Judith of Lens

Judith of Lens
Spouse(s)	Waltheof, 1st Earl of Northampton
Noble family	House of Boulogne
Father	Lambert II, Count of Lens
Mother	Adelaide of Normandy
Born	1054 or 1055 Normandy
Died	after 1086

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. Their eldest daughter, Maud, brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband, David I of Scotland. Their daughter, Adelise, married Raoul III de Conches whose sister, Godehilde, married Baldwin I of Jerusalem.

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. William then temporarily confiscated all of Judith's English estates. Finally, Simon married Judith's daughter, Maud, in or before 1090.

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:

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