Waltheof of Bamburgh

Waltheof († after 1006) was high-reeve or Ealdorman from Bamburgh . He may have been the son or grandson of Osulf I of Bamburgh and was the father of Uhtred , Ealdorman of Northumbria .

His name is of Scandinavian origin and implies that he had Viking ancestors. He is the first known bearer of this name in England, and the name "Waltheof" was passed on in his family, e. B. when Count Siward married his great-granddaughter and named his son Waltheof . One of his descendants is Waltheof von Melrose . Another branch of the family also gave the name to Waltheof, including to: Waltheof von Allerdale, the son of Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria ; Waltheof von Inverkeithing and Dalmeny was a grandson of Waltheof von Allerdale. Another descendant of Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria was Waltheof, Earl of Dunbar .

In 1006, Malcolm II of Scotland invaded Northumbria and besieged the newly established episcopal city of Durham . Since the Danes were devastating southern England at that time, King Æthelred was unable to send aid to the Northumbria. Ealdorman Waltheof was too old to fight and stayed at Bamburgh Castle . Ealdorman Ælfhelm of York did nothing either. Waltheof's son Uhtred called an army from Bernicia and Yorkshire together for his father and led them against the Scots. The result was a decisive victory for Uhtred. Local women washed the severed heads of the defeated Scots and each received a cow. The heads were attached to stakes on Durham's walls. Uhtred was installed as Ealdorman of Bamburgh by King Æthelred, although his father was still alive.

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• Frank Merry Stenton , Anglo-Saxon England ; 3rd edition, Oxford University Press , 1971.