wait until the 1070s, when Waltheof II, Ealdred's grandson had his soldiers kill most of Carl's sons and grandsons. This is an example of the notorious Northumbrian blood feuds that were common at this time. Uhtred's dynasty continued to reign in Bernicia. He was succeeded first by Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh (killed 1038) his son by Ecgfrida, followed by another of his son by Sige, Eadulf (killed 1041). After the Norman Conquest, Eadulf's son Osulf briefly held the earldom of northern Northumbria in 1067 until he too was killed, succeeded by Uhtred's grandson by his third marriage (and Osulf's uncle), Gospatric, who was Earl of Northumbria from 1068 to 1072 before being forced to flee to Scotland. His replacement was Ealdred's maternal grandson, Waltheof II, who was deprived and in 1076 executed for treason. The murder of his Norman replacement, Walcher, Bishop of Durham, by Uhtred's descendant Eadulf Rus led William the Conqueror to send an army northwards to harry the region again. In Scotland, Earl Gospatric's descendants held the Earldom of Dunbar for centuries. In popular culture Bernard Cornwell was inspired to write his series The Saxon Stories after learning he was a descendant of Uhtred the Bold, who is the inspiration behind the series protagonist Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg. Several events in the series are based on events in the life of Uhtred the Bold, such as the siege of Bebbanburg by the Scots and the severed heads on poles; however, unlike many other characters in the book series who correspond closely to historical figures, such as Alfred the Great, Guthrum, and King Guthred, the main character Uhtred is fictitious: he lives in the middle of the 9th century – being aged about ten at the battle of York (867) – more than a hundred years before the historical Uhtred the Bold. The fictitious Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg is also the main protagonist in the television series The Last Kingdom, which is based on The Saxon Stories. Adrian Mourby's two radio plays, The Corsaint (c. 1986) and its sequel, The King of the North Rides his Horse through the Sky (1992) provide dramatic realisations of the story of the siege of Durham and the severed heads on poles as told about the historical Uhtred. They were broadcast by BBC Radio 3. References Sources Stenton, Sir Frank M. Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition. Oxford University Press, 1971. Fletcher, Richard. Bloodfeud: