Morcar (died 1015)
Encyclopedia
Morcar (died 1015) was a thane (minister) of King Æthelred the Unready. He was given lands in Derbyshire in 1009 including Weston-on-Trent
, Crich
and Smalley
by King Æthelred, 1011 and 1012. He was also given the freedom from the three common burdens
. He and his brother were murdered in 1015. Morcar's brother's wife was later married to King Edmund Ironside
.
and his brother was Sigeferth
. He was mentioned in the will of Wulfric Spot
, brother of Ælfhelm
and son of Wulfrun
. In 1004, when Wulfric died, he made Morcar a major beneficiary along with Burton Abbey and Ælfhelm.
It is reported that Morcar was married to Ealdgyth who was the daughter of Ælfthryth, the sister of Wulfric
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
. 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. 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. Morcar alone could decide a fate of life or death without the need of the authority of the King or his sheriff. Morcar was given further lands in Derbyshire. In 1011 he was given five hides at what (maybe) Mickleover
and in 1012, two more at Eckington.
behind Sweyn Forkbeard 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.
Weston-on-Trent
Weston-on-Trent is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire. It is to the north of the River Trent and the Trent and Mersey Canal. Nearby places include Aston-on-Trent, Barrow upon Trent, Castle Donington and Swarkestone....
, Crich
Crich
Crich is a village in Derbyshire in England. It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Village, and at the summit of Crich Hill above, a Memorial Tower for those of the Sherwood Foresters regiment who died in battle, particularly in World War I.Built in 1923 on the site of an...
and Smalley
Smalley, Derbyshire
Smalley is a village on the main A608 Heanor to Derby road in Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England.Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Smæl-lēah = "narrow woodland clearing"...
by King Æthelred, 1011 and 1012. He was also given the freedom from the three common burdens
Trinoda necessitas
Trinoda necessitas is a Latin term used to refer to a "threefold tax" in Anglo-Saxon times. Subjects of an Anglo-Saxon king were required to yield three services: bridge-bote , burgh-bote , and fyrd-bote...
. He and his brother were murdered in 1015. Morcar's brother's wife was later married to King Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside or Edmund II was king of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut...
.
Biography
Morcar was the son of Earngrim according to John of WorcesterJohn of Worcester
John of Worcester was an English monk and chronicler. He is usually held to be the author of the Chronicon ex chronicis.-Chronicon ex chronicis:...
and his brother was Sigeferth
Sigeferth (died 1015)
Sigeferth was, along with his brother Morcar, described by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as "chief thegn of the Seven Burghs"....
. He was mentioned in the will of Wulfric Spot
Wulfric Spot
Wulfric , called Wulfric Spot or Spott, was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman. His will is an important document from the reign of King Æthelred the Unready...
, brother of Ælfhelm
Ælfhelm of York
Ælfhelm was the ealdorman of Northumbria, in practice southern Northumbria , from about 994 until his death. An ealdorman was a senior nobleman who governed a province—a shire or group of shires—on behalf of the king...
and son of Wulfrun
Wulfrun
Wulfrun was an Anglo-Saxon noble woman and landowner, who established a landed estate at Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England in 985. Contemporary knowledge of her comes from several text sources:...
. In 1004, when Wulfric died, he made Morcar a major beneficiary along with Burton Abbey and Ælfhelm.
It is reported that Morcar was married to Ealdgyth who was the daughter of Ælfthryth, the sister of Wulfric
Wulfric
Wulfric is an Anglo-Saxon male name, meaning "wolf power" or "wolf ruler".-Historical mentions:*Wulfric Spot, Earl of Mercia and Chief Councillor of State to King Ethelred; b., d. 12 October 1010. Founder of Burton Abbey, to which he bequeathed land and money in his will of c. 1002-4 .*Wulfric of...
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
Weston-on-Trent
Weston-on-Trent is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire. It is to the north of the River Trent and the Trent and Mersey Canal. Nearby places include Aston-on-Trent, Barrow upon Trent, Castle Donington and Swarkestone....
, Wilne
Great Wilne
Great Wilne is a small village in Derbyshire, England on the border with Leicestershire. It is 7 miles south east of Derby. It is a village split from its church of St Chads by the river...
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
Shardlow
Shardlow is a village in Derbyshire, England about 8 km southeast of Derby and 12 km southwest of Nottingham. It is part of the civil parish of Shardlow and Great Wilne, and the district of South Derbyshire. It is also very close to the border with Leicestershire which follows the River Trent, ...
and Aston-on-Trent
Aston-on-Trent
Aston-on-Trent is a Derbyshire village, situated in the English East Midlands, near Derby. It is adjacent to Weston-on-Trent and is near to Chellaston. It is very close to the border with Leicestershire....
.
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
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
. The Domesday book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
also used the river as a boundary between counties later that century.
The land that Morcar received was listed as eight hides
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
at Weston upon Trent, and a hide each at Morley
Morley, Derbyshire
Morley is a civil parish within the area of Erewash Borough Council in the English county of Derbyshire, north of Derby It is on the eastern side of Morley Moor, with Morley Smithy to the north. The parish church of St Matthew stands near the Tithe Barn and dovecote of Morley Hall...
, Smalley
Smalley, Derbyshire
Smalley is a village on the main A608 Heanor to Derby road in Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England.Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Smæl-lēah = "narrow woodland clearing"...
, Ingleby
Ingleby, Derbyshire
Ingleby is a hamlet and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. Situated on the south of the River Trent on a rise between Stanton by Bridge and Repton, Ingleby contains the privately owned John Thompson public house and the Ingleby Art Gallery....
, Crich
Crich
Crich is a village in Derbyshire in England. It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Village, and at the summit of Crich Hill above, a Memorial Tower for those of the Sherwood Foresters regiment who died in battle, particularly in World War I.Built in 1923 on the site of an...
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
Trinoda necessitas
Trinoda necessitas is a Latin term used to refer to a "threefold tax" in Anglo-Saxon times. Subjects of an Anglo-Saxon king were required to yield three services: bridge-bote , burgh-bote , and fyrd-bote...
. The threefold tax of Trinoda necessitas usually required an obligation on the land to surrender soldiers, to repair fortifications and to repair bridges. Morcar alone could decide a fate of life or death without the need of the authority of the King or his sheriff. Morcar was given further lands in Derbyshire. In 1011 he was given five hides at what (maybe) Mickleover
Mickleover
Mickleover is a suburb located two miles west of the city centre and is the most westerly suburb of the City of Derby in the United Kingdom.-History:...
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 NorthumbriaNorthumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
behind Sweyn Forkbeard 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
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside or Edmund II was king of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut...
then freed the widow and married her. Edmund redistributed some of the lands that had previously belonged to Sigeferth.
Secondary sources
- Williams, Ann. 2003. Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King. London. ISBN 1-85285-382-4
- Faith, Rosamund J. 1997. The English Peasantry and the Growth of Lordship. London.
- "Morcar 2 (Male)." Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE).
Primary sources
- Anglo-Saxon ChartersAnglo-Saxon ChartersAnglo-Saxon charters are documents from the early medieval period in Britain which typically make a grant of land or record a privilege. The earliest surviving charters were drawn up in the 670s; the oldest surviving charters granted land to the Church, but from the eighth century surviving...
- S 922 (AD 1009). Archive: Burton Abbey. Available from anglo-saxons.net and The British Academy.
- 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.