Ranulf le Meschin, 3d Earl of Chester

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranulf_le_Meschin,_3rd_Earl_of_Chester

He was a late 11th and early 12th-century Norman magnate based in northern and central England. Originating in Bessin in Normandy, Ranulf made his career in England thanks to his kinship with Hugh d'Avranches - the Earl of Chester, the patronage of kings William II Rufus and Henry I Beauclerc, and his marriage to Lucy, heiress of the Bolingbroke-Spalding estates in Lincolnshire.

Ranulf fought in Normandy on behalf of Henry I, and served the English king. After the death of his cousin Richard d'Avranches in the White Ship Disaster of November 1120, Ranulf became Earl of the county of Chester on the Anglo-Welsh marches. He held this position for the remainder of his life, and passed the title on to his son, Ranulf de Gernon.

Ranulf le Meschin's father and mother represented two different families of viscounts in Normandy, and both of them were strongly tied to Henry, son of William the Conqueror. His father was Ranulf de Briquessart, and likely for this reason the former Ranulf was styled le Meschin, "the younger." Ranulf's father was viscount of the Bessin, the area around Bayeux. Besides Odo, bishop of Bayeux, Ranulf the elder was the most powerful nobleman in the Bessin region of Normandy.

Ranulf le Meschin's mother, Margaret, was the daughter of Richard Goz. Richard's father Thurstan Goz had become viscount of the Hiémois between 1017 and 1025, while Richard himself became viscount of the Avranchin in either 1055 or 1056. Her brother (Richard Goz's son) was Hugh d'Avranches "Lupus" ("the Wolf"), Viscount of the Avranchin and Earl of Chester (from c. 1070). In addition to being heir to the Bessin, Ranulf was the nephew of one of Norman England's most powerful and prestigious families.

Between 1098 and 1101 (probably in 1098) Ranulf became a major English landowner in his own right when he became the third husband of Lucy, heiress of the lands of Bolingbroke in Lincolnshire. Marriage to a great heiress came only with royal patronage, which in turn meant that Ranulf had to be respected and trusted by the king. Ranulf was probably, like his father, among the earliest and most loyal of Henry's followers.

Ranulf was however not recorded often at the court of Henry I, and did not form part of the king's closest group of administrative advisers. He witnessed charters only occasionally, though this became more frequent after he became earl. Ranulf was, however, one of the king's military companions. When, soon after Whitsun 1101 Henry heard news of a planned invasion of England by his brother Robert Curthose, he sought promises from his subjects to defend the kingdom. A letter to the men of Lincolnshire names Ranulf as one of four figures entrusted with collecting these oaths. Ranulf served under Henry as an officer of the royal household when the latter was on campaign; Ranulf was in fact one of his three commanders at the Battle of Tinchebrai.

1120 was a fateful year for both Henry I and Ranulf. Richard, earl of Chester, like Henry's son and heir William Adeling, died in the White Ship Disaster near Barfleur on 25 November. Only four days before the disaster, Ranulf and his cousin Richard had witnessed a charter together at Cerisy. Henry probably could not wait long to replace Richard, as the Welsh were resurgent, raiding Cheshire, looting, killing, and burning two castles. Perhaps because of his recognized military ability and social strength, because he was loyal and because he was the closest male relation to Earl Richard, Henry recognized Ranulf as Richard's successor to the county of Chester.

In 1123, Henry sent Ranulf to Normandy with a large number of knights and with his bastard son, Robert, Earl of Gloucester, to strengthen the garrisons there. He also assisted in the capture of Waleran, Count of Meulan.

Although Ranulf bore the title "earl of Chester", the honor (i.e., group of estates) which formed the holdings of the Earl of Chester were scattered throughout England with only only a quarter of the value of the estates actually lay in Cheshire, which was one of England's poorest and least developed counties. Estates elsewhere were probably given to the earls in compensation for Cheshire's poverty, with the possibility of conquest and booty in Wales to supplement the lordship's wealth.

Ranulf died in January 1129, and was buried in Chester Abbey. He was survived by his wife and countess, Lucy, and succeeded by his son Ranulf de Gernon. A daughter, Alicia, married Richard de Clare, a lord in the Anglo-Welsh marches. One of his offspring, his fifth son, participated in the Siege of Lisbon, and for this aid was granted the Lordship of Azambuja by King Afonso I of Portugal.

Ranulf distributed land to the church, founding a Benedictine monastic house at Wetheral. This he established as a daughter-house of St Mary's Abbey, York.

Ranulf married Lucy of Bolingbroke. Lucy was born , Lincolnshire; died ca 1138, Spalding, Lincolnshire; was buried , Spalding Priory, Spalding, Lincolnshire. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Fitz_Gilbert_de_Clare

Richard married Alice, sister of Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester, by her having:

1. Gilbert Fitz Richard de Clare, d. 1153 (without issue), 1st Earl of Hertford.

2. Roger de Clare, d. 1173, 2nd Earl of Hertford.

3. Alice de Clare (Adelize de Tonbridge), m. (1) about 1133, Sir William de Percy, Lord of Topcliffe, son of Alan de Percy and Emma de Gant; (2) Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd, brother of Owain Gwynedd

4. Robert Fitz Richard de Clare, perhaps died in childhood

5. Rohese de Clare, m. Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln.

The Welsh won a crushing victory over the Normans at the Battle of Crug Mawr, just outside Cardigan. The town of Cardigan was taken and burnt, and Richard's widow, Alice, took refuge in Cardigan Castle, which was successfully defended by Robert Fitz Martin. She was rescued by Miles of Gloucester, who led an expedition to bring her to safety in England.

Alice married Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare. Richard (son of Gilbert Fitz Richard de Clare, 2nd Lord of Clare and Adeliza de Clermont) was born , Clare, Suffolk, England; died 15 Apr 1136, Monmouthshire, Wales; was buried , Tonbridge Priory, Tonbridge, Kent, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_de_Clare,_2nd_Earl_of_Hertford

He was a powerful Norman noble during the 12th century England. He succeeded to the Earldom of Hertford when his brother Gilbert died without heirs. His other titles were 5th Lord of Clare, 5th lord of Tonbridge, 5th Lord of Cardigan.

Roger was a son of Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare and Alice de Gernon. In 1153, he appears with his cousin, Richard Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, as one of the signatories to the Treaty of Wallingford, in which Stephen recognizes Prince Henry as his successor.

He received from Henry II a grant of whatever lands he could conquer in South Wales. This is probably only an expansion of the statement of the Welsh chronicles that in about 1 June 1157 he entered Cardigan and captured the castles of Humfrey, Aberdovey, Dineir, and Rhystud. Rhys ap Gruffydd, the prince of South Wales, appears to have complained to Henry II of these encroachments. There constant skirmishes and battles between the Welsh and de Clare with King Henry II leading an army into Wales in 1165, resulting in Cardigan being overrun and the Norman castles burned.

Roger had been abroad for part of this time, and is found signing charters at Le Mans, probably about Christmas 1160, and again at Rouen in 1161. In July 1163 he was summoned by Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, to do homage in his capacity of steward to the archbishops of Canterbury for the castle of Tunbridge. His refusal, based on the grounds that he held the castle of the king and not of the archbishop, was supported by King Henry II.

Early in 1170 he was appointed one of a band of commissioners for Kent, Surrey, and other arts of southern England. His last known signature seems to belong to June or July 1171, and is dated abroad from Chevaillée. He appears to have died in 1173, and certainly before July or August 1174, when we find Richard, Earl of Clare, his son, coming to the king at Northampton.

Roger married Maud (Matilda) de St. Hilaire, daughter of James de St. Hilaire and Aveline. Together they had seven children:

1. Mabel de Clare, d. 1204, m. (c. 1175), Nigel de Mowbray.

2. Richard de Clare, b. c. 1153, Tonbridge Castle, Kent, England, d. 28 November 1217, 3rd Earl of Hertford

3. James de Clare

4. Aveline de Clare, d. 4 June 1225, m. [1] (c. 1204), Geoffrey IV Fitz Piers (Fitz Peter), 1st Earl of Essex. m. [2] Sir William Munchensy, (b. c. 1184), son of Warin de Munchensy and Agnes Fitz John.

5. Roger de Clare, d. 1241, Middleton, Norfolk, England.

6. John de Clare

7. Henry de Clare


Buried:
Grave location, biography, and abbey photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=60900403

Roger married Maude (Matilda) de St. Hilaire. Maude was born 1132, Buckenham, Norfolk, England; died 1193, Buckenham, Norfolk, England; was buried , Saint Peter And Saint Paul, Carbrooke, Norfolk, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aveline_de_Clare,_Countess_of_Essex

She was a daughter of Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford and his wife, Matilda de St. Hilaire. Aveline married twice. Her first husband, William de Montchaney, died in 1204. She was married by 29 May 1205, to Geoffrey Fitz Peter (Piers), Earl of Essex, as his second wife. She was widowed a second time on 14 October 1213.

King John granted the royal right over her remarriage to her step-brother, William, Earl of Arundel, along with the guardianship of her children by William de Montchesney/Munchanesy, on 7 May 1204. Soon after her second marriage she paid the crown for the wardship of John de Wahulle and custody of his land.

In her second widowhood, Countess Aveline made gifts to Holy Trinity, London, for the soul of Geoffrey Fitz Peter (Piers), part of whose body was buried there. She was buried in Shouldham Priory, founded by Geoffrey fitz Peter in 1198, alongside the rest of her husband's body.

By her first husband,William de Montchaney:

1. William de Montchaney died without heirs before 1213

2. Warin de Montchaney (b. 1192, d. July 1255); inherited Dec. 1213

3. Alice de Montchaney, married (1) John de Wahulle, (2) William de Breauté

By her second husband, Geoffrey Fitz Peter (Piers):

1. John Fitz Geoffrey (d. 1258), Lord of Shere

2. Hawise Fitz Geoffrey

3. Cecily Fitz Geoffrey


Buried:
Grave location and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2381929&GRid=150286184&

Aveline married Geoffrey FitzPiers, Earl of Essex. Geoffrey (son of Piers de Lutegareshale) was born ca 1162, Essex, England; died 14 Oct 1213, Essex, England; was buried , Shouldham Priory Shouldham, Norfolk, England. [Group Sheet]