- Morcar of Northumbria
Morcar (or Morkere) (d. 1087) was the son of
Ælfgār (earl ofMercia ) and brother of Ēadwine. He was himself theearl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066, when he was replaced byWilliam the Conqueror withCopsi .In 1065, the Northumbrians revolted against their Earl
Tostig , who was replaced by Morcar and declared an outlaw. In 1066 Tostig invaded Mercia, after mounting raids further south, but was repulsed by Edwin and Morcar and fled toScotland . Later in the year he returned to Northumbria with the army of King Harald III Hardrada of Norway. Morcar and Edwin resisted and inflicted heavy losses on the invaders, but suffered a severe defeat at theBattle of Fulford .After the death of
Harold Godwinson at theBattle of Hastings , Edwin and Morcar threw their support behind theEdgar the Atheling , who was proclaimed king, but they failed to muster an effective military response to the invading forces ofWilliam of Normandy and soon submitted. In 1068 they raised a revolt in Mercia, but rapidly capitulated when William advanced against them.Though they were pardoned, they again turned against William early in 1071. Edwin was soon betrayed and killed, while Morcar joined the rebellion, initiated by the Abbot of Ely and tactically organized by
Hereward the Wake , against William the Conqueror at theIsle of Ely (FNQ chapter XX). When the island was opened to the Normans, Morcar was captured and imprisoned. He remained in captivity until William's death in 1087, when the dying king ordered the release of all his prisoners. After a brief period at liberty, Morcar was again imprisoned by William Rufus and died in captivity.Morcar has been portrayed by
Noel Johnson in the two-partBBC TV play "Conquest" (1966), part of the series "Theatre 625 ", and bySimon Rouse in the TV drama "Blood Royal: William the Conqueror" (1990).References
*1911
*Freeman, E. A. "Norman Conquest andWilliam Rufus " vol. i.
*Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Line 176A-3
*FNQ "Gesta Herwardi " from the Book of Robert of Swaffham, published as a supplement to Fenland Notes and Queries ed. W.D. Sweeting (1895-7)
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