Siward is Earl of Northumbria (jan 1, 1033 – feb 1, 1055)
Description:
Although it is clear that Siward was earl by 1033, he may have attained the position somewhat earlier. His predecessor Erik of Hlathir last appeared in the historical sources in 1023, leaving a ten-year gap during which Siward could have taken the position. Although William of Malmesbury asserted that Erik was driven back to Scandinavia, Scandinavian tradition firmly maintained he died in England. Historian William Kapelle believed that Erik ceased to be earl in or soon after 1023, and that Carl son of Thurbrand was appointed hold or high-reeve (heahgerefa) for the king in Yorkshire. Carl retained this position, it was argued, even after Siward was installed as earl a few years later, but from then on he acted as a deputy to the earl rather than to the king.
Siward was, at some stage, married to Ælfflæd, daughter of Ealdred II of Bamburgh, and granddaughter of Uhtred the Bold.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle asserts that, in 1041 Eadulf, Earl of Bamburgh, was "betrayed" by King Harthacnut. The "betrayal" seems to have been carried out by Siward; since when the Libellus de Exordio and other sources write about the same event, they say that Siward attacked and killed Eadulf. It was thus that Siward became earl of all Northumbria, perhaps the first person to do so since Uhtred the Bold. It is possible that Siward used Ælfflæd's lineage to claim the earldom of Bamburgh for himself, although it is unclear whether the marriage took place before or after Siward killed Eadulf.
There may nonetheless be a connection between the murder of Eadulf and events further south. For the same year the Chronicle of John of Worcester related that, because of an attack on two of Harthacnut's tax-collectors there, Siward took part in a reprisal on the city and monastery of Worcester.
Relations between Siward and King Edward appear to have been good. Neither Siward nor any associates of Siward were punished by Edward in later years. In fact, Siward appears to have been one of Edward's most powerful supporters. On 16 November 1043, Siward, along with Earls Godwine of Wessex and Leofric of Mercia, marched with King Edward against Queen Emma, helping the king to deprive the queen of her huge treasury.
The Norman propagandist and historian, William of Poitiers, claimed that Siward was among those who had sworn an oath to uphold Edward the Confessor's alleged declaration that William, Duke of Normandy (later King William I), was to be his heir.
In 1051 Siward, along with Earls Leofric and Ralph the Timid, mobilised forces in defence of the king against a rebellion by Earl Godwine and his sons.[58] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle relates that although Siward had to call up reinforcements, King Edward was successful and Earl Godwine was temporarily exiled.[59] Earl Godwine remained a threat in exile, and the continued "belligerent support" of Siward and Leofric was thus vital to King Edward's safety.[60] It was apparently, however, the reluctance of these two earls to fight Earl Godwine that contributed to Godwine's re-establishment in England in 1052.[61]
There is evidence to suggest that Siward extended his power southward, bringing the shire of Northampton into his control in the 1040s and the shire of Huntingdon in the 1050s.
Likewise, it has been argued that Siward brought Cumberland, thought by some historians to have been lost to Strathclyde, back under Northumbrian lordship. The evidence comes from a document known to historians as "Gospatric's Writ". It ordered that that no man is to break the peace which was given by Gospatric and Earl Siward.
Historians such as Charles Phythian-Adams believed that such phraseology indicated that Siward conquered the region from its previous rulers, although others, like William Kapelle, believed that the region had come, were it ever lost, back into English power before Siward's time.
Siward can be found witnessing numerous charters during Edward's reign, though not as many as the Godwinsons; Siward usually comes third in lists of earls, behind Godwine and Leofric but ahead of Godwine's sons and the other earls.
Siward is perhaps most famous for his expedition in 1054 against Macbeth, King of Scotland, an expedition that cost Siward his eldest son, Osbjorn.
The Vita Ædwardi Regis states that Siward died at York and was buried in "the monastery of St Olaf" at Galmanho, a claim confirmed by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, John of Worcester, and the Historia Regum.
The Anglo-Saxonist Frank Stenton declared that Siward was "not a statesman, but a Danish warrior of the primitive type". Writers in the half-century after his death remembered Siward as a strong ruler who brought peace and suppressed brigandage.
One of Siward's sons is known to have survived him, Waltheof, whose mother was Ælfflæd. Waltheof later rose to be an earl in the East Midlands before becoming Earl of Northumbria. When Waltheof rebelled against William the Conqueror, however, the act led to his execution and to his subsequent veneration as a saint at Crowland Abbey.
Added to timeline:
11th Century
Events leading up to 1066 and beyond
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