members by Waltheof II as described below). Nonetheless, Uhtred's dynasty continued to reign until 1041, and briefly a scion ruled in 1067 (Gospatric)

Uhtred was married first to Ecgfrida, daughter of Aldhun, the first Bishop of Durham. He subsequently married Elgiva, daughter of King Ethelred II the Unready of England. (Source: www.germantribes.org )

Early life

He (Waltheof) was the second son of Siward, Earl of Northumbria. His mother was Aelfflaed, daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bernicia, son of Uchtred, Earl of Northumbria. In 1054, Waltheof's brother, Osbearn, who was much (citation needed) older than him, was killed in battle (The Battle of Dunsinane), making Waltheof his father's heir. Siward himself died in 1055 (And was buried in York). As Waltheof was 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, (not unusual as the second or third son in the family was normally directed in this way). (Citation needed) In fact, around 1065 he became an earl, governing Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire. Following the Battle of Hastings (1066) he submitted to William and was allowed to keep his pre-Conquest title and possessions. He remained at William's court until 1068. (as a hostage according to some sources)

First revolt

When Sweyn II invaded Northern England in 1069 Waltheof and Edgar Aetheling joined the Danes and took part in the attack on York. (Sweyn II was a family member of Waltheof, no surprises here). 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 Lens (William obviously saw a need to bring him into the fold). 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. (Siward, Waltheof's father, took revenge in the 1030's as elsewhere described in the section Balfour 1000 - 1100). 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 Earls against William. His motives for taking part in the revolt are unclear as is the depth of his involvement. (It looks like family ties and blood feuds were the main motivators, as noted elsewhere. This is a common thread that will continue throughout the family history. I believe this may be due to the ever changing political landscape in those times, when kings could either be from Anglo Saxon, Viking or Norman descent, a confusing picture if you were a nobleman trying to figure out to whom to swear allegiance in order to retain your position and confirm your and your family's survival going forward). 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 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.

Winchester, from St Giles Hill 1886
(Source: Francis Frith, www.francisfrith.com , Ref: 19401)

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.

Croyland Abbey (Source: www.stevebulman.f9.co.uk )

(Note that Croyland Abbey was established by Æthelbald of Mercia, a close friend of St Guthlac in whose memory the abbey was founded by Æthelbald after 714 AD. I am researching the family ties between Ældred of Bernicia, grandfather of Waltheof II, to confirm another potential repeated historical coincidence which I have noted in my genealogical research elsewhere. It would be interesting if Walteof II was finally buried in a church founded by ancestors, a similar connection to the Balfours in Latvia who founded their trading business in Riga in the early 1800's and contributed to the building of the Anglican Church, the renovation of which we supported when we were there in Riga between 1999 and 2001.)

Family and children

In 1070 he married Judith of Lens, daughter of Lambert II, Count of Lens and Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale. They had three daughters, the eldest of whom, Maud (Matilda), brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband, David I of Scotland, and another of whom, Adelise, married the Anglo-Norman nobleman Raoul II of Tosny. To Origins of Balfour (1100 - 1600).