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- High Reeve of Northumbria Morcar
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• Deceased about 1015
Parents
• Earngrim Of Northumbria
• ? ?
Spouses and children
• With Ealdgyth Of Mercia (Parents : Wulfric Spot Of Tamworth & ? ?) with
◦ Ealdgyth Of Northumbria † Married about July 1015, Mercia, England, to King Edmund II *Ironside* of the England 993-1016
Siblings
• Sigeferth Of Northumbria
Notes
Individual Note
Morcar (died 1015)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Weston
Crich
Morley
Ingleby
Smalley
Morcar was given land in Derbyshire in 1009
Morcar or Morkar (? 1015) was a minister of Æþelræd Unræd. He was given lands in Derbyshire in 1009 including Weston-on-Trent, Crich and Smalley by King Æþelræd Unræd,[1] 1011[2] and 1012. He and his brother were murdered in 1015. Morcar's brother's wife was later married to Edmund Ironside.
[edit] Biography
Morcar was the son of Earngrim according to John of Worcester[3] and his brother was Sigeferth. He was mentioned in the will of Wulfric, brother of Aelfhelm and son of Wulfrun. In 1004, when Wulfric died he made Morcar a major beneficiary along with Burton Abbey and Aelfhelm.[4]
It is reported that Morcar was married to Ealdgyth who was the daughter of Aelfthryth, the sister of Wulfric and Aelfhelm.[5]
Morcar was a King's minister in 1009 when Æþelræd Unræd (King Ethelred the Unready) agreed a charter at the Great Council. This agreement gave lands to his minister Morcar.[1] 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. The Domesday book 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, Crich and Kidsley.[6] This land was given to Morcar, the King's chief minister, and he was unusually 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. Morcar alone could decide a fate of life or death without the need of the authority of the King or his sheriff.[1] Morcar was given further lands in Derbyshire. In 1011 he was given five hides at what (maybe) Mickleover[7] and in 1012, two more at Eckington.[8]
These land grants again came under the control of Æþelræd Unræd, 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 behind Swein.[9]
Æþelræd Unræd took both Morcar and Sigeferth 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 previusly belonged to Sigeferth.[10]
[edit] References
1. ^ a b c Charter of Æthelred, The Great Council, 1009, accessed April 2009
2. ^ Charter
3. ^ John of Worcester, pase.ac.uk, accessed April 2009
4. ^ Williams' Aethelred the Unready (p. 74-75)
5. ^ Williams' Aethelred the Unready
6. ^ Kidsley is no longer a place in Derbyshire, but translations give this as Kidsleygrange. Both of these names appear on properties today near Heanor
7. ^ 1011 agreement re Mickleover, anglo-saxons.net, accessed April 2009
8. ^ Agreement re Eckington, 1012, anglo-saxon.net, accessed April 2009
9. ^ Williams' Aethelred the Unready (p. 120)
10. ^ These are charters S 947; Williams, Æthelred, p. 134 & note 13
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960 - 1015 (55 years)
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