be free in all things (þ Thorfynn mac Thore beo swa freo in eallan ðynges) in Allerdale, and that no man is to break the peace which was given by Gospatric and Earl Siward. Historians such as Charles Phythian-Adams believed that such phraseology indicated that Siward conquered the region from its previous rulers, although others, like William Kapelle, believed that the region had come, were it ever lost, back into English power before Siward's time. A little can be said about Siward's relations with the Northumbrian church, in particular with regard to his relations with Durham. As a result of Siward's marriage to Ælfflæd, Siward gained possession of a group of estates in Teesside claimed by the bishops of Durham. Acquisition of these estates might have brought opposition from the Bishop of Durham, but Æthelric the incumbent had been expelled by the clergy of Durham in either 1045 or 1046 and, according to the Libellus de Exordio, only returned by bribing Siward. According to the Libellus, the clergy were "terrified and overwhelmed by the fearful power of the earl" and "were compelled willy nilly to be reconciled to the bishop, and to admit him into his episcopal see". Despite this, Siward escaped censure in the writings of later Durham monks, something which suggests relations between Siward and Durham were probably good in general. Siward can be found witnessing numerous charters during Edward's reign, though not as many as the Godwinsons; Siward usually comes third in lists of earls, behind Godwine and Leofric but ahead of Godwine's sons and the other earls. He witnessed at least seven, possibly nine, extant charters in 1044, six or seven in 1045, two in 1046, one in 1048 and one in 1049. A Dux ("earl") named Sihroþ and Sihroð witnessed two charters in 1050, and this may be Siward. There is another attestation in 1050, and his name appears in two dubious witness lists attached to charters dating to 1052 and 1054. Possibly Siward's last historical appearance in English legal documents is in the agreement made—probably at Lincoln—between Wulfwig, Bishop of Dorchester, and Earl Leofric, dating to between 1053 and 1055. Expedition against the Scots Siward is perhaps most famous for his expedition in 1054 against Macbeth, King of Scotland, an expedition that cost Siward his eldest son, Osbjorn. The origin of Siward's conflict with the Scots is unclear. According to the Libellus de Exordio,