What is Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria?
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}{{Infobox Nobility|name=Waltheof|image=|caption=|succession=[[Earl of Northumbria]]|reign=1072–1076|predecessor=[[Cospatrick of Northumbria|Gospatrick of Northumbria]]|successor=[[William Walcher]]|house=|issue=[[Maud, Countess of Huntingdon]] <br />Adelise <br />|spouse=[[Judith of Lens]]|father=[[Siward, Earl of Northumbria]]|mother=Ælfflaed|birth_date=|death_date=31 May 1076|death_place=St. Giles's Hill, [[Winchester]]|place of burial=[[Croyland Abbey]]}}'''Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria''' (died 31 May 1076) was the last [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[earl]]. He was the only [[English people|English]] [[aristocrat]] to be [[Execution|executed]] during the reign of [[William I, Duke of Normandy|William I]]. == Early life == Waltheof was the second son of [[Siward, Earl of Northumbria]]. His mother was Aelfflaed, daughter of [[Ealdred, Earl of Bernicia]], son of [[Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria]]. In 1054, Waltheof became the heir of his father's throne as his elder brother Osbearn was killed in battle. Siward died in 1055, and Waltheof being far too young to succeed as Earl of Northumbria, [[Edward the Confessor|King Edward]] appointed [[Tostig Godwinson]] to the earldom. == First revolt == When [[Sweyn II of Denmark|Sweyn II]] invaded [[Northern England]] in 1069, Waltheof and [[Edgar Aetheling]] joined the Danes and took part in the attack on [[York]]. He would again make a fresh submission to William after the departure of the invaders in 1070. He was restored to his earldom and went on to marry William's niece, [[Judith of Lens]]. In 1072, he was appointed [[Earl of Northampton]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Waltheof had many enemies in the north. Amongst them were members of a family who had killed Waltheof's maternal great-grandfather, [[Uchtred the Bold]], and his grandfather [[Ealdred, Earl of Bernicia|Ealdred]]. This was part of a long-running blood feud. In 1074, Waltheof moved against the family by sending his retainers to ambush them and succeeded in killing the two eldes