Ealdred was an Earl in north-east England from the death of his uncle, Eadwulf Cudel, soon after 1018[1] until his murder in 1038. He is variously described by historians as Earl of Northumbria,[2] Earl of Bernicia (northern Northumbria)[1] and Earl of Bamburgh,[3] his stronghold on the Northumbrian coast.[4] He was the son of Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria, who was murdered by Thurbrand the Hold in 1016 with the connivance of Cnut. Ealdred's mother was Ecgfrida, daughter of Aldhun, bishop of Durham.
Some time probably in the mid 1020s Ealdred killed Thurbrand in revenge for his father's death. In 1038 Ealdred was murdered by Thurbrand's son. There were several other revenge murders in what was described by Frank Stenton as "the most remarkable private feud in English history".[2] Richard Fletcher gives an account in his book Bloodfeud: Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England. Ealdred was succeeded as Earl of Bernicia by his half-brother, Eadwulf, who was murdered in 1041 by Siward, Earl of Northumbria, husband of one of Ealdred's daughters.
English chronicler Simeon of Durham identifies five children of Ealdred, all daughters. Three of those daughters were all named "Ælfleda" (Ælfflaed), while this may seem unlikely it is actually common for the time. If a child died young often the next child of the same sex was given the same name. The first two daughters of that name probably died very young, there appears to be no other record of them.