Eadulf or Eadwulf Rus (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1080) was an 11th-century

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

n noble. He was either the son or grandson of Gospatric (son of

Uhtred the Bold Uhtred of Bamburgh (Uhtred the Bold—sometimes Uchtred; died ca. 1016), was ruler of Bamburgh and from 1006 to 1016 the ealdorman of Northumbria. He was the son of Waltheof I, ruler of Bamburgh (Bebbanburg), whose family, the Eadwulfingas, ...

), possibly the man who soon after Christmas 1064 was allegedly killed on behalf of Tostig, Earl of Northumbria. This murder by Tostig led to a great northern revolt against

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

, a revolt that turned both King Edward and

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...

against Tostig and led to the appointment of the Mercian,

Morcar Morcar (or Morcere) (, ) (died after 1087) was the son of Ælfgār (earl of Mercia) and brother of Ēadwine. He was the earl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066, when William the Conqueror replaced him with Copsi. Dispute with the Godwins Morcar ...

, as Earl of northern England. Eadwulf is primarily remembered for his involvement in the death of

Walcher Walcher (died 14 May 1080) was the bishop of Durham from 1071,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 241 a Lotharingian and the first Prince-bishop (appointed by the King, not the Pope). He was the first non-Englishman to hold tha ...

Earl of Northumbria Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian people, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman England, Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the ...

and

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

. The sources say that the attack occurred as revenge for the murder of Walcher's English right-hand man, Ligulf. Ligulf had been connected into the Bamburgh kindred marrying, according to the ''

Historia Regum The ''Historia Regum'' ("History of the Kings") is a historical compilation attributed to Symeon of Durham, which presents material going from the death of Bede until 1129. It survives only in one manuscript compiled in Yorkshire in the mid-to-lat ...

'', Ealdgyth daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh. The '' Worcester Chronicle'' and the ''Historia Regum'' allege that the murder of Ligulf was planned by Walcher's chaplain Leobwin after Ligulf had argued with him during one of the earl's councils. It was Walcher's kinsman Gilbert, however, who is alleged to have entered Ligulf's hall, and attacked and killed him. Kapelle thought that, perhaps due to his failure to protect

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

against the Scots in 1079, Walcher's relations with Ligulf broke down, leading to the loss of Ligulf's support and then to hostility. On 14 May 1080 a party of Northumbrian natives attacked that bishop-earl and his household at

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, across the river from the future site of

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, having arrived to hold discussions.Kapelle, ''Norman Conquest of the North'', p. 140. The discussions were fruitless and Walcher, who was protected with 100 knights, retired to the church there. The Northumbrians set the church on fire, after Leobwin refused to surrender himself.Stevenson, ''Symeon of Durham's History'', p. 152. Walcher was forced out and stabbed with swords. Leobwin was burned to death. '' De primo Saxonum adventu'' says that the leader was Eadwulf, son of Gospatric; the ''Historia Regum'' also names, Eadwulf ''cognomento Rus'' as the killer, but claims he was a grandson of Gospatric through another Uhtred.Stevenson, ''Symeon of Durham's History'', p. 143. The '' Libellus de exordio'' says that killer was a man named Waltheof, though this Waltheof may have been Eadwulf's brother. According to the ''Historia Regum'' Eadwulf was killed soon after the death of Walcher, slain by a woman. His body was buried in the church at

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

(now

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

), until Prior Turgot of

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

had it removed a few years later. Eadwulf may have had a brother named Dolfin in addition to a brother named Waltheof.According to ''De Primo Saxonum Adventu'' Waltheof was the name of a brother of his; see Rollason (ed.), ''Libellus de Exordio'', p. 214, n. 99.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eadwulf Rus 11th-century births 1080s deaths Anglo-Saxon people History of County Durham History of Northumberland People associated with the Scottish Borders 11th-century English nobility