Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester

Ranulf IV. Le Meschin called Ranulf of Gernon or Ranulf II of Chester (* around 1099 at Gernon Castle in Normandy , † December 16, 1153 in Chester ) was Earl of Chester and Vice-Count of Avranches .

He was the son of Ranulf III. le Meschin , called de Briquessart , Earl of Chester, Vice Count of Avranches and Bayeux , Lord of Cumberland († 1128), and Lucy of Bolingbroke († around 1136), widow of Yves de Taillebois, 1st Baron of Kendal , and Roger FitzGerald de Roumare, Lord of Roumare . Lucy belonged to a high Anglo-Saxon family and was the heir to numerous domains and castles in Lincolnshire .

Ranulf inherited the Palatine County of Chester in 1128 with the death of his father, and was thereafter one of the most powerful magnates in England. He spent most of his time as Earl during the English Civil War from 1135 to 1154 , in which he played an active role, also switching sides several times to meet his own interests.

The claim to the north (1136–1139)

In January 1136, in the first months of the new King Stephen , the Scottish King David I crossed the border and reached Durham , conquering Carlisle , Wark , Alnwick , Norham and Newcastle-upon-Tyne . On February 5, 1136, Stephan and Flemish mercenaries also arrived in front of Durham, so that David was forced to negotiate. They signed the Treaty of Durham , through which Stephan got Wark, Alnwick, Norham and Newcastle back, but David I kept Carlisle and Doncaster . Much of Cumberland was associated with Carlisle, as was the Lancashire fiefdom . These areas had belonged to Ranulf's father before he gave them to King Henry I to preserve the county of Chester. Ranulf still claimed the land and hoped to get it back through the new king, who was dependent on his support. The Durham Treaty thus jeopardized its objectives.

In 1139 Stephan negotiated again with David I, whereby he was again generous towards him: in the Second Treaty of Durham he granted him the county of Northumbria , including Carlisle, Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire north of the River Ribble , areas that he had given Ranulf and which he had defended with all his might against the Scots.

Ranulf claimed that King Henry I had expropriated his father even though the two men had come to an agreement. It was also unimportant to Ranulf that Carlisle was not as important as Chester, he was concerned with principle. He only lived for the day he would get that area back. When Stephan gave Northumbria to Henry , David's son, he was ready to revolt for his goals.

The Battle of Lincoln (1141)

→ Main article : Battle of Lincoln (1141)

Ranulf also made claims to the inheritance of their mother Lucy with his half-brother William de Roumare , this time in County Lincoln.

At the end of September 1140, Henry of Northumbria was staying at Stephen's court, and Ranulf planned to attack him on his way back to Scotland. Mathilda von Boulogne , Stephen's wife, found out about this project and got her husband to let Heinrich accompany him to Scotland. Ranulf's plans had thus been thwarted. He now planned to seize Lincoln Castle instead. According to the Norman chronicler Ordericus Vitalis , Ranulf and his half-brother William de Roumare sent their wives on a friendly visit to the wife of the commandant of the castle guard. After a while, Ranulf arrived at the castle in civilian clothes and only accompanied by three knights, apparently to pick up the two wives. After surrendering their weapons, Ranulf and his knights were admitted, but seized as many weapons as possible stored in the castle and gave access to William de Roumare, who appeared at the same time as reinforcements. As a result, they drove out the royal garrison.

At first Stephan did not want to take action against Ranulf in order not to drive him, one of the most powerful lords of the kingdom, into the arms of his opponent, the Empress Mathilde . In addition, should his alliance with Scotland break, the English king could use Ranulf as a supporter against David I. In that case, he would have promised the Earl of Chester the northern territories so coveted by the Scottish king as a reward. So Stephan decided to make an agreement with Ranulf and his half-brother. William received the title of Earl of Lincoln , Ranulf the rule of the city and castle Derby and Lincolnshire .

A little later, the residents of Lincoln secretly complained to Stephan, who was in London, about the treatment by Ranulf and William. They also informed the king that the two brothers were relatively careless in securing the city, which was therefore easy to retake. Stephan could not resist the temptation to regain such an important city and quickly moved against Lincoln. He arrived there on January 6, 1141 and was let in by the residents. He immediately besieged the castle, which he subsequently had shot at. Ranulf had withdrawn to Chester before Stephen's arrival, but 17 knights of the opposite side fell into the hands of the English king. William de Roumaire and his wife, as well as those of Ranulf, were entrenched in Lincoln Castle. Stephan is likely to have allowed them to leave safely.

Ranulf now gathered his followers in Cheshire and Wales and asked his father-in-law Robert of Gloucester , the half-brother of the Empress Mathilde, for help. In return, he promised to support the empress in the future. With united armies, Ranulf and Robert von Gloucester marched against Lincoln. King Stephan was informed of this, but decided, despite warnings, to remain on site and personally lead the fight against his adversaries. The Battle of Lincoln on February 2nd, 1141 led to the defeat and capture of Stephen.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the king's camp after his arrest, Ranulf now seized the castles of Alain le Noir , Earl of Richmond , in the north. Alain tried to lure Ranulf into an ambush, but was caught himself, chained and mistreated until he submitted to Ranulf and paid homage to him.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Winchester on September 14, 1141, Robert of Gloucester was captured while Ranulf managed to escape to Chester. A little later in the same year Robert was exchanged for Stephan. The following year, 1142, Ranulf was reconciled with the king, who now had the upper hand over the country.

The Second Siege of Lincoln (1144)

Stephen besieged Lincoln Castle again in 1144. He reached the city at night and prepared a long siege by digging a trench. The count was surprised by the sudden deployment of the enemy, but found that his opponents were probably only slightly outnumbered. He dared a surrender, the king in the weaker position withdrew, the count refrained from pursuing him for the same reason. He only met the pioneers digging the trench, 80 of whom were killed before retreating to the castle.

The page break (1145)

In 1145 Ranulf ruled practically a third of the kingdom: his territory was the triangle between Chester, Coventry and Lincoln. Again he changed sides, made another peace with Stephan, which is surprising in that he had large estates in Normandy , which was under the rule of Gottfried V of Anjou , Mathilde's husband, and he of Stephans Followers were seen as the rebel archetype, also because he had brought about the capture of the king in Lincoln.

There are two obvious explanations for this change of side: on the one hand, the growing power of Stephen, on the other hand, the increasing incursions of the French into his continental areas. On the other hand, Ranulf could now resume his war against David I of Scotland for the areas in the north, since David I had been allied with Mathilde since 1141.

Ranulf met Stephan in Stamford , was remorseful and was able to regain the king's favor by 1146. Lincoln Castle was left to him until the moment he regained his property in Normandy. He showed goodwill by helping capture Bedford and placing three hundred knights in the siege of Wallingford .

The Capture of the Count (1146)

While Ranulf's support was welcomed by the king, it was not so by any of the king's followers from whom Ranulf had stolen property, including Gilbert de Gant , Alain of Richmond, William II Peverel , William d'Aubigny, and Count John I of Eu .

This group was alarmed when they discovered that Ranulf was trying to persuade the king to take part in a campaign in Wales . They informed the king that Wales was well suited for ambushes and that Ranulf could have planned this trap, especially since he had not held a hostage or otherwise provided any evidence of his loyalty. The king took up the suspicion and held a public dispute.

In Northampton he had Ranulf informed that he would not help him until the occupied territories were surrendered and hostages were taken to prove his loyalty. The count rejected the request, stating that he had not returned to the king's side to be treated like this. In the public dispute that followed, he was charged with high treason, captured, and chained until his own followers came to an understanding with the king on August 28, 1146. In order to regain his freedom, Ranulf had to surrender the occupied royal territories and castles, including Lincoln, hold hostages and make a solemn promise not to oppose the king again in the future.

Ranulf was furious because when he was arrested he was under the protection of the king and the king had broken his oath of Stamford. He rose again against the king as soon as he was released, knowing that there was no point in contracting a king who was unable to keep his word.

He tried to snatch Lincoln away from the king again, marched in front of the city, his deputy was killed in a fight, whereupon he withdrew again. He tried to get Coventry Castle into his hands by having a second castle built. When the king tried to prevent him, Ranulf barely escaped.

After these failed attacks, the king held out to Ranulf's hostages. The most important of them was Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford , whom Stephan forced to hand over his castles to him. Gilbert reacted like Ranulf, he accepted the conditions, but then, again at liberty, rose against the king. This action by the king embroiled the Clare family in the dispute, from which they had so far avoided.

Agreement with David I of Scotland

In May 1149, Henry of Anjou , Mathilde's son, met with Ranulf and David of Scotland in Carlisle, where they arranged an attack on York . In the meantime Stephan had moved to the north with a larger army, but it was dispersed by his opponents. Stephan now appointed Gilbert de Gant, a new Earl of Lincoln.

During his stay in Carlisle, Ranulf ended his conflict with David. The southern part of the Lancashire fief, d. H. the area between the River Ribble and the River Mersey , went to Ranulf, who had always considered this land to be his father's inheritance. Ranulf, in turn, renounced his claims to Carlisle. In addition, a marriage was arranged between one of his sons and the granddaughter of the Scottish king. With this agreement, on the one hand the dispute between Ranulf and David was settled, on the other hand Heinrich von Anjou received a loyal ally in England.

Later that year, when Henry of Northumberland, David's son, fleeing south after the aborted attack on York, was forced to evade Eustach IV of Boulogne , the son of Stephen, who was trying to get his hands on him. Ranulf attacked Lincoln again to distract Eustach. The city failed to be captured, but Henry of Northumberland escaped.

Contract with the Earl of Leicester

Ranulf's sphere of influence bordered on the counties of Leicester and Warwick, he arranged for a meeting with a count who was hardly less influential than he was: Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester . The Beaumont were a very powerful family, their connections to the center of the kingdom very important. Waleran de Beaumont , Roberts' twin brother was Earl of Worcester , her cousin Roger de Beaumont was Earl of Warwick , her brothers-in-law were William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey and Gilbert de Clare , Earl of Pembroke , plus Simon II de Saint -Lis , the son-in-law of Robert, Earl of Northampton .

Robert and Ranulf clarified the potentially dangerous situation for them by signing an elaborate contract between 1149 and 1153 that precisely regulated the relations between them. The Archbishops of Chester and Leicester were appointed as arbitrators to make promises, which would be null and void if either party breached the contract.

Ranulf's death (1153)

In 1153 Ranulf survived an attempt by one of his opponents, William II Peverel of Nottingham, to kill him with poisoned wine when he was invited to his house. Three men died, the count recovered because he had drunk less of the wine than his men. When Henry II ascended the throne, Peverel was accused of sorcery and banished. Ranulf's wife was suspected of being involved in the attack.

Ranulf died that same year, on December 16, 1153, perhaps as a result of the poison attack. King Stephen and Henry of Anjou were negotiating the Wallingford Treaty in Winchester , which would put an end to the civil war. Shortly before, Heinrich Ranulf had promised the county of Staffordshire .

After Ranulf's death, his son and heir, Hugh de Kevelioc , was promised the successor to his father, but limited to his father's possession in 1135.

Religious buildings

• the Abbey of Basingwerk , 1131,
• the Abbey of Calder , 1135,

both settled with monks from the Norman Abbey of Savigny

progeny

Before 1135 he married Maud FitzRobert of Gloucester (around 1120 - 29 July 1189), daughter of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester , and Maud FitzHamon de Mellent.

Known descendants are:

• Jeanne le Meschin (* around 1145), married Adam de Brus around 1164, son of Robert de Brus, Lord of Annandale . Adam inherited estates in Yorkshire
• Hugh de Kevelioc (about 1147 - June 30, 1181), Earl of Chester to succeed his father; around 1170 he married Bertrada von Montfort (around 1150 - July 12, 1189), daughter of Simon III. de Montfort , Count of Evreux  ;
• Richard († between 1170 and 1175).

Footnotes

1. ↑ or Rannulf, Ranulph, Rainulf, Ranoulf, Randall, Ralph, Randulf, Renouf ou Renoulf
2. ↑ perhaps daughter of Turold de Bucknell, Sheriff of Lincoln , and a daughter of Guillaume Malet ( House of Malet ); There are several studies on their genealogy, B. Katharine Keats-Rohan , "Antecessor Noster: The Parentage of Countess Lucy Made Plain", Prosopon, n ° 2 ( Memento of the original from October 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ this marriage probably did not materialize
4. ↑ of William of Jumièges in the Gesta Normannorum Ducum mentioned

swell

• Excerpt from Historia novella , by William of Malmesbury.
• Gesta Normannorum ducum by Wilhelm von Jumièges.
• Earls of Chester

predecessor	Office	successor
Ranulph le Meschin	Earl of Chester and Vice-Count of Avranches around 1129–1153	Hugh de Kevelioc