D. 1068.
North of his conquered territory, Mercia stretched almost across England,
from Chester to the Wash, governed by Edwin and Morcar, the two fair
grandsons of Leofric, the great earl, and sons of Alfgar. Edwin called
himself Earl of Mercia, and held the Danish burghs. On the extreme
northwest, the Roman city of Chester was his; while on the extreme
southeast (as Domesday book testifies), Morcar held large lands round
Bourne, and throughout the south of Lincolnshire, besides calling himself
the Earl of Northumbria. The young men seemed the darlings of the
half-Danish northmen. Chester, Coventry, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester,
Stamford, a chain of fortified towns stretching across England, were at
their command; Blethyn, Prince of North Wales, was their nephew.
Northumbria, likewise, was not yet in William's hands. Indeed, it was in
no man's hands, since the free Danes, north of the Humber, had expelled
Tosti, Harold's brother, putting Morcar in his place, and helped that
brother to slay him at Stanford Brigg. Morcar, instead of residing in his
earldom of Northumbria, had made one Oswulf his deputy; but he had rivals
enough. There was Gospatrick, claiming through his grandfather, Uchtred,
and strong in the protection of his cousin Malcolm, King of Scotland;
there was young Waltheof, "the forest thief," who had been born to Siward
Biorn in his old age, just after the battle of Dunsinane; a fine and
gallant young man, destined to a swift and sad end.
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