Osulf II of Northumbria

Osulf or Oswulf († 1067 ) was a son of Eadwulf III. of Bamburgh (killed 1041) and grandson of Uhtred , Earl of Northumbria (killed 1016). Osulf's family ruled Bamburgh as "High-Reeves" ( Ealdormen ) from 954 to 1041 when Siward, Earl of Northumbria killed Eadulf and reunited Northumbria under a united government.

In 1065 Morcar followed as Toste Godwinson as Earl of all Northumbria, and he appointed Osulf as regent for the region north of the Tyne . Morcar's resistance to the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 led to the deposition and imprisonment of Osulf. Wilhelm appointed Copsi , Toste's former deputy, to succeed Morcar.

In February 1067, Copsi came north and forced Osulf to seek refuge in the mountains. Osulf began by raising an army, which was made easier by the fact that Copsi was viewed as an invader and tax collector for Wilhelm and was highly unpopular in Northumbria. On March 12th, he surprised Copsi and his men at a banquet in Newburn-upon-Tyne . Copsi escaped in a nearby church that was set on fire, forcing Copsi to leave the building. Osulf had him beheaded.

Osulf appears to have taken control of Bamburgh County and no expeditions threatened to remove him. In the autumn of 1067, however, Osulf, who had apparently been fulfilling his duties as a count, intercepted an outlaw and was pierced by the man's spear.

He was succeeded as Earl by his cousin Cospatric , who acquired the Earldom from King William.

literature

• William M. Aird, Osulf, earl of Bamburgh (d. 1067) , in: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004
• William E. Kapelle, The Norman Conquest of the North , University of North Carolina Press, 1979.
• Frank M. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England , 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press, 1971.