Individual Details

Waltheof II DE NORTHUMBERLAND

(1045 - 31 May 1076)

He was the 1st Earl of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton and last of the Anglo-Saxon earls was the only English aristocrat to be executed during the reign of William I.

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. 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's 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.

Events

Birth	1045	Huntingdon, Northumberland, England
Death	31 May 1076	Winchester, Hampshire, England
Burial		Crowland, South Holland District, Lincolnshire, England
Occupation		Earl Huntingdon

Families

Spouse	Judith de Lens DE BOULOGNE (1054 - 1086)
Child	Matilda "Van Northumberland" DE HUNTINGDON (1072 - 1130)
Child	Alice DE HUNTINGTON (1085 - 1126)

Father	Siward BJORNSSON (1020 - 1055)
Mother	Aelfleda DE BERNICIA (1016 - )

Individual Details

Waltheof II DE NORTHUMBERLAND

Events

Families

Endnotes