Waltheof

“ He has been kind enough to Waltheof and Gospatrick, why not to Edwin?”
“Because,” laughed Hereward, “he wanted Waltheof, and he does not want you and Edwin. He can keep Mercia quiet without your help. Northumbria and the Fens he cannot without Waltheof’s. They are a rougher set as you go east and north, as you should know already, and must have one of themselves over them to keep them in good humor for a while. When he has used Waltheof as his stalking-horse long enough to build a castle every ten miles, he will throw him away like a worn bowstring, Earl Morcar, nephew mine.” ”

“ Waltheof, convinced by these arguments, went at once to Normandy, where William was then residing, and confessed everything to the king, who, dissembling his resentment, thanked him for his loyalty and love; but in his heart he gave the earl no thanks for a confidence which came so late. The conspirators, hearing of Waltheof is departure from England, concluded at once that they were betrayed, and instantly assembled in arms, before their plans were ripe for execution, and before the arrival of the Danes, with whom they had secretly entered into an alliance. ”

“ Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria, and Waltheof fled to Scotland, but afterwards tendered their submission to the King, the latter in person, the other by proxy. Waltheof was a man of immense power and influence as Lord of Hallamshire, Malton, and many another broad manor in Yorkshire and other counties, and was, besides, a skilful warrior and brave soldier, and the King, admiring his qualities, longed to win him over as his liege man. ”

“ At the appointed hour Waltheof, the leader of the Saxon forces, entered. He was a man gifted by nature with the physical proportions which attract attention. But there was a hesitancy, irresolution, and lack of force depicted in his countenance, and a wariness and suspicion about his small, shrinking grey eyes, that were the reverse of reassuring. Accompanying Waltheof was a Norman knight at whose appearance many sprang to their feet in amazement. Seeing which, Waltheof introduced the Norman to the company. ”

“ Ere long Aelred became a monk, and Waltheof was not slow in following his example. Both entered the Cistercian order, and led holy lives, avoiding all preferment—a difficult matter for Waltheof, stepson to one king and cousin to another. His brother Simon took such offence at his lowliness, that he actually threatened to burn down the convent of Waldon, where Waltheof was living, because he thought it shame to see a descendant of Siward a common monk in a poor monastery. ”

“ Though his father was a Dane by birth, Waltheof was regarded as a champion of English freedom and a national hero, and his penitence and death caused him to be venerated by the English as a saint and martyr. His body was first buried hastily at the place of execution; a fortnight later the Conqueror, at Judith's request, allowed Abbot Ulfcytel to remove it to Crowland, where it was buried in the chapter-house of the abbey. ”

“ Waltheof's father was the Saxon earl Siward, unquestionably a name of dignity, both before and after the Norman invasion, and Waltheof himself has been called earl of Northumberland, Northampton, and Huntingdon, but of this no sufficient proof has ever been adduced. Besides this reputed rank, he however inherited large estates; several of the tenants held their lands from him during the time of Edward the Confessor, and the dowry of the countess considerably augmented them. It may be readily imagined that the Conqueror would find himself little at ease in his new kingdom ”

“ Waltheof performed prodigies of valour. It is recorded of him in a Danish saga—"The great Earl, with mighty arm and sinewy breast, stood by the gate of York (Castle) as the Normans came forth, their heads falling to the earth in succession beneath his battle-axe." Waltheof was appointed Governor of York, the English and Scots garrisoning it, whilst the Danes, in their ships, occupied the Trent and Ouse, to check the advance of William and his army. ”

“ At all events, Waltheof did not escape punishment. When, in due time, the fleet invited from Denmark, commanded by the son of King Sweyn, approached the coast, Waltheof was accused of having invited the Danes over, lodged in the Castle of Winchester, and, ere long, brought to trial. He denied the charge. But the evidence given by Judith against her husband, whom she disliked, appeared conclusive, and the court was only divided in opinion as to the punishment to be inflicted.
"He deserves execution as a revolted Englishman," said some. ”

“ Saxons for fighting against his people at Senlac: neither had any motive to say a good word for him, while they canonized Waltheof as a saint,—Waltheof, who surely earned the name of traitor as richly as ever did Ralph, since he entered in the conspiracy against William, after having voluntarily accepted the hand of the Conqueror's niece in marriage, and binding himself under a solemn form of fealty; then, to shield himself, acted the ever-hateful part of an informer.
Hugh and Roger Bigod, Ralph's successors in the earldom of Norfolk, are spoken of as worthy bearers of the title. ”

“ That he did take the oath of conspiracy seems as certain as that he speedily repented of doing so. It is probable that the other conspirators, with or without his assent, used his name to induce the Danes, with whom it would have great influence, to invade England; that he did not tell this to the king, and possibly was not aware of it; and that when William found that the Danish fleet had come, he thought far more seriously of Waltheof's part in the conspiracy than before, and was led by his niece, the earl's wife, to believe, truly or falsely, that her husband was the cause of their coming. ”

“ And one sweet pledge of love has crowned our vows."
Now I am anxious to know,
1. Whether there be any historical authority for Waltheof being sent as envoy to William? and, if so, on what mission?
2. Is it not the more correct account, that the Conqueror gave his niece Judith in marriage to Waltheof after the surrender of the city, [at the same time that he conferred other honours upon him, out of respect for his brave defence of the city; creating him, first, Earl of Northhampton and Huntingdon, and afterwards Earl of Northumberland, A.D. 1070.] ”

“ No man was better qualified to give a sound opinion as to the circumstances under which an indiscreet oath might be broken without the guilt of perjury; and the penances which he imposed on Waltheof for his intended breach of the engagement which he had taken at Exning seem to have been accepted by all parties as a satisfactory solution of the matter. On his part, William bided his time; he appears to have accepted the gifts which Waltheof offered as the price of his peace, and he contented himself 337with keeping the earl under his own supervision until his return to England. ”

“ I slew your great-uncle, or cousin, or some other kinsman, at Gilbert’s house in Scotland long ago; and since then I sleep on his skin every night, and carry his picture in my banner all day.”
“Blood-feuds are solemn things,” said Waltheof, frowning. “Karl killed my grandfather Aldred at the battle of Settrington, and his four sons are with the army at York now—”
“For the love of all saints and of England, do not think of avenging that! Every man must now put away old grudges, and remember that he has but one foe,—William and his Frenchmen.” ”

“ The kingdom was to be divided among the three earls, one of whom was to be king. Waltheof had been well treated [53] by the King, and married to his niece Judith. His conscience seems to have pricked him, and he confessed all to Lanfranc, at that time governing England. The conspiracy was at once suppressed; Norwich alone, under Emma, the new married bride, made a brave defence. Ralph fled to Brittany. Roger was taken prisoner, and spent his life in captivity. ”

“ Earl Waltheof, the last that had made a stir in arms, had been captured and beheaded outside Winchester town, and was now lying (though not without a strong odour of sanctity) in a deep grave at Crowland Abbey; Edgar Etheling, the last representative of the line of King Alfred, was living contentedly, and growing fat in a Norman palace at Rouen, with a pound of silver a day for his maintenance; for he had long since given himself up, and sworn himself liege-man to William. ”

“ When the Northumbrians, after the tragical death of Robert Comine, and the landing of the Danes, marched from Durham and besieged York, Waltheof performed prodigies of valour. Placing himself in ambuscade at one of the gates, battle-axe in hand, he fell upon some Normans who were attempting to escape, and laid twenty of them dead on the ground. A hundred men, who hoped to save themselves by flight, took refuge in a neighbouring wood ”

“ There are a number of educational institutions, including a school of art; Forest School, founded in 1834 in connexion with King's College, now ranks as one of the well-known English public schools. Brewing is extensively carried on.
In the reign of Edward the Confessor Walthamstow belonged to Waltheof, son of Siward, earl of Northumberland, who married Judith, niece of William the Conqueror, who betrayed him to his death in 1073. ”

“ Waltheof left three daughters. The eldest, Matilda, married, first, Simon de Senlis, who was in consequence made earl of Northampton [q. v.] ; by him she was mother of Waltheof (d. 1159) [q. v.] ; she married, secondly, David I [q. v.] king of Scotland. The second, Judith, married Ralph of Toesny, the younger; and the third married Robert FitzRichard [see under Clare, Richard de, (d. 1090?) ] (William of Jumièges, viii. 37) . His widow Judith founded a house of Benedictine nuns at Elstow, near Bedford (Monasticon, iii. 411) . ”

“ The Anglo-Saxon chronicler and Florence of Worcester, compatriots of the dead earl, lie under some antecedent suspicion of minimising the extent to which he had compromised himself; and Ordericus Vitalis, to whom we should naturally turn for a statement of the Norman side of the case, based his accountaccount of Waltheof upon information received from the monks of Crowland at a time when the earl was, in popular sentiment, rapidly becoming transformed into a national martyr. ”

“ Quid plura? What more was needed for a convent of burnt-out monks? St. Waltheof was translated in state to the side of St. Guthlac; and the news of this translation of the holy martyr being spread throughout the country, multitudes of the faithful flocked daily to the tomb, and offering up their vows there, tended in a great degree “to resuscitate our monastery.”
But more. The virtues of St. Waltheof were too great not to turn themselves, or be turned, to some practical use. So if not in the days of Ingulf, at least in those of Abbot Joffrid who came after him, St. ”

“ This year earl Waltheof made peace with the king. And during Lent in the same year the king caused all the monasteries in England to be despoiled of their treasures. The same year king Sweyn came from Denmark into the Humber, and the people of those parts came to meet him and made an alliance with him, for they believed that he would conquer the land. Then the Danish bishop Christien, and earl Osbern, and their Danish retainers, came into Ely, and all the people of the fens joined them, for they believed that they should conquer the whole country. ”

“ And if so, as Waltheof could certainly not have had any "pledge of love" before the siege of York; so neither is it probable that he had any issue at all by Judith, as in the same year, 1070, he was beheaded by William, for supposed participation in a conspiracy at York.
The above drama is said to be "by a descendant of one of the dramatis personæ," viz. of "De Combre, one of William's generals;" being written by Rev. Thomas Comber, of Oswaldkirk, Yorkshire. This De Combre is represented as having married Ilda, a daughter of King Harold, and sister of Edgar. ”

“ It would seem that the fall of Tostig hindered the completion of his church, and that at the time of Waltheof’s grant it was still without a roof; for he goes on to say, “Quæ cum jam per quindecim annos velut deserta sine tecto durasset, eam monachi culmine imposito renovarunt, et per tres annos possederunt.” On receiving the confirmation of Alberic, a monk with a good Danish name was sent to put things in better order (Simeon, Gesta Regum, 1121) ; “Ex capituli totius sententia monachus noster Turchillus illuc mittitur, qui renovato ecclesiæ ipsius culmine, per multum tempus habitavit ibidem.” ”

“ And young and pretty women were to be especially shunned. The lay brothers were not allowed any books, and learned only the Paternoster, the Credo, the Miserere, and other necessary prayers.
COMPUNCTIOUS VISITING OF MONKS.
St. Waltheof was a son of the Earl of Northumberland, and died about 1160. He became a monk and entered a monastery in Lincolnshire. He was most vigorous and scrupulous in his habits. One day, riding with the abbot, he was pestered by a horsefly, and often flapped it away with his sleeve, till at last in a fit of anger he gave a violent snap and killed it. ”

“ In that doubtful state experienced by outlaws, Waltheoff, the father of Hereward, and Engelred, the parent of Bertha, used to assemble their unsubdued tribes, sometimes in the fertile regions of Devonshire, sometimes in the dark wooded solitudes of Hampshire, but as much as possible within the call of the bugle of the famous Edric the Forester, so long leader of the insurgent Saxons. The chiefs we have mentioned were among the last bold men who asserted the independence of the Saxon race of England ”