Siward Earl of Northumbria

Earl Siward of Northumbria (died 1055), the Danish strongman of Edward the Confessor's England, led the great expedition of 1054 that defeated Macbeth in Scotland; he is the 'old Siward' of Shakespeare's play. Told he would die 'like a cow on straw' rather than in battle, he had himself dressed in full armour, axe in hand, to meet death standing. His son Waltheof was the last English earl.