Copsi

Copsi(orCopsig;Old English:Cōpsige;died 1067) was aNorthumbrianmagnatein lateAnglo-Saxon England.He was a supporter ofTostig,and was exiled along with him in 1065. Copsi soon fled toOrkney(then a part ofNorway). The next year (1066), he joined Tostig atSandwich,inKent,with 17 ships. Copsi survived Tostig's defeat atStamford Bridge,and whenWilliam the Conquerorprevailed atHastingshe travelled, in March 1067, to pay WilliamhomageatBarking(where William was staying whilehis towerwas being constructed inLondon). In return, William made CopsiEarl of Northumbriaand sent him back toYork.Copsi's rule lasted a mere five weeks, at which time he was murdered byOsulf,son ofEadulf IIIof the ancientBernicianfamily which had historically governed the area fromBamburgh,atNewburn-upon-Tyne.Osulf led a small force which surprised Copsi during a banquet and forced him to flee to a nearby church, which was then set on fire. He was then captured and beheaded by Osulf. Osulf, however, only ruled asearluntil that autumn, when he was killed by an outlaw he was tracking.

Sources

• Stenton, Sir Frank M.Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition.Oxford University Press,1971.

External links

• Copsi 1atProsopography of Anglo-Saxon England