Siward was the son of Ulf Torgilsson Thorgilsson, Jarl

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siward,_Earl_of_Northumbria

Siward or Sigurd (Old English: Sigeweard) was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname Digri and its Latin translation Grossus ("the stout") are given to him by near-contemporary texts. Siward was probably of Scandinavian origin, perhaps a relative of Earl Ulf, and emerged as a powerful regional strongman in England during the reign of Cnut ("Canute the Great", 1016–1035). Cnut was a Scandinavian ruler who conquered England in the 1010s, and Siward was one of the many Scandinavians who came to England in the aftermath of that conquest. Siward subsequently rose to become sub-ruler of most of northern England. From 1033 at the latest Siward was in control of southern Northumbria, that is, present-day Yorkshire, governing as earl on Cnut's behalf.

He entrenched his position in northern England by marrying Ælfflæd, the daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh. After killing Ealdred's successor Eadulf in 1041, Siward gained control of all Northumbria. He exerted his power in support of Cnut's successors, kings Harthacnut and Edward, assisting them with vital military aid and counsel. He probably gained control of the middle shires of Northampton and Huntingdon by the 1050s, and there is some evidence that he spread Northumbrian control into Cumberland. In the early 1050s Earl Siward turned against the Scottish ruler Mac Bethad mac Findlaích ("Macbeth"). Despite the death of his son Osbjorn, Siward defeated Mac Bethad in battle in 1054. More than half a millennium later the Scotland adventure earned him a place in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Siward died in 1055, leaving one son, Waltheof, who would eventually succeed to Northumbria. St Olave's church in York and nearby Heslington Hill are associated with Siward.

Contents

• Sources
• Background
• Ancestry
• Career under Cnut, Harold and Harthacnut
• English affairs under Edward the Confessor
• Expedition against the Scots
• Death and legacy

Sources

Source material on Siward's life and career is scarce, and only a small and potentially unrepresentative amount of information exists. No contemporary or near-contemporary biography has survived, and narratives from around the time of his life such as the Encomium Emmae and the Vita Ædwardi Regis scarcely mention him; historians are therefore dependent on a few entries in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and comparable Irish sources. Later Anglo-Norman histories may or may not be reliable depending on their source material, but useful ones include the Chronicle of John of Worcester (compiled between 1124 and 1140), William of Malmesbury (writing between c. 1125 and 1142), Henry of Huntingdon (writing between c. 1133 and 1154), and Orderic Vitalis (writing between c. 1114 and 1141). Other sources include the material attributed to Symeon of Durham (compiled and written as extant between the late 1000s and the first half of the 1100s). Legendary material, such as that in hagiography or later medieval sources such as John of Fordun or Andrew of Wyntoun, is not generally regarded as useful beyond its limited potential for cleanly preserving earlier source material.

Background

Siward's career in northern England spanned the reigns of four different monarchs. It began during the reign of Cnut, and lasted through those of Harold Harefoot and Harthacnut into the early years of Edward the Confessor. Most important was the reign of Cnut, in which so many new political figures rose to power that some historians think it comparable to the Norman conquest five decades later. These "new men" were military figures, usually with weak hereditary links to the West Saxon royal house that Cnut had deposed. As Cnut ruled several Scandinavian kingdoms in addition to England, power at the highest level was delegated to such strongmen. In England, it fell to a handful of newly promoted "ealdormen" or "earls", who ruled a shire or group of shires on behalf of the king. Siward was, in the words of historian Robin Fleming, "the third man in Cnut's new triumvirate of earls", the other two being Godwine, Earl of Wessex and Leofwine, Earl of Mercia.

Northern England in the 11th-century was a region quite distinct from the rest of the country. The former kingdom of Northumbria stretched from the Humber and Mersey estuaries, northward to the Firth of Forth, where, passing the western Kingdom of Strathclyde, it met the Kingdom of Alba (Scotland). Northumbria had been united with the West Saxon English kingdom only in the 950s, by King Eadred, and subsequent control was exerted through the agency of at least two ealdormen, one to the north and one to the south of the river Tees. The former is associated with the stronghold of Bamburgh, while the latter is associated with the great Roman city of York. It was a politically fragmented region. The western part, from Lancashire to Cumberland, was heavily settled by Norse-Gaels, while in the rest of Northumbria English and Anglo-Scandinavian regional magnates—thegns, holds and high-reeves—exercised a considerable degree of independence from the ealdormen. One such example was the magnate Thurbrand, a hold in Yorkshire, probably based in Holderness, whose family were frequently at odds with the ruling earls at Bamburgh.

Ancestry

Historians generally claim Siward to be of Scandinavian origin, a conclusion supported by the Vita Ædwardi Regis, which states that Siward was "[called] Digri in the Danish tongue" (Danica lingua Digara). Legendary material incorporated in the Vita et passio Waldevi comitis (or simply Vita Waldevi), the hagiographic biography of Siward's son Waltheof, states that Siward was the son of a Scandinavian earl named Bjorn and provides a genealogy claiming that he was the descendant of a polar bear, a commonplace piece of Germanic folklore.

Historian Timothy Bolton has recently argued that the similarities between these genealogies is evidence of a shared family tradition between the descendants of Siward and Thorgil Sprakling. Bolton hypothesized that Siward's alleged father Bjorn was probably a historical figure, a brother of Thorgil Sprakling. Siward would then have been first cousin to Earl Ulf, the earl of Denmark who married Cnut's sister Estrith and founded the dynasty of Danish monarchs that eventually succeeded Cnut's. Bolton argued that the Sprakling family had only recently risen to prominence in Scandinavia, and so Siward's career in England was another indication of that family's success in Scandinavian politics.

The Vita Waldevi provides further legendary detail of Siward's journey from Scandinavia to England. According to the Vita, Siward passed through Orkney, killing a dragon there before moving on to Northumbria. There he encountered another dragon, before meeting an Oðinn-like old man on a hill, who handed him a raven banner and instructed him to proceed to London to receive the patronage of the king of England.

Career under Cnut, Harold and Harthacnut

The exact date and context of Siward's arrival in England are unknown, though the Vita Waldevi offers a legendary account. Charters dating to 1019, 1024, 1032, 1033 and 1035 mention a Si[ge]ward Minister, "the thegn Siward", but it is impossible to securely identify any of these names with the man who became Earl of Northumbria. The earliest certain contemporary record of Siward occurs in a charter of King Cnut to Ælfric Puttoc, Archbishop of York, in 1033. This charter attestation can be identified as Siward the earl because he is styled dux ("earl").

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. Richard Fletcher remained agnostic on the point, although he did argue that Erik must have been dead by 1028. Timothy Bolton, although rejecting Kapelle's argument concerning Carl son of Thurbrand, believed Erik died c. 1023 and that the earldom may have remained vacant for a period. Bolton argued that Cnut left the earldom of Northumbria empty and appears to have paid it little attention until the last years of his reign, and another northerner Ealdred son of Uhtred rose to power in the political vacuum.

When Cnut died in 1035, there were a number of rival claimants for his throne. These included his son Harthacnut, and the nobleman Harold Harefoot, as well as Alfred Ætheling and Edward (later, King Edward the Confessor), the exiled sons of Æthelred the Unready. Isolated in Scandinavia, Harthacnut was unable to prevent Harold Harefoot seizing the crown for himself. Ruling England from 1035, Harold died in 1040 just as Harthacnut was preparing an invasion. Arriving soon after Harold's death, Harthacnut reigned in England only two years before his own death in 1042, a death that led to the peaceful succession of Edward. Frank Barlow speculated on Siward's political stance, guessing that during these upheavals Siward assumed "a position of benevolent or prudent neutrality".

Siward is found in 1038, as Sywardus Comes ("Earl Siward"), witnessing a charter of King Harthacnut to the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds. He witnessed a confirmation granted by Harthacnut to Fécamp Abbey, between 1040 and 1042, of an earlier grant made by Cnut. In 1042, he witnessed grants by Harthacnut to Abingdon Abbey and to Ælfwine, Bishop of Winchester.

Siward was, at some stage, married to Ælfflæd, daughter of Ealdred, Earl 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. Kapelle has pointed out that no ruler of Bamburgh after Uhtred is attested at the English royal court, which he argued "must mean they were in revolt" against the monarchy, and that Siward's attack may therefore have been encouraged by a monarch wishing to crush a rebellious or disloyal vassal. Siward however probably had his own interests too. Killing Eadulf eliminated his main rival in the north, and the marriage associated him with the family of Uhtred the Bold, and with Uhtred's surviving son Gospatric.

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. Harthacnut reigned only another year, dying on 8 June 1042. He was succeeded by the exiled English ætheling Edward. As an ætheling, a royal prince with a present or likely future claim on the throne, Edward appears to have been invited back by Harthacnut in 1041, fortuitously smoothing over the coming change in ruler. Edward was crowned king on Easter Day, 3 April 1043.

English affairs under Edward the Confessor

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. Edward then accused Emma of treason and deposed Stigand, Bishop of Elmham from his position "because he was closest to his mother's counsel".

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. Others said to have made that oath were Earls Godwine of Wessex and Leofric of Mercia, along with Stigand, who had been pardoned in 1044, and raised to Bishop of Winchester in 1047. If this did happen, it was probably during or a little before spring 1051, when Robert, Archbishop of Canterbury, was journeying to Rome for his pallium.

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. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle relates that although Siward had to call up reinforcements, King Edward was successful and Earl Godwine was temporarily exiled. Earl Godwine remained a threat in exile, and the continued "belligerent support" of Siward and Leofric was thus vital to King Edward's safety. 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.

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. The evidence comes from royal writs addressed to Siward as earl in these shires. Siward's predecessors as earl in these areas were other Scandinavians, Thuri and Bjorn son of Earl Ulf; the former was styled "earl of the Midlanders" (comes mediterraneorum), showing that this earldom represented the earlier polity of the Middle Angles of Mercia. It was this area, rather than Northumbria, to which Siward's descendants were most attached.

Likewise, it has been argued that Siward brought Cumberland, thought by some historians to have been lost to Strathclyde, back under Northumbrian lordship.[65] The evidence comes from a document known to historians as "Gospatric's Writ". This is a written instruction, issued either by the future Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria or Gospatric, son of Earl Uhtred) that was addressed to all Gospatric's kindred and to the notables dwelling in the "all the lands that were Cumbrian" (on eallun þam landann þeo Cōmbres); it ordered that one Thorfinn mac Thore be free in all things (þ Thorfynn mac Thore beo swa freo in eallan ðynges) in Allerdale, and 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.

A little can be said about Siward's relations with the Northumbrian church, in particular with regard to his relations with Durham. As a result of Siward's marriage to Ælfflæd, Siward gained possession of a group of estates in Teesside claimed by the bishops of Durham. Acquisition of these estates might have brought opposition from the Bishop of Durham, but Æthelric the incumbent had been expelled by the clergy of Durham in either 1045 or 1046 and, according to the Libellus de Exordio, only returned by bribing Siward. According to the Libellus, the clergy were "terrified and overwhelmed by the fearful power of the earl" and "were compelled willy nilly to be reconciled to the bishop, and to admit him into his episcopal see". Despite this, Siward escaped censure in the writings of later Durham monks, something which suggests relations between Siward and Durham were probably good in general.

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. He witnessed at least seven, possibly nine, extant charters in 1044, six or seven in 1045, two in 1046, one in 1048 and one in 1049. A Dux ("earl") named Sihroþ and Sihroð witnessed two charters in 1050, and this may be Siward. There is another attestation in 1050, and his name appears in two dubious witness lists attached to charters dating to 1052 and 1054. Possibly Siward's last historical appearance in English legal documents is in the agreement made—probably at Lincoln—between Wulfwig, Bishop of Dorchester, and Earl Leofric, dating to between 1053 and 1055.

Expedition against the Scots

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 origin of Siward's conflict with the Scots is unclear. According to the Libellus de Exordio, in 1039 or 1040, the Scottish king Donnchad mac Crínáin attacked northern Northumbria and besieged Durham. Within a year, Mac Bethad had deposed and killed Donnchad. The failed siege occurred a year before Siward attacked and killed Earl Eadulf of Bamburgh, and though no connection between the two events is clear it is likely that they were linked.

The Annals of Lindisfarne and Durham, written in the early 12th-century, relate under the year 1046 that "Earl Siward with a great army came to Scotland, and expelled king Mac Bethad, and appointed another; but after his departure Mac Bethad recovered his kingdom". Historian William Kapelle thought that this was a genuine event of the 1040s, related to the Annals of Tigernach entry for 1045 that reported a "battle between the Scots" which led to the death of Crínán of Dunkeld, Donnchad's father; Kapelle thought that Siward had tried to place Crínán's son and Donnchad's brother Maldred on the Scottish throne. Another historian, Alex Woolf, argued that the Annals of Lindisfarne and Durham entry was probably referring to the invasion of Siward in 1054, but misplaced under 1046.

During the invasion of 1054, a battle was fought somewhere in Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, a battle known variously as the "Battle of the Seven Sleepers" or the "Battle of Dunsinane". The tradition that the battle actually took place at Dunsinane has its origins in later medieval legend. The earliest mention of Dunsinane as the location of the battle is in the early 15th-century by Andrew of Wyntoun.

The earliest contemporary English account of the battle is found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, recension D:

At this time earl Siward went with a great army into Scotland, with both fleet and a land-force; and fought against the Scots, and put to flight the king Mac Bethad, and slew all that were best in the land, and brought thence much war-spoil, such as no man obtained before;
And there were slain his son Osbjorn, and his sister's son Siward, and some of his housecarls, and also of the king's, on the day of the Seven Sleepers (July 27).

John of Worcester, using a related version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, adds that Normans named Osbern Pentecost and Hugh, who had joined Mac Bethad earlier after fleeing from England, were killed in the battle. The battle is mentioned in the Irish annals too, briefly in the Annals of Tigernach and more extensively in the Annals of Ulster:

A battle [was fought] between the men of Scotland and the English; and in it fell three thousand of the men of Scotland, and one thousand five hundred of the English, including Dolfin, Finntur's son;

Dolfin is unidentified, but may have been a relation of Mac Bethad's enemy Crínán of Dunkeld, on the basis that some of Crínán's descendants may have borne this name.

The purpose of Siward's invasion is unclear, but it may be related to the identity of the "Máel Coluim" (Malcolm) mentioned in the sources. The early 12th-century chronicle attributed to John of Worcester, probably using an earlier source, wrote that Siward defeated Mac Bethad and made "Máel Coluim, son of the king of the Cumbrians" a king (Malcolmum, regis Cumbrorum filium, ut rex jusserat, regem constituit) The identity of Máel Coluim and the reasons for Siward's help are controversial. The traditional historical interpretation was that "Máel Coluim" is Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, known sometimes today as Malcolm III or Malcolm Canmore, and that Siward was attempting to oust Mac Bethad in his favour.

The traditional historical interpretation that "Máel Coluim" is Máel Coluim mac Donnchada derives from the Chronicle attributed to the 14th-century chronicler of Scotland, John of Fordun, as well as from earlier sources such as William of Malmesbury. The latter reported that Mac Bethad was killed in the battle by Siward, but it is known that Mac Bethad outlived Siward by two years. A. A. M. Duncan argued in 2002 that, using the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry as their source, later writers innocently misidentified Máel Coluim "son of the king of the Cumbrians" with the later Scottish king of the same name. Duncan's argument has been supported by several subsequent historians specialising in the era, such as Richard Oram, Dauvit Broun and Alex Woolf. It has also been suggested that Máel Coluim may have been a son of the Strathclyde British king Owen the Bald, perhaps by a daughter of Máel Coluim II, King of Scotland.

Duncan in fact believes that the Battle of the Seven Sleepers did not lead directly to a change of leadership in the Kingdom of Scotland. It has been suggested that the chief consequence of Siward's expedition was not the overthrow of Mac Bethad, but the transfer of British territory—perhaps previously lying under Scottish suzerainty—to Northumbrian overlordship. Alex Woolf has posited that, in such a context, Máel Coluim might have been a discontented Cumbrian prince who had been forced to "put himself under English protection". Evidence for Northumbrian control of Strathclyde in this period includes 11th-century Northumbrian masonry found at the site of Glasgow Cathedral as well as early 12th-century claims from the archbishopric of York that Archbishop Cynesige (1051–1060) had consecrated two Bishops of Glasgow.

Death and legacy

The 12th-century historian, Henry of Huntingdon, in his Historia Anglorum, relates that when Siward was attacked by dysentery, fearing to die "like a cow" and wishing rather to die like a soldier, he clothed himself in armour and took to hand an axe and shield. Ennobled in such a manner, Siward died. This anecdote is of doubtful historicity, and is thought to be derived from the saga devoted to Earl Siward, now lost. 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.

Material incorporated in two surviving sources is thought by some to attest to the existence of a lost saga or some other kind of literary tradition concerning Siward's life. The first source is the Vita et Passio Waldevi, a hagiographic history of Siward's cult-inspiring son Waltheof. This text contains an account of Waltheof's paternal origin, and in the process recounts certain adventures of his father Siward (see boxes throughout article). The second major witness of the tradition is Henry of Huntingdon's Historia Anglorum, which contains extracts of saga-like material relating to Siward's invasion of Scotland (1054) and his death (1055). 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.

Siward died more than a decade before the death of Edward the Confessor, but despite this the Domesday Book recorded 4 manors, 3 in Yorkshire and 1 in Derbyshire, owned directly by Earl Siward in 1066, all of them subsequently held by Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester. This land was stated to have been worth £212, while his son Waltheof was said to have held £136 worth of land across 9 counties. Domesday records give an incomplete picture of Siward's holdings. In total it recorded property worth £348 for Siward and his son, which on its own would compare poorly with the £2493 in value recorded to have been held by the family of the earls of Mercia. Of the latter, however, Morcar of Mercia, Earl of Northumbria on the day of King Edward's death, possessed land worth £968, while Tostig, exiled earl at the time, had land worth £491; both may have come into possession of some of Siward's land in the course of becoming Earls of Northumbria. Moreover, the counties that would become Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland were largely omitted from the survey, while, besides being only very poorly documented, the lands in Yorkshire had been severely devastated and devalued during the Harrying of the North.

Siward is said to have built a church dedicated to St Olaf at Galmanho, York. The record of his burial in this church is the only notice of a non-royal lay burial inside a church in pre-Norman England. Siward's Howe, i.e., Heslington Hill near York, was most likely named after Earl Siward, although probably because Siward held popular courts there rather than because it was his burial place.

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. Waltheof's daughter married David I, King of the Scots, and through this connection Siward became one of the many ancestors of the later Scottish and British monarchs.

Besides Ælfflæd, Siward is known to have been married to a woman named Godgifu, who died before Siward. The marriage is known from a grant she made of territory around Stamford, Lincolnshire, to Peterborough Abbey. Although no surviving children are attested, and no source states the name of Osbjorn's mother, this marriage has nonetheless raised the possibility that Waltheof and Osbjorn were born to different mothers, and William Kapelle suggested that Siward may have originally intended Osbjorn to inherit his southern territories while Waltheof inherited those territories in the north associated with the family of his mother Ælfflæd.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siward,_Earl_of_Northumbria

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Notes ◦1 - Probably came to England with Canute. Fought for Edward the Confessor against Godwin.

2 - Led the English forces that combined with those of Malcolm at the battle of Lumphanan at which King MacBeth of Scotland was killed. Siward's ally Malcolm assumed the crown and became King Malcolm III of Scotland.

3 - After Duncan's death Malcolm fled for safety to his kinsman, Siward, Danish Earl of Northumberland, and continued to live for many years in England. In 1054 Siward, with the sanction of Edward the Confessor , led an army into Scotland, encountered Macbeth near Dunsinane, defeated him, and left Malcolm in possession.
4 - Earl Ealdred had five daughters. of whom three were called Aelfflaed. the fourth Ealdgyth. and the fifth Aetheldryth. From one of these Aelfflaeds, Earl Siward fathered Earl Waltheof

And because this Aelfflaed was a countess, since she was the daughter of Earl Ealdred who was the son of Earl Uhtred and the daughter of Bishop Ealdun, she claimed the aforesaid lands as hers by hereditary right - Barmpton. Skirningham. Elton, Carlton. School Aycliffe, and Monk Heselden which Earl Siward, her husband, gave her; and he gave to his son the earldom of the Northumbrians, just as W al theof' s grandfather. Earl Ealdred, had held it. After the death of Earl Siward and Countess Aelfflaed, war erupted and these lands were devastated.

[A Study of Marriage and Murder in Eleventh-century Northumbria:Issue 82 By Christopher J. Morris]

Sources 1.[S265] Colquoun_Cunningham.ged, Jamie Vans

2.[S284] Oxford University Press, (Oxford University Press)

3.[S280] Stirnet Genealogy, Peter Barns-Graham, Swinton01 (Reliability: 3)

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BJORN Bearsson . The Vita et Passio Waldevi Comitis records “Ursus” as father of “Spratlingus” who was father of “Ulsius”, father of “Beorn cognomento Beresune…filius ursi…Dacus natione” [373]. m ---. The name of Bjorn's wife is not known. Bjorn & his wife had [two] children: a) SIWARD (-York 26 Mar 1055, bur Galmanho Monastery [=York St Mary's] [374]). The Vita et Passio Waldevi Comitis names “Siuuardus” as son of “Beorn cognomento Beresune…filius ursi…Dacus natione” [375]. A Dane, he may have come to England with the invasion of Knud of Denmark in 1015. He was recognised as Earl of Northumbria after the murder of his wife's uncle in 1041 [376]. The Annales Dunelmenses record that "comes Siward" invaded Scotland with a large army in 1046 and briefly expelled "rege Macbeod", the king recovering his realm when Siward withdrew [377]. He actively supported Edward "the Confessor" King of England against Earl Godwin and his sons in 1051. The Annales Dunelmenses record that "Siwardus" put "Macbeth" to flight in 1054 and installed "Malcolmum rege" in the following year [378]. m ÆLFLED, daughter of EALDRED Earl of Northumbria & his [first/second] wife ---. Simeon of Durham names "Elfleda daughter of Earl Aldred" as wife of Siward and mother of Waltheof [379]. Siward & his wife had two children: i) OSBEORN (-killed in battle 27 Jul 1054). The primary source which confirms his parentage has not yet been identified. He was killed fighting King Macbeth of Scotland with his father. ii) WALTHEOF (-executed St Giles's Hill, Winchester 31 May 1076, bur Crowland Abbey383). Florence of Worcester records that "Waltheofum Siwardi ducis filius" went with King William to Normandy 21 Feb [1067] [380]. Simeon of Durham records that "Waltheu the son of earl Siward…by Elfleda daughter of Earl Aldred" was installed as Earl of Northumberland after the earldom was confiscated from Gospatrick [in 1072] [381]. His parentage is recorded by Roger of Hoveden [382]. Matthew of Paris specifies that he was the son of Siward, of Danish origin [383]. Earl of Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire [1065]. - EARLS of HUNTINGDON.

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"In 1054, Siward, the Danish earl of Northumbria, a close connection of the family of Duncan,7 led an army into Scotland against Macbeth, in the interests of Duncan's son, Malcolm, and perhaps at the instance of Edward, King of England.8 Although not then successful in recovering the central kingdom, Siward succeeded in confirming Malcolm as ruler of all that portion of Scotland south of the Clyde and Forth.9 Siward died in 1055, however, and Malcolm was not able to push his cause further until 1057."

REF: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mysouthernfamily/myff/d004...

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Source-Armstrong Surname Organization Mrs. Irma M. Armstrong, Genealogist-Historian, 1188 Harrison Ave. Salt Lake City, Utah. 84105. Source- Chronicles of the Armstrongs. The Armstrong's derive their name from the following episode: " An ancient King of Scotland (Malcom] had his horse killed out from under him in battle. Siward Fairbairn, his armour-bearer, immediately grasped the King by his thigh and set him upon another horse. For this assistance at such a critical moment the King rewarded him lands on the border (Ireland) and to perpetuate the memory of Siward Fairbairn's service the King gave him the appellation of "Armstrong" and assigned him a Crest of an armed (left) hand and grasping a leg in armor. This hero, as "Siward the Armstrong", the Earl of Northumberland, was the first of the name and the ancestor of the renowned Border Family of Armstrongs. He was, it is said, remarkable in his physical strength and prowess; wit and wisdom; loftiness of character; and defiance of danger and death. He was undoubtedly a Christian for he built the Ministry of York, which reminds us more of those old heros of Edda, from which his ancestors are said to have defended. Siward acquired honor for England by his successful conduct in the only foreign enterprise taken during the reign of King Edward, the Confessor. King Duncan of Scotland was a Prince of gentle disposition and lacked the genius to govern so turbulent a country as Scotland; one that was so infested by the intrigues and animosities of the great Macbeth. Siward embraced, by King Edward's orders, the protection of the Royal distressed family. He marched an Army into Scotland and having defeated Macbeth in battle, restored Malcolm, King Duncan's son, and nephew of Siward, to the throne (Scotland) of his ancestors. Soon after Siward's return from his successful campaign, he was attacked by a fatal disorder. Feeling his end approaching, he had his attendants dress him in his coat of mail, put on his helmet, and stand him on his legs. His shield was put on his left arm and his battle axe in his right hand and he met his maker "under arms". In the year of our Lord 1056, Siward, the brave Earl of Northumberland, departed this life and was buried in the cloister of the Monastery of Saint Mary, which he built without the walls of the city of York". Siward was a Dane, being the son of King Hringo Beron of Upland, Denmark, and he was much loved by the Northumbrians who were chiefly of Danish extraction. It appears that we "Armstrongs" descend through Siward's son, Waltheof, and his daughter, Matilda Maude, and her second husband, King David 1 of Scotland. It was not unusual for a family surname to descend through the females in the days of yore. Siward's name appears in several forms in the old records, as "The Strong" in Irish records, in Terwinney records he is called "Fayborn" & "The Armstrong"; in old manuscripts brought over to North Carolina by the Armstrongs from Londonberry, Ireland in 1711he was called "The Strong". In those old records the most frequent given names are: Rolland, Geoffry, and Robert, all showing the ancient Norman extraction. Robert is the name most frequent used, even in America, until this day. The ancient border Armstrong(Scotland) family grew and they retained the spirit of Siward, being always bold, courageous, warlike, and high-principled. They have fought in every War and after emigrating to America, they served in every engagement and War undertaken by the United States. The first Armstrongs that appeared in later records witnesses to Charters at Wetheral Priory in 1222 and at that time they were Verderers of the King's Forest at Inglewood. They were also Tax Collectors, even the Civil Servants of their day. A John Armstrong was excused from being made Sheriff against his will by King Henry III in 1271 and Edward's son Edward I gave a further exemption. They first appeared in the area of Newcastleton in the Kent Rolls of Liddlesdale in 1376 where Alexander 6th was the third Lord of Mangerton Castle, Scotland. Histories say: "That in the 14th Century, Thomas Armstrong, 5th Lord of Mangerton Castle, had 4 sons of whom the eldest, Alexander 7, was the 6th Lord of Mangerton Castle and had 7 sons, Thomas the eldest succeeded and was the 7th Lord of Mangerton Castle, but his 2nd son was called "John of Gilnockie" (Robin Hood) and it's claimed that all the Armstrongs in Ireland in the 17th Century are descended from this John...as well as the Americans who trace through the Scotch-Irish clans. It is estimated that in 1638 there were 40,000 Scotsmen in Ulster Ireland, and others estimates say that by the end of the 17th Century there was close to one million. These are the people who became known as the Scotch-Irish although in most instances, they didn't have one drop of Irish blood.

Siward, born 995 A.D., Upland Denmark, was the son of King Hringo Beron of Upland, Denmark.

Siward after a time, quitting his paternal inheritance in Denmark took to shipping and with fifty of his retinue(men) arrived in the Islands called Oschades, then put to sea again and landed in Northumberland and then southwards to the mouth of the river Thames, which leads to the wealthy city of London.

(Abt. 1025)Arriving in London he was nobly received by King Cunute of England with promise of no small honor if he would stay. Whereupon Siward consenting, after thanks was given to the King, departed the court but meeting with Tosti, Earl of Huntington, upon a certain bridge, was by him most unworthily affronted by soiling with dirt, yet Siward though he took that usage very disdainfully, did not then lift up his hand against Tosti, but on his return meeting in the same place, he cut off Tosti's head and carried it to the King, who hearing the truth of that passage gave unto Siward the Earldom of Huntington which Tosti had possessed.

Not long after this kingdom being much infested by Danes, the great men of the land consulting with the King, did advise that the little devil(Siward) should be first exposed to the great devil(Danes), that Earl Siward should be placed in that part of England which was most likely to be invaded by the Danes. Whereupon the King committed to Siward's charge, the Countis of Westmoreland, Cumberland & Northumberland, under which title Northumberland he had the administration of that Earldom from Humber to Twede, all which he governed in peace victoriously subduing his King's enemies. The Armstrong's derive their name from the following episode: " An ancient King Malcolm of Scotland had his horse killed out from under him in battle. Siward Fairbairn, his armour-bearer, immediately grasp the King by his thigh and set him upon another horse.

For this assistance at such a critical moment the King rewarded him lands on the border (Scotland) and to perpetuate the memory of Siward Fairbairn's service the King gave him the appellation of "Armstrong" and assigned him a Crest of an armed (left) hand and grasping a leg in armor.

This hero, as "Siward the Armstrong", the Earl of Northumberland, was the first of the name and the ancestor of the renowned Border Family of Armstrongs. He was, it is said, remarkable in his physical strength and prowess; wit and wisdom; loftiness of character; and defiance of danger and death. He was undoubtedly a Christian for he built the Ministry of York, which reminds us more of those old heros of Edda, from which his ancestors are said to have defended. He was the last of the great Anglo-Saxon Jarls, and disdained that his royal blood should descend to any sphere.

Old Earl Siward Armstrong is explained; His armor consisted of a triple mail shirt

and a partly gilded helmet, it is recorded. Fastened around his loins, he wore the famous two-handed sword known as "Logthe:. Hanging from his left shoulder was a battle-ax trimmed with silver and gold and he held in his left hand a shield whose boss and studs were also gilded. An aetgar or javelin in this right hand, completed his battle array. Source-"I Remain Unvanquished" p. 12 by William Stephenson

In the year of 1040, Hardicanute, King of England, sent his huscarls through all the provinces of his kingdom to collect the tribute he had imposed. Two of them were slain by the citizens of Worcester. This so incensed the King that to avenge their deaths he sent Thorold Earl of Middlesex, Leofric Earl of Mercia, Godwine Earl of Wessex, Siward, and all English Earls, with almost all his huscarls , and a large body of troops, to Worcester. On the fifth day, the city having been burnt, they marched off loaded with plunder, and the King's wrath was satisfied.

Earl- Macbeth, a powerful nobleman and nearly allied to the crown, who not content with curbing the King's authority, carried still further his pestilent ambition, slew King Duncan (1040), chased Malcolm Kenmore, son of King Duncan son and heir, into England, and usurped the crown. Siward, whose daughter by his first wife, was married to King Duncan, embraced by Edward's orders the protection of this distressed family.

Siward had by his former wife a son Osbern, (Ridpath)called Young Siward in the play of "Macbeth", who was killed by Macbeth at the battle of Dunsinmore.

Osbern Bulax, first son of Siward married Miss Leofric, whose first name is unknown, but whose father was Leofric, the Earl of Mercia, and mother was Lady Godiva. Leofric and Lady Godiva were very good friends of Siward Fairbaine Armstrong, father of Osbern Bulax Armstrong.

Afterwards, Siward sent his son, called Osbern Bulax into Scotland, (1054) there to get what he could by conquest, while being there, was slain in battle,(1054) by King Macbeth, and the news being brought to the Earl Siward, his father, Siward enquired upon what part of his body he happened to have his death wound, and being told that it was on the forepart thereof, Siward said I' am glad that my son was worthy of such an honorable funeral.

Siward acquired honor for England by his successful conduct in the only foreign enterprise taken during the reign of King Edward. King Duncan of Scotland, who was his son-in-law, was a Prince of gentle disposition and lacked the genius to govern so turbulent a country as Scotland; one that was so infested by the intrigues and animosities of the great Macbeth. Siward embraced, by King Edward's orders, the protection of the Royal distressed family. On July 27, 1054 Siward with a great army marched into Scotland, both with ship force and with land force, and fought against the Scots, and put to flight King Macbeth, and killed him in battle, and slew all who were chief men in the land, and led thence much booty, such as no man before had obtained. But his son Siward Osbern, and his sister's son Siward, and some of his housecarls, and also of the King's, were there slain, "On The Day Of The Seven Sleepers" restored Malcolm,(1054) King Duncan's son, and nephew of Siward, to the throne of(Scotland) of his ancestors. This service, added to his former connection with the royal family of Scotland, brought great accession to the authority of Siward in the North. (Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, 1054)

According to the Ulster Annuals, in the battle, 1500 English were on the field, besides Kelts and Scandinavians took part on either side; Siward himself was a Dane, Earl of a folkland largely peopled by Scandinavians, many of them from the Viking period.

Eadulf, brother of Aldred, Earl of Northumbria, having committed depredations on the Welch by which he provoked the displeasure of King Hardicanute, was on his way to make his submission and obtain a reconciliation when Siward, who succeeded him in the Earldom, slew him.

Siward second wife was Aelfled, daughter of Aldred, Earl of Northumberland, and after slaying Edulph the second, the brother of his then deceased father-in-law, who had become Earl, he obtained for himself the earldom of Northumberland, with an authority extending from the Humber to the Tweed.

Siward had by Aelfled, a son, who after an interval succeeded to his father's earldom under the name of Waltheorf II, and daughter and co-heiress of whom married King David I, of Scotland.

Soon after Siward's return from his successful campaign, he was attacked by a fatal disorder. In the year of our Lord 1056, Siward, the brave Earl of Northumberland, departed this life and was buried in the cloister of the Monastery of Saint Mary, which he built without the walls of the city of York".

Siward was a Dane, being the son of King Hringo Beron of Upland, Denmark, and he was much loved by the Northumbrians who were chiefly of Danish extraction.

It appears that we "Armstrongs" descend through Siward's son, Waltheof, and his daughter, Matilda Maude, and her second husband, King David 1 of Scotland.

It was not unusual for a family surname to descend through the females in the days of yore. Siward's name appears in several forms in the old records, as "The Strong" in Irish records, in Terwinney records he is called "Fayborn" & "The Armstrong"; in old manuscripts brought over to North Carolina by the Armstrongs from Londonberry, Ireland in 1711 he was called "The Strong". In those old records the most frequent given names are: Rolland, Geoffry, and Robert, all showing the ancient Norman extraction. Robert is the name most frequent used, even in America, until this day. The ancient border Armstrong(Scotland) family grew and they retained the spirit of Siward, being always bold, courageous, warlike, and high-principled. They have fought in every War and after emigrating to America, they served in every engagement and War undertaken by the United States.

The first Armstrongs that appeared in later records witnesses to Charters at Wetheral Priory in 1222 and at that time they were Verderers of the King's Forest at Inglewood. They were also Tax Collectors, even the Civil Servants of their day. A John Armstrong was excused from being made Sheriff against his will by King Henry III in 1271 and Edward's son Edward I gave a further exemption. They first appeared in the area of Newcastleton in the Kent Rolls of Liddlesdale in 1376 where Alexander 6th was the third Laird of Mangerton Castle, Scotland.

Histories say: "That in the 14th Century, Thomas Armstrong, 5th Laird of Mangerton Castle, had 4 sons of whom the eldest, Alexander , was the 6th Laird of Mangerton Castle and had 7 sons, Thomas the eldest succeeded and was the 7th Laird of Mangerton Castle, but his 2nd son was called "John of Gilnockie" and it's claimed that all the Armstrongs in Ireland in the 17th Century are descended from this John...as well as the Americans who trace through the Scotch-Irish clans. It is estimated that in 1638 there were 40,000 Scotsmen in Ulster Ireland, and others estimates say that by the end of the 17th Century there was close to one million. These are the people who became known as the Scotch-Irish although in most instances, they didn't have one drop of Irish blood.

In 1500 the Armstrongs numbered about 70 men; in 1563-66 numbered 30; in 1580 numbered 79 (21 were married to English women) Source-History of Liddesdale p. 82. In 1597 numbered only 24 .

Source-Monipenny

In 1600 the fued with John Carmichael swept away Laird Ninian Armstrong's branch of the family. In 1610-1620 the Armstrong's practically disappeared, some were executed, others went to the Belgick Wars, 1603-1662 and a few came back.

The above is the legend of the Armstrongs of Ballycumber, and the crest has been used for centuries by many of the Armstrong families in Ireland. Source- "Burke".

Source-Chronicles of the Armstrongs

Source-Clans & Tartans by Harper/Collins Publishers P.O. Box, Glasgow G4 ONB-1995 page 44 & 45

Source-Chart Of The Ten Lairds Of Mangerton Castle, Scotland.

Compiled by W.L.A.(Az.)