Earl of Northumbria was a title in the
Anglo-Danish, late
Anglo-Saxon, and early
Anglo-Norman period in
England. The earldom of Northumbria was the successor of the
earldom of Bamburgh. In the seventh century, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of
Bernicia and
Deira were united in the kingdom of
Northumbria, but this was destroyed by the Vikings in 867. Southern Northumbria, the former Deira, then became the Viking
kingdom of York, while English earls ruled the former northern kingdom of Bernicia from their base at
Bamburgh. The northern part of Bernicia was lost to the Scots, probably in the late tenth century. In 1006
Uhtred the Bold was earl of Bamburgh, and
Æthelred the Unready appointed him earl of York as well, re-uniting the area of Northumbria still under English control into a single earldom. Uhtred was murdered in 1016, and
Cnut then appointed
Eric of Hlathir earl of Northumbria at York, but Uhtred's dynasty held onto Bernicia until 1041, when the earldom was again united. A descendant of Uhtred,
Gospatric, was appointed earl by
William the Conqueror in 1067, but William expelled him in 1072. Gospatric was then given lands in Scotland, and his descendants became
earls of Dunbar. The earldom of Northumbria was broken up in the early
Norman period and dissolved into the earldoms of
York and
Northumberland, with much land going to the
prince-bishopric of Durham.