Dolfin was an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...

 magnate in Northumbria

Northumbria

Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...

. His father was probably Gospatric

Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria

Gospatric or Cospatric , , was Earl of Northumbria, or of Bernicia, and later lord of sizable estates around Dunbar...

, one of the most powerful regional figures in the mid-11th century having been earl of Northumbria

Earl of Northumbria

Earl of Northumbria was a title in the Anglo-Danish, late Anglo-Saxon, and early Anglo-Norman period in England. The earldom of Northumbria was the successor of the ealdormanry of Bamburgh, itself the successor of an independent Bernicia. Under the Norse kingdom of York, there were earls of...

 in the early years of William the Conqueror's reign. Dolfin was the eldest of Gospatric's three sons, his younger brothers being Waltheof

Waltheof of Allerdale

Waltheof of Allerdale was an 11th- and 12th-century Anglo-Saxon noble, lord of Allerdale in modern Cumbria. Brother of Dolfin of Carlisle and Gospatric of Dunbar, Waltheof son of Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria. Both Waltheof and his brother Gospatric witness Earl David's Glasgow Inquest 1113 x...

, lord of Allerdale

Allerdale

Allerdale is a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with borough status. Its council is based in Workington and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census....

, and Gospatric II, Earl of Lothian

Gospatric II, Earl of Lothian

Gospatric II was Earl of Lothian or Earl of Dunbar in the early 12th century.He was the son of Gospatric I, sometime Earl of Northumbria...

.

In 1092, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...

MS E, a Dolfin was expelled from Carlisle

City of Carlisle

The City of Carlisle is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages...

 by William Rufus, king of England: William followed up by constructing a castle in the city, and importing settlers from elsewhere in England:

[s.a. 1092] In this year king William with a great army went north to Carlisle and restored the town and built the castle; and drove out Dolfin, who ruled the land there before. And he garrisoned the castle with his vassals; and thereafter came south hither and sent thither a great multitude of [churlish] folk with women and cattle, there to dwell and till the land.

From c. 1098, Ranulf le Meschin (future earl of Chester

Earl of Chester

The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...

) was in charge of the region.

Although it is generally thought that this Dolfin was the son of Earl Gospatric, this has been occasionally disputed, notably by historian William Kapelle. Gospatric appears to have been ruler of Cumberland

Cumberland

Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....

 himself in the time of Earl Siward, though Alan Orr Anderson

Alan Orr Anderson

Alan Orr Anderson was a Scottish historian and compiler. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh. The son of Rev. John Anderson and Ann Masson, he was born in 1879...

 and others have suggested that Dolfin had been placed in the region by Mael Coluim mac Donnchada, King of Scotland.