Everything about Uchtred The Bold totally explained
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 the castle of
Bamburgh on the Northumbrian coast since the late
ninth century.
In 995, according to
Symeon of Durham, when the remains of
St Cuthbert were transferred from
Chester-le-Street to
Durham, Uchtred helped the monks clear the site of the new cathedral. The new cathedral was founded by
Bishop Aldhun, and Uchtred married Aldhun's daughter, Ecgfrida, probably at about this time. From his marriage he received several estates that had belonged to the church.
In
1006 Malcolm II of Scotland invaded Northumbria and besieged the newly founded episcopal city of
Durham. At that time the Danes were raiding southern England and
King Ethelred was unable to send help to the Northumbrians. Earl Waltheof was too old to fight and remained in his castle at
Bamburgh.
Earl Ælfhelm of
York also took no action. Uchtred, acting for his father, called together an army from Bernicia and Yorkshire and led it against the Scots. The result was a decisive victory for Uchtred. Local women washed the severed heads of the Scots, receiving a payment of a cow for each, and the heads were fixed on stakes to Durham's walls. Uchtred was rewarded by King
Ethelred II with the earldom of Bernicia even though his father was still alive. In the mean time, Ethelred had had Earl Ælfhelm of York murdered, and he allowed Uchtred to succeed Ælfhelm as earl of York, thus uniting the two ancient kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira under the house of Bamburgh. It seems likely that Ethelred didn't trust the Danes of Deira and wanted an Anglo-Saxon in power there.
After receiving these honours Uchtred dismissed his wife, Ecgfrida, and married Sige, daughter of Styr, son of Ulf. Styr was a rich citizen of York. It appears that Uchtred was trying to make political allies amongst the Danes in Deira.
The killing of Uchtred by Thurbrand the Hold started a blood feud that lasted for many years. Uhtred's son
Ealdred subsequently avenged his father by killing Thurbrand, but Ealdred in turn was killed by Thurbrand's son, Carl. Eadred’s vengeance had to wait until the 1070s, when
Waltheof, Eadred’s grandson had his soldiers kill most of Carls’ sons and grandsons. This is an example of the notorious Northumbrian blood feuds that were common at this time.
Uhtred's dynasty continued to reign in Bernicia through
Ealdred (killed 1038) his son from his marriage to Ecgfrida, and
Eadulf (killed 1041) his son from his marriage to Sige, and briefly Eadulf’s son Osulf held the earldom of Northumbria 1067 until he too was killed. Uchtred’s marriage to Ælfgifu produced a daughter, Ealdgyth, who married Maldred, brother of
Duncan I of Scotland and who gave birth to a son,
Gospatric, who was Earl of Northumbria from 1068 to 1072.
Fiction
In
Bernard Cornwell's series
The Saxon Stories the protagonist is Earl
Uhtred of
Bebbanburg, also from Northumbria. The story of the the siege of Durham and the severed heads on poles is told about the historical Uhtred (see Battles of the Dark Ages, Peter Marren), though it's perhaps possible to assume that the fictional Earl Uhtred of Bebbanburg is an ancestor of this Uhtred.
Sources
Further Information
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