Morcar (or Morkere) () (died 1015) was a

thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...

(minister) of King

Æthelred the Unready Æthelred II (,Different spellings of this king's name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern dialect word . ; ; 966 � ...

. He was given lands in Derbyshire in 1009, including Weston-on-Trent,

Crich Crich is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire. Besides the village of Crich, the civil parish includes the nearby villages of Fritchley, Whatstandwell and Wheatcroft, Derbyshire, Wheatcroft. The population of the civi ...

, and Smalley by King Æthelred in 1011 and 1012. He was also given the freedom from the three common burdens. He and his brother were executed in 1015. Morcar's brother's wife was later married to King Edmund Ironside.

Biography

Morcar was the son of Earngrim, according to

John of Worcester John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is now usually held to be the author of the . Works John of Worcester's principal work was the (Latin for "Chronicle from Chronicles") or ...

, and his brother was Sigeferth. He was mentioned in the will of Wulfric Spot, brother of Ælfhelm and son of

Wulfrun __NOTOC__ Wulfrun(a) (-) was a Mercian noblewoman and landowner who held estates in Staffordshire. Today she is particularly remembered for her association with ''Hēatūn'', Anglo-Saxon for "high or principal farm or enclosure", which she w ...

. In 1004, when Wulfric died, he made Morcar a major beneficiary, along with Burton Abbey and Ælfhelm. Morcar was a king's thegn (Latin ''minister'') in 1009 when King Æthelred the Unready issued a charter, in which he gave lands to his ''minister'' Morcar. The charter shows that he would control the crossings of the River Trent at Weston-on-Trent, Wilne, and King's Mills in Leicestershire. Although not mentioned explicitly, the land described at Weston on Trent included ownership of what is now the villages of Shardlow and Aston-on-Trent. The river crossings at Weston, King's Mill, and Wilne control one of the main routes for travelers moving up or down England, as this river was a boundary within

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

. The

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

also used the river as a boundary between counties later that century. The land that Morcar received was listed as eight hides at Weston upon Trent and a hide each at Morley, Smalley, Ingleby,

, and Kidsley. This land was given to Morcar, the King's chief minister, and he was given rights that were normally reserved for the King alone. He was given the responsibility for all types of justice and exemption from the Trinoda necessitas. The threefold tax of Trinoda necessitas usually required an obligation on the land to surrender soldiers, to repair fortifications, and to repair bridges.The English Peasantry and the Growth of Lordship
Rosamund Faith, p95, , accessed 17 April 2009 Morcar alone could decide a fate of life or death without the need of the authority of the King or his sheriff.Charter of Æthelred
The Great Council, 1009, accessed 8 April 2009 Morcar was given further lands in Derbyshire. In 1011, he was given five hides at what was possibly

Mickleover Mickleover is a village in the unitary authority of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. It is west of Derby, northeast of Burton upon Trent, southeast of Ashbourne and northeast of Uttoxeter. History The earliest recorded mention of Mickleov ...

and in 1012, two more at Eckington.

Death

These land grants again came under the control of King Æthelred when Morcar and his brother, Sigeferth, were murdered by Eadric in 1015. Williams speculates that Morcar may have been involved in swinging support in

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 ...

behind

Sweyn Forkbeard Sweyn Forkbeard ( ; ; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 until his death, King of England for five weeks from December 1013 until his death, and King of Norway from 999/1000 until 1014. He was the father of King Ha ...

, who was King of Denmark. King Æthelred seized both Morcar's and Sigeferth's lands and imprisoned Sigeferth's widow, who was called Ealdgyth. King Edmund Ironside then freed the widow and married her. Edmund redistributed some of the lands that had previously belonged to Sigeferth.These are charter
S 947
Williams, ''Æthelred'', p. 134 & note 13.

References

Primary sources

Anglo-Saxon Charters Anglo-Saxon charters are documents from the early medieval period in England which typically made a grant of land or recorded a privilege. The earliest surviving charters were drawn up in the 670s: the oldest surviving charters granted land to ...

**S 922 (AD 1009). Archive: Burton Abbey. Available fro
anglo-saxons.net
an

S 924 (AD 1011)
Archive: Burton Abbey.
S 1536 (AD 1002 x 1004)
will of Wulfric. Archive: Burton Abbey.
S 1503 (AD 1014)
will of Æthelstan, the ætheling. Archive: Christ Church, Canterbury, and Old Minster, Winchester.

Secondary sources

*Williams, Ann. 2003. ''Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King''. London. *Faith, Rosamund J. 1997. ''The English Peasantry and the Growth of Lordship''. London.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morcar 10th-century births 1015 deaths Year of birth unknown Anglo-Saxon ealdormen Anglo-Saxon warriors