Waltheof of Northumbria (1050-31 May 1076) was Earl of Northumbria from 1072 to 1076, succeeding Gospatric and preceding William Walcher.
Biography[]
Waltheof was the second son of Earl Siward of Northumbria and his wife, a daughter of Ealdred of Bernicia. His brother Osbearn died in battle with the Scots in 1054, and his father died in 1055; as Waltheof was too young to succeed his father, he was passed over for Earl of Northumbria by Tostig Godwinson. In 1065, Waltheof was made Earl of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire, and he submitted to King William the Conqueror following the Battle of Hastings in 1066. In 1069, however, during Sweyn II of Denmark's invasion of Northern England, Waltheof and Edgar the Aetheling joined the invading Danes, but, following the Danes' departure in 1070, Waltheof again surrendered to William. In 1072, he became Earl of Northumbria on Gospatric's expulsion, and he built Durham Castle. In 1075, however, Waltheof joined the Revolt of the Earls against William, and he was beheaded near Winchester in 1076.