Everything about Gospatric Earl Of Northumbria totally explained
Gospatric or
Cospatric (from the
Cumbrian "Servant of
Saint Patrick"), (died after
1073), was
Earl of Northumbria, or of
Bernicia, and later lord of sizable estates around
Dunbar. While his ancestry is uncertain, his descendants held the
Earldom of Dunbar, later known as the
Earldom of March, in south-east
Scotland until 1435.
Background
Gospatric is often said to have been a son of Maldred son of
Crínán of Dunkeld. If this is correct, Maldred was apparently not the son of Crínán's known wife
Bethóc, daughter of the Scots king
Malcolm II, as Gospatric's descendants made no such claim when they submitted their pleadings in the
Great Cause (though according to this link his descendant, Patrick the Seventh Earl of Dunbar, did indeed make a claim to the throne during these pleadings) to determine the succession to the kingship of the Scots after the death of
Alexander III. Alternatively, rather than being descended from a half-brother of King
Duncan I (Donnchad mac Crínáin), Gospatric may have been the youngest son of Earl
Uchtred the Bold (died 1016). Another reconstruction would make Gospatric the grandson of Uchtred's discarded first wife, Ecgfritha, daughter of
Aldhun,
Bishop of Durham, through Sigrida, her daughter with Kilvert son of Ligulf. Whatever his parentage may have been, Gospatric was clearly an important figure in
Northumbria and
Cumbria, with ties to the family of Earl Uchtred.
The
Life of Edward the Confessor, commissioned by
Queen Edith, contains an account of the
pilgrimage to
Rome of
Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria. It tells how a band of robbers attacked Tostig's party in Italy, seeking to kidnap the Earl. A certain Gospatric "was believed because of the luxury of his clothes and his physical appearance, which was indeed distinguished" to be Earl Tostig, and succeeded in deceiving the would-be kidnappers as to his identity until the real Earl was safely away from the scene. Whether this was the same Gospatric, or a kinsman of the same name, is unclear, but it's suggested that his presence in Tostig's party was as a hostage as much as a guest.
Harrying of the North
After his victory over
Harold Godwinson at
Hastings,
William of Normandy appointed a certain
Copsi or Copsig, a 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 Uchtred, 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. The King, who was in the process of raising heavy taxes, accepted.
In early 1068, a series of uprisings in England, along with foreign invasion, faced King William with a dire threat. Gospatric is found among the leaders of the uprising, along with
Edgar Ætheling and
Edwin, Earl of Mercia and his brother
Morcar. This uprising soon collapsed, and William proceeded to dispossess many of the northern landowners and grant the lands to
Norman incomers. For Gospatric, this meant the loss of his earldom to
Robert Comine and exile in Scotland. King William's authority, apart from minor local troubles such as
Hereward the Wake and
Eadric the Wild, appeared to extend securely across England.
Gospatric joined the invading army of
Danes,
Scots, and
Englishmen under
Edgar the Aetheling in the next year. Though the army was defeated, he afterwards was able, from his possession of
Bamburgh castle, to make terms with the conqueror, who left him undisturbed till
1072. The widespread destruction in Northumbria known as the
Harrying of the North relates to this period.
Exile
In
1072 William the Conqueror stripped Gospatric of his Earldom of Northumbria, and he replaced by Siward's son
Waltheof, 1st Earl of Northampton.
Gospatric fled into exile in Scotland and not long afterwards went by ship to
Flanders. When he returned to Scotland he was granted the castle at "Dunbar and lands adjacent to it" and in
the Merse by King
Malcolm Canmore., This earldom without a name in the Scots-controlled northern part of Bernicia would later become the Earldom of Dunbar.
Gospatric didn't long survive in exile according to
Roger of Hoveden's chronicle:
[N]ot long after this, being reduced to extreme infirmity, he sent for Aldwin and Turgot, the monks, who at this time were living at 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.
He was the father of three sons,, and a daughter named Uchtreda, who married
Donnchad, son of King Malcolm Canmore.
The sons were:,
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