Gospatric of Allerdale, Earl of Northumbria
and Mormaer (Great Steward; forerunner of an Earl) of Dunbar was the son of the Cumbrian ‘Prince’ MALDRED, LORD ALLERDALE, regent of Strathclyde and ÆLDGYTH OF BAMBURGH, who were both of very noble descent.
According to the Scots Peerage he had at least one brother, MALDRED OF WINLATON.
It is not known when Gospatric was born exactly, but it is assumed that his grandfather, shortly before his death, arranged the marriage of Gospatric's mother, still an infant.
Girls were married in the Middle Ages, mostly at the age of twelve to sixteen, but younger girls were also promised. This was not unusual, because marriages were made on a contractual basis at that time. In the process, the parents of the future partners dealt with the connections of their children when they were still in the childhood. For here well-calculated power-political interests and the gain in material possessions came to bear. Married was in the same social milieu. The equality principle excluded marriages between members of different classes and a non-standard marriage must be classified as extremely rare exceptions. If there was such a marriage between members of different classes, the principle applies that the partner from the higher from the time of the marriage also belonged to the lower class and thereby lost all privileges. The purpose of the marriage was in the generation of legitimate offspring. Family, social, economic and political interests were decisive for a marriage, affection and love played only a marginal role, if at all.
Gospatric's maternal grandfather, UCTRED OF BAMBURGH, EARL OF NORTHUMBRIA, died 1016. For this reason it can be assumed that Gospatric's mother was born around 1015 and should have come into puberty and thus into the childbearing age at the latest around 1030. Provided that Gospatric's father died in 1045, Gospatric and his siblings must have been born within these fifteen years; when exactly, however, can not be determined.
At the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 present-day Cumberland and Westmoreland ('Cumbria') were remote and little developed regions of northwest England. The area was peopled by a mix of Cumbric-speaking Britons, Norse-Irish settlers and English-speaking Anglians. There were certainly 'thegns' (local strongmen or lords), but life for ordinary people was mostly peaceful and, as long as they paid their dues to their lords, there was not much violence or repression.
After his victory over Harold Godwinson at Hastings, William of Normandy appointed a certain Copsi (Copsig), a Northumbrian magnate in late Anglo-Saxon England and supporter of the late Earl Tostig, who had been exiled with his master in 1065, as Earl of Bernicia in the spring of 1067. Copsi was dead within five weeks, killed by Oswulf, grandson of EARL UCTRED OF NORTHUMBRIA, who installed himself as Earl. Oswulf was killed in the autumn by bandits after less than six months as Earl. At this point, Gospatric, who had a plausible claim to the Earldom given the likelihood that he was related to Oswulf and Uchtred, offered King William a large amount of money to be given the Earldom of Bernicia respectively Northumbria. The King, who was in the process of raising heavy taxes, accepted.
NOTE: Bernica was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England. The Anglian territory of Bernicia was approximately equivalent to the modern English counties of Northumberland and Durham, and the Scottish counties of Berwickshire and East Lothian, stretching from the Forth to the Tees. In the early 7th century, it merged with its southern neighbour, Deira, to form the kingdom of Northumbria and its borders subsequently expanded considerably.
In the years immediatley following the Battle of Hastings, the Norman Duke William 'the Bastard' and his men moved swiftly to cow the native English, who they despised, and to dispossess them of their lands, which he then divided up between his French followers, whether they had been with him at Hastings or had arrived in England soon after. The monk Orderic Vitalis wrote about the consequences of the invasion during William's six-month absence in Normandy 1067: "Meanwhile, the English were groaning under the Norman yoke, and suffering oppressions from the proud lords, who ignored the king's injunctions. The petty lords who were guarding the castles oppressed all the native inhabitants of high and low degree, and heaped shameful burdens on them. For Bishop Odo and William fitzOsbern, the king's vice regents, were so swollen with pride that they would not deign to hear the reasonable pleas of the English or give them impartial judgement. When their men at arms were guilty of plunder and rape they protected them by force, and wreaked their wrath all the more violently upon those complained of the cruel wrongs they suffered."
Things did not improve though, when William came back to England, because he continued his policy of expropriation and English resistance and rebellion was rife. Northern English Earls such as Gospatric made accommodations with Duke William, but were always plotting revolts to remove the French ourse from England.
(Bamburgh Castle)The initial spark for this venting of Northern English resentment occured in early 1069, when William replaced Gospatric as earl of Northumbria with the Fleming Robert Comines, who came with a band of between 500 and 900 Flemish mercenaries. The chronicler Simeon of Durham tells us: "The new earl advanced leaving a trail destruction, allowing his men to ravage the countryside by pillaging and killing." People started to flee their homes, but, although according to Simeon: "Suddenly there came a heavy fall of snow and such harsh winter that all possibility of flight was denied", Gospatric was able to seek shelter in Scotland, taking with them Eadgar the Ætheling, last representative of the Saxon House of Wessex, his mother, and his sisters, and passed the winter with his cousin, the Scottish King Malcolm III.
'Standing with their backs on the wall' the local English decided on resistance though. Despite warnings from Bishop Ethelwin, that a rebel army had mobilised against him, Robert Comine rode to Durham with a small force, where he and his men were surrounded and slaughtered. The rebels then turned their attention to York, where they massacred the Norman garrison.
But northern resistance was in no way over, then and Gospatric joined next the invading army of Danes, Scots and Englishmen under Edgar the Ætheling, who had a strong claim to be the heir of Edward the Confessor.
The 'Harrying of the North' was the brutal answer of William the Conquerer. He ravaged York and its church, fell on the besiegers, killing or putting them to flight and then marched to the river Tees, ravaging the surrounding countryside as he proceeded north.
Gospatric was able, due to his holding Bamburgh Castle, to make terms with the king and Edgar fled to Scotland, where his sister Margaret was married to the king. Contrary to expectations William pardoned Gospatric and restored him his earldom.
But William's vengeance was not satiated. He marched over the Pennies during the winter and defeated the remaining rebels at Shrewsbury. Orderic Vitalas (Anglo-Norman chronicler) stated in his Ecclesiastical History: "The King stopped at nothing to hunt his enemies. He cut down many people and destroyed homes and land. Nowhere else had shown so much cruelty. This made a real change. To his shame, William made no effort to control his fury, punishing the innocent with the guilty. He ordered that crops and herds, tools and food be burned to ashes. More than 100,000 people perished of starvation. ..."
In 1072 William deprived suddenly again Gospatric of his earldom, accusing him of having instigated the murder of Robert of Comine, and of having taken part in the attack on York. His earldom was given to Waltheof, son of Siward. Gospatric fled into exile in Scotland and soon afterwards went to Flanders, "most probably for the purpose of enlisting Flemish forces, whose swords were at the service of any pay-master, and from whence he returned to Scotland." Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots welcomed and granted him Dunbar Castle and the adjacent lands in Lothian as a provision "until better times should come", later to become the Earldom of Dunbar. "... and his three sons, ..., became border chieftains, dangerous to the English king." They controlled much of Lothian, and all of "The Borders", Berwick, Peebles, Selkirk, and Roxburgh, plus their great holdings in Northumberland and Cumberland. Gospatric is said to have rebuilt the wood and wattle Fortress of Bar into the stone castle of Dunbar, which was to become one of the mightiest castles in Scotland and was to become the home of one of the most powerful families there.
Gospatric himself was also Lord of Allerdale and in that capacity he issued his famous writ granting lands in Allerdale to his man Thorfinn Mac Thore.
('Gospatric's writ'; printed copy of the text published in 'The Victoria History of the County of Cumberland')
Translation
"Gospatric greets all my retainers and each man, free and dreng, who dwell in all the lands that were Cumbrian, and all my kindred, friendly. And I make known to you that my intention is to grant full leave that Thorfynn mac Thore be as free in all things that are mine in Allerdale as any man be, either I or any of my retainers, in plain, in woodland, in enclosures, and in all things that are above the earth and under it, as far as Chalk Beck as the Waver as the Wampool as Wiza Beck and the plain at Caldbeck. And I will that the men dwelling with Thorfynn at Cardew and Cumdivock be as free, together with him, as Melmor and Thore and Sygulf were in Eadread's days; and that there be no man so bold that, with what I have given to him, anywhere break the peace which earl Syward and I have granted him as freely as to any man living under the sky. And that whoever is dwelling there be free from paying geld as I am, and as Willann, Waltheof, and Wygand, and Wiberht, and Gamell, and Kunyth, and all my kindred and retainers. And I will that Thorfynn have sake and soke, toll and team, over all the lands in Cardew and in Cumdivock that were given to Thore in Moryn's days, free from the obligation of providing messengers and witnesses, in that place."
Gospatric did not live long in Scottish exile as Roger of Hoveden's chronicle relates: "[N]ot long after this, being reduced to extreme infirmity, he sent for Aldwin and Turgot, the monks, who at this time were living in Meilros, in poverty and contrite in spirit for the sake of Christ, and ended his life with a full confession of his sins, and great lamentations and penitence, at Ubbanford, which is also called Northam, and was buried in the porch of the church there."
Note: The present Church of St Cuthbert at Norham was begun in 1165 at the same time as Norham Castle. However, the presence of a large number of Anglo-Saxon carved stones show that an earlier, ninth century AD church stood here. Many of these remains were found when the church was being restored in the 19th century. The stones were probably part of carved stone crosses, though some may have been grave markers. It is probable that this earlier church stood beneath the current one, but a slight platform recorded nearby in the graveyard, may also have been its location.
However according to some historians this manuscript shall contradict a tradition that Gospatrick was buried in the monk's burial ground at Durham, where his name was commemorated in their obituaries. A tombstone with the inscription "Gospatricus Comes" was discovered in the monk's burial ground in 1821. But it rather looks like as if this tombstone belonged perhaps to Earl Gospatric's son of the same name, because "Gospatricus comes frater Dolfini" was styled "Gospatric de Dunbar" by King David I. of Scotland and "Gospatricus Comes" by prince Henry of Scotland (1114-1152), 3rd Earl of Northumberland and the 3rd Earl of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton.
Besides there is some evidence that Gospatric was still alive at least in May 1094, when he shall have supported actively his son-in-law, Duncan to place him on the Scottish throne as Duncan II. (fl. 1094).
NOTE: Duncan (born c. 1060) was given into the keeping of William the Conqueror in 1072 as a hostage. He was raised in the Anglo-Norman court of William I, becoming familiar with the culture, education, and institutions of his hosts. He was trained as a Norman knight and participated in William's campaigns.
In 1087, William died, and his eldest surviving son Robert Curthose succeeded him as Duke of Normandy. According to Florence of Worcester, Robert released Duncan from custody and had him officially knighted. Duncan was allowed to leave the Duchy of Normandy. He chose to join the court of William II of England, younger brother to Robert. His father, who by then had many sons, appears to have made no effort to obtain Duncan's return. Edward, the eldest paternal half-brother of Duncan, had been designated as heir in his absence. Duncan notably chose to stay with his adoptive culture, partly due to the influence of 15 years of Norman life and partly in pursuit of personal wealth and glory, though he may always have had in mind that one day he would become Scotland's king, like his father and grandfather. In the first years of the last decade of the 11th century, hostilities between Malcolm III and William II were ongoing and after Malcolm's death the resulting power vacuum allowed his younger brother, Donald, to seize the throne. The new monarch represented the interests of "a resentful native aristocracy", driving out the Anglo-Saxons and Normans who had come to the court of Malcolm and Margaret. The event allowed Duncan to lay claim to the throne, attempting to depose his uncle, because he had the support of William II, in exchange for an oath of fealty to his patron.
Although it is controversial discussed, it looks like as if Gospatric had two illegitimate sons, before he married.
Note: According to a Scottish memorandum "Earl Cospatryk formerly earl of Dunbar in Scotland had a brother Dolfin earl of Northumbarland … both … bastards", and had "a legitimate brother Waldeve and a legitimate sister Etheldreda … of one father and one mother".
Children:
(1) DOLFIN OF CARLISLE, LORD OF CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND
(2) Gospatric II, Earl of Dunbar (died 1138 in the battle of the Standard)
NOTE: He left four sons and at least one daughter; descendants of the eldest of these, Gospatric III, Earl of Lothian or Earl of Dunbar, were to become one of the most powerful families in Scotland, the Earls of Dunbar and March, who controlled much of Lothian, and all of the Borders.
It does not seem to be quite clear, who EARL GOSPATRIC's wife was exactly. It is said though that she was Edmund's sister. This is known, because Earl Gospatric's son, Gospatric of Dunbar, is said have been granted rights to the lands of his mother's brother, Edmund, confirmed by King Henry I. of England (fl. 1100 – 1135). So who was Edmund? This question can not be answered with certainty and should remain unanswered at this point because there seems to be no clear evidence for both frequently proposed candidates, namely, Edmund son of Harold II., the last Anglo-Saxon King of England, and Edmund son of Malcolm III, King of Scotland.
Children:
(3) Waltheof, Lord of Allerdale and Abbot of Crowland
(4) Æthelreda (Ethelreda) married to Duncan II of Scotland, the son of King Malcolm Canmore. This marriage produced one son, William FitzDuncan (c. 1090/1094-1147), Mormaer of Moray, who was a general and territorial magnate in northern Scotland and northern England.
According to the 'Chronicon Cumbrie' GOSPATRIC had in addition at least three more daughters. But it is not recorded whether they were also children of Edmund's sister or not.
Note: "Waltheof (Waldeve) of Allerdale gave to his sister Gunhilda, wife of Orm fitz Ketel the Cumbrian Manors of Seaton, Camerton, Flimby and Grey southern ; while to another sister, Maud, wife of Dolfin, he granted the adjacent manors of Little Crosby, Langrigg and Brigham."
(5) Octreda (Ethreda) married to Waltheof son of Gilnmin; "Broughton, a pleasant village, on the southern inclination of a hill. It was a dependent manor of the barony of Allerdale, granted by Waldeof, first lord, to Waldeof, son of Gilnim, with Ochtreda his sister, in dowery; whose descendants took the local names." Meldred of Broughton (Brocton) married to Amabel was perhaps one of their offsprings later on.
(6) Maud (or Mathilda) married to Dolfin fitzAylward of Dolphenby
(7) Gunilda married to Orm, great-grandson of Ivo de Taillebois, Baron of Kendal