[Russel Tarr]

I am doing some research and I am having trouble finding a definitive answer about what happened to Earls Edwin and Morcar after the Norman Conquest.

On Wikipedia, the Edwin page says that Edwin died in the Fens Campaign; on the Morcar page it says Edwin died in the Welsh campaign; on Spartacus it says he was taken to Normandy as a prisoner. Morcar is just as vague.

Can anyone give a firm answer on this, or is it just one of those things where the sources disagree?

[JohnDClare]

Douglas says that Morcar was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment.
Belloc says that they fled in 1072 to Ely, and that Edwin was killed in attempted flight.

Both are clearly based on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle [D] says that William imprisoned them both after 1066, but that in 1072 Edwin and Morcar took to flight, until Edwin was slain by his own men and Morcar went by ship (to join Hereward) at Ely, where he assembled a number of men but then surrendered to William.

[Andrew Field]

I can give you a very firm answer - this formed part of my study for my dissertation. After the Battle of Hastings, the 'leadership' of the resistance to William by default actually fell to Edgar the Aetheling with the Earls Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria.

Nobody really knows what happened to them really. It it thought that Edwin and Morcar joined up with Hereward in his campain to defend Ely (where I'm actually currently typing from) but this is much more folklore dreamed up by those wishing to identify with a band of brave rebels rising up against an invading overlord. However, it is possible that these might end up being labelled as insurgents using today's terminology.

For the actual final analysis it is best to move away from the internet and refer to recently published materials. In "The English Resistance, the underground war against the Normans" by Peter Rex [1994], he states on pages 182-183 that:

Quote

After the Battle of Hastings, in which they took no part, they were at first prepared to support the Aetheling's claims but then agreed with the rest of the Witan to the submission at Berkhamstead. They were among those taken to Normandy in 1067.

Thereafter their resentment against King William grew and festered and the joined the rebels in 1068 but seem to have kept out of the Rising of 1069. Becoming aware that William intended to imprison them, they fled from court in late 1070 or early 1071 and ended up at Ely by autumn of that year.

Both Edwin and Morcar were involved in whatever we can possibly call the 'Welsh campaign'. They were actually identified as 'leaders' of any resistance between 1066 and 1072.

It is most probable that Edwin died and Morcar was captured by the Normans at Ely.

However, we don't really know - but it is possible to patch together all your sources and come up with a combined version. Yet again proof why the Norman Conquest is the best historical topic.