Simon II de Senlis, 4th Earl of Northumberland

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...

 and 4th Earl of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton

Earl of Huntingdon

Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The title is associated with the ruling house of Scotland, and latterly with the Hastings family.-Early history:...

(c. 1098–1153) was an Anglo-Norman

Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...

 nobleman. He was the son of Simon I de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton

Simon I de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton

Simon I de Senlis , 2nd Earl of Northampton and 2nd Earl of Huntingdon jure uxoris was a Norman nobleman.In 1098 he was captured during the Vexin campaign of King William Rufus and was subsequently ransomed. He witnessed King Henry I’s charter of liberties issued at his coronation in 1100...

 and Maud, Countess of Huntingdon. He married Isabel, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester

Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester

Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester was Justiciar of England 1155–1168.The surname "de Beaumont" is given him by genealogists. The only known contemporary surname applied to him is "Robert son of Count Robert"...

.

He was prominent in The Anarchy

The Anarchy

The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...

, fighting for Stephen of England

Stephen of England

Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...

 in 1141 at the Battle of Lincoln

Battle of Lincoln (1141)

The Battle of Lincoln or First Battle of Lincoln occurred on 2 February 1141. In it Stephen of England was captured, imprisoned and effectively deposed while Empress Matilda ruled for a short time.-Account:...

. He continued to support Stephen's side; R. H. C. Davis calls him 'staunch' and 'consistently loyal' and surmises that Simon calculated that if the Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...

 won, his earldom of Northampton would be taken over by David of Scotland

David I of Scotland

David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...

.

Simon was rewarded by becoming Earl of Huntingdon

Earl of Huntingdon

Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The title is associated with the ruling house of Scotland, and latterly with the Hastings family.-Early history:...

. He died in 1153 just before Henry II of England

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

took over.