Gunhilda of Dunbar

Gunhilda of Dunbar (also spelled Gunnild or Gunhild; c. 1120 – 12 May 1166) was a 12th-century Scottish noblewoman. She was the daughter of Waltheof of Allerdale and married Uhtred of Galloway, becoming the matriarch of a branch that influenced the Anglo-Norman and Gaelic-Norse frontier of medieval Scotland.

Gunhilda of Dunbar
Born	c. 1120 Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland
Died	12 May 1166 Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland
Spouse(s)	Uhtred of Galloway (d. 1174)
Father	Waltheof of Allerdale
Mother	Sigrid (surname unknown)

Biography

Gunhilda was born around 1120 in Dunbar, the daughter of Waltheof of Allerdale—son of Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria—and his wife Sigrid.^[1]

She married Uhtred of Galloway, who became joint Lord of Galloway in 1161. Together, they had at least four children:^[1]

• Lochlann (Roland), Lord of Galloway (d. 1200)
• Eve of Galloway, wife of Walter de Berkeley
• Christina of Galloway, wife of William de Brus, 3rd Lord of Annandale
• Fergus (fl. 1196), a knight

Gunhilda died on 12 May 1166 in Dunbar. Her descendants became prominent figures in the Wars of Scottish Independence, including her grandson Robert the Bruce.^[2]

Significance

Though few contemporary records survive about Gunhilda's personal actions, her influence rose through marriage and lineage. Her son Lochlann became a powerful regional magnate, and her daughter Christina of Galloway became an ancestor of the Bruce dynasty, linking Gunhilda to the Wars of Scottish Independence and the eventual rise of Robert the Bruce and the Scottish monarchy.^[2]