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Siward, Earl of Northumbria
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Siward the Dane (died 1055), was an English nobleman in the eleventh century, and the earl of Northumbria. Siward probably arrived in England with King Canute I and that Canute invested the title and position of Earl of York onto him in 1031.
033 Siward married into the Northumbrian princely house, that of Bamburgh (after winning their admiration as a warrior) by taking Aelfled, granddaughter of Uchtred, former Earl of Northumbria, as his wife and thus strengthening his own position in that domain.
Siward was encouraged to settle disputes between his deputies Carl the Hold of York and Eadulf the Earl of Bamburgh, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
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Encyclopedia
Siward the Dane (died 1055), was an English nobleman in the eleventh century, and the earl of Northumbria. Siward probably arrived in England with King Canute I and that Canute invested the title and position of Earl of York onto him in 1031.
Family
In 1033 Siward married into the Northumbrian princely house, that of Bamburgh (after winning their admiration as a warrior) by taking Aelfled, granddaughter of Uchtred, former Earl of Northumbria, as his wife and thus strengthening his own position in that domain.
Siward was encouraged to settle disputes between his deputies Carl the Hold of York and Eadulf the Earl of Bamburgh, but was ultimately unsuccessful. The dispute had started in 1016 when Uchtred the Bold was murdered by Carl's father Thurbrand the Hold during the meeting with King Canute I. Eadulf had been Earl (only of Bernicia) since the death of his brother Ealdred%2C Earl of Bernicia, Uchtred's oldest son, sometime after 1019. Ealdred had ended up killing Thurband the Hold to avenge his father and in turn Carl the Hold killed Ealdred.
In 1041 Eadulf III of Bernicia, the Earl of the North-East, was killed. The assailant was probably Siward, who became Earl of Northumbria. Siward continued to rule all of Northumbria (including Bernicia) from 1041 until his death in 1055. His marriage produced two sons, the older Osbearne, who died in battle in 1054, and the younger Waltheof, who eventually became Earl of Northumbria.
Conquests
Siward served as a general to King Harthacanute (second son of King Canute) and Edward the Confessor, and gained great renown for his skills as a soldier.
In 1054 Siward led the English invasion of Scotland. He defeated Macbeth's forces when the two armies clashed on July 27 (some historians suggest that Siward's army disguised their attack by concealing themselves behind tree branches and wood "used as camouflage" from nearby Birnam forest). The Annals of Ulster reported that the Battle of Dunsinane left 3000 Scots and 1500 English dead. Thus, the incursion was met with limited success, even though it succeeded in capturing the fortress of Dunsinane.
Although Macbeth's army suffered heavy losses, Macbeth himself managed to escape North and continued to rule for another three years until his final and decisive defeat in 1057 at the Battle of Lumphanan.
Siward's oldest son, Osbern, and his son-in-law were killed during the campaign in Scotland.
Death
Siward died in York in early 1055, never seeing the final defeat of Macbeth. Siward himself deeply regretted 'dying like a cow' and not having been killed in battle. He is reputed to have risen from his death-bed and donned his armour to meet his end more fittingly. Siward is reputedly buried at St Olave's Church, York, which he is said to have founded.
As Siward's oldest son Osberne had died in the Scottish campaign and Waltheof being only 10 at the time of father's death, Tostig became Siward's successor as Earl of Northumbria.
Legends
Rumoured to be a man of unusual strength and size (some referring to him as a "giant") it was traditionally said that Siward's grandfather was a bear and Siward himself was the dragon-slayer of Orkney.
In the 20th century excavations were made of Siward's grave. Supposedly these revealed a skeleton of a man who would have been 6'7" tall.
Progeny
Siward's only surviving son Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria, married Judith of Lens, a niece of William the Conqueror. William executed Waltheof in 1076 after finding out (from Judith) that he had been involved in two conspiracies against him. Waltheof was the only Anglo-Saxon noble to be executed by William the Conqueror.
Malcolm's son King David I would later marry Siward's granddaughter Matilda, widow of Simon de St. Liz the elder. Siward's descendants also included James I of England, although this was not fully known during James' time.
Shakespeare
Siward and Osberne (Young Siward) are both characters in William Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Succession
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