NameJudith of Lens
Birth Date1055
Death Dateaft 1086 Age: 31
Spouses
Death Date31 Mar 1076
ChildrenMaud (Matilda) (1072-1130)
Notes for Judith of Lens
Countess Judith (born in Normandy between 1054 and 1055, died after 1086), was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale and Lambert II, Count of Lens.
In 1070, Judith married Earl Waltheof of Huntingdon and Northumbria. They had three children, the eldest daughter, Maud, brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband, David I of Scotland.
In 1075, Waltheof joined the Revolt of the Earls against William. It was the last serious act of resistance against the Norman conquest of England. Judith betrayed Waltheof to her uncle, who had Waltheof beheaded on 31 May 1076.
After Waltheof's execution Judith was betrothed by William to Simon I of St. Liz, 1st Earl of Northampton. Judith refused to marry Simon and she fled the country to avoid William's anger. He then temporarily confiscated all of Judith's English estates.
Judith founded Elstow Abbey in Bedfordshire around 1078. She also founded churches at Kempston and Hitchin.
She had land-holdings in 10 counties in the Midlands and East Anglia. Her holdings included land at:
Earls Barton, Northamptonshire
Great Doddington, Northamptonshire
Grendon, Northamptonshire
Merton, Oxfordshire
Piddington, Oxfordshire
Potton, Bedfordshire
The parish of Sawtry Judith in Huntingdonshire is named after the Countess.
Notes for Waltheof (Spouse 1)
Decapitado

Matilda's father Waltheof had been Earl of Northumberland, a defunct lordship which had covered the far north of England and included Cumberland and Westmorland, Northumberland-proper, as well as overlordship of the bishopric of Durham. After King Henry's death, David would revive the claim to this earldom for his son Henry.[27]
Last Modified 15 Jul 2012Created 3 Oct 2012 using Reunion for Macintosh