Mabel of Chester

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37267

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37263

Notes:

Hugh de Kevelioc, 6th Earl of Chester married Bertred, daughter of Simon, Earl of Evereux, in Normandy.

Hugh was a witness where Countess of Huntindon, Maud de Meschines daughter and in her issue co-heir of Hugh de Kevilioc, Earl of Chester. Hugh was the successor of Ranulph de Gernon, 5th Earl of Chester; Viscount of Avranches. He was born in 1147 at Kevelioc, Merionethshire, Wales. He was the son of Ranulph de Gernon, 5th Earl of Chester and Maud of Gloucester. Hugh was Viscount of Avranches at Normandy, France, between 1153 and 1181 and 6th Earl of Chester at England between 1153 and 1181.

Hugh associated with N. N. (?) circa 1167 either first wife or a mistress?He married Bertrade de Montfort, daughter of Simon III de Montfort, comte de Évreux and Maud, in 1169 at Montfort, Normandy, France.

The Great Rebellion: Henry II versus his heir, Henry "the Young King", his two older brothers, the Earl of Leicester, the King of Scots, the King of France, and the Count of Flanders.

Hugh joined in the rebellion of the Earl of Leicester and the King of Scots against King Henry II, and in support of the monarch's son, Prince Henry, and taken prisoner, along with the Earl, at Alnwick in 1172/73. He was deprived of his earldom between July 1174 and January 1177. He rebelled against the king yet again, and was again pardoned and restored to his lands in 1176/77. He was restored to his earldom in January 1177. He died in 1181 at midsummer, Leek, Staffordshire, England, at age 34 years.

Hugh was the predecessor of Ranulph de Blundevil, 7th Earl of Chester; Viscount of Avranches.


http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p376.htm#i6940

Hugh — Bertrade De Montfort. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37264

Other Events:

• Name: Ranulf le Meschin
• Reference Number: 3800

Notes:

Ranulph de Gernon, 5th Earl of Chester son of Ranulph "le Meschin", 4th Earl of Chester and Countess Lucy of Lincoln. He was born before 1100 at Castle of Gernon, Normandy, France.

Ranulph was the successor of Ranulph "le Meschin", 4th Earl of Chester, Viscount of Avranches. He was Viscount of Avranches at Normandy, France, between 1129 and 1153 and 5th Earl of Chester at England between 1129 and 16 December 1153.

Ranulph was one of the 5 Earls who witnessed the Charter to Salisbury granted at the Northampton Council of Henry I on 8 September 1131 at Northampton, England. He was made Constable of Lincoln by King Stephen in 1136.

He married Maud of Gloucester, daughter of Robert fitz Roy de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester and Mabel FitzHamon, circa 1141 at Gloucestershire, England.

King Stephen laid siege to Lincoln castle. Supporters of Maud defeat the besiegers and Stephen is captured. On 2 February 1140/41 at the Battle of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. Ranulph took part in the Battle of Lincoln against King Stephen, who was taken prisoner there, on 2 February 1140/41. He distinguished himself as a soldier both on the side of the Empress Maud and of that of King Stephen, with the greatest impartiality. He was seized at court by King Stephen, who he previously had fought against on 29 August 1146 at Northampton, England.

He was granted the city and castle of Chester by King Stephen, probably after the pacification in 1151. He was the predecessor of Hugh de Kevelioc, 6th Earl of Chester.

Ranulph died on 16 December 1153 at England. He died, under excommunication, supposedly poisoned by his wife and William Peverell, Lord of Nottingham.

He was a witness where Lord of Nottingham William Peverel the Younger supposedly, "as men said," the one who poisoned Ranulf de Gernham, Earl of Chester, on 16 December 1153. He was buried in St. Werburg's, Chester, England.


http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p369.htm#i6795

Birth:
Guernon castle

Buried:
St. Werburg's

Died:
Succumbed to poisoning

Ranulph married Maud Fitzrobert Abt 1141, Gloucestershire, England. Maud (daughter of Robert Fitzroy and Mabel Fitzhamon) was born Abt 1124; died 29 Jul 1189. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Maud of Gloucester
• Reference Number: 5315

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37265

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• Name: Ranulf de Briquessart
• Reference Number: 9915

Notes:

Ranulph "le Meschin", 4th Earl of Chester also called "de Briquessart" from the commune of Livry where the earthworks of his castle are still visible, also called Ranulph "the Young" from the Latin "Mischinus" and also called Randal was born circa 1068. He was the son of Ranulph II, vicomte de Bayeaux and Margaret d' Avranches.

Ranulph first married Maud de Vere, daughter of Aubrey de Vere I and Beatrice de Ghisnes, circa 1089. He then married Lucy "the Countess" of Lincoln, daughter of Turold of Bucknell, Sheriff of Lincoln and N. N. Malet, circa 1098. Ranulph was her 3rd husband.

Ranulphwas the successor of Richard, 3rd Earl of Chester; Viscount of Avranches. He was granted the title Earl of Chester following the death, without issue, of his cousin Richard, the son of his uncle, Hugh d'Avranches, on 26 November 1119. He was 4th Earl of Chester at England between 1121 and 1129 and Viscount of Avranches at Normandy, France, between 1121 and 1129.

He was commander of the Royal Forces in 1124 at Normandy, France. Viscount of Bayeaux at Normandy, France, in 1129. He was the predecessor of Ranulph de Gernon, 5th Earl of Chester, Viscount of Avranches.

Ranulphwas buried in Abbey of St. Werburg's, Chester, England. He died circa 1129.


http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p362.htm#i14644

Buried:
Chester Abbey

Ranulf — Lucy of Bolingbroke. Lucy (daughter of Thorold of Lincoln) was born Abt 1066; died Abt 1138. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 8739

Other Events:

• Name: Robert of Caen
• Reference Number: 15921

Notes:

Robert Fitzroy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (before 1100 - 31 October 1147) was an illegitimate son of King Henry I of England. He was called "Rufus" and occasionally "de Caen" , he is also known as Robert "the Consul". He was the half-brother of the Empress Matilda, and her chief military supporter during the civil war known as The Anarchy, in which she vied with Stephen of Blois for the throne of England.

Robert was probably the eldest of Henry's many illegitimate children. He was born before his father's accession to the English throne.[3] His mother may have been Nesta, daughter of Rhys ap Tudor. However, his mother has also been identified as a member of "the Gay or Gayt family of north Oxfordshire", possibly a daughter of Rainald Gay (fl. 1086) of Hampton Gay and Northbrook Gay in Oxfordshire. Rainald had known issue Robert Gaay of Hampton (died c. 1138) and Stephen Gay of Northbrook (died after 1154). A number of Oxfordshire women feature as the mothers of Robert's siblings.

He may have been a native of Caen or he may have been only Constable and Governor of that city, jure uxoris.

His father had contracted him in marriage to Mabel, daughter and heir of Robert Fitzhamon, but the marriage was not solemnized until June 1119 at Lisieux,. His wife brought him the substantial honours of Gloucester in England and Glamorgan in Wales, and the honours of Sainte-Scholasse-sur-Sarthe and Évrecy in Normandy, as well as Creully. After the White Ship disaster late in 1120, and probably because of this marriage, in 1121 or 1122 his father created him Earl of Gloucester.

Robert of Caen was the father of Maud of Gloucester, also called Maud FitzRobert. She married Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester, also known as Ranulf le Meschin.

There is evidence in the contemporary source, the Gesta Stephani, that Robert was proposed by some as a candidate for the throne, but his illegitimacy ruled him out:

"Among others came Robert, Earl of Gloucester, son of King Henry, but a bastard, a man of proved talent and admirable wisdom. When he was advised, as the story went, to claim the throne on his father's death, deterred by sounder advice he by no means assented, saying it was fairer to yield it to his sister's son (the future Henry II of England), than presumptuously to arrogate it to himself."

This suggestion cannot have led to any idea that he and Stephen were rivals for the Crown, as Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1136 referred to Robert as one of the 'pillars' of the new King's rule.

The capture of King Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln on February 2, 1141 gave the Empress Matilda the upper hand in her battle for the throne, but by alienating the citizens of London she failed to be crowned Queen. Her forces were defeated at the Rout of Winchester on September 14, 1141, and Robert of Gloucester was captured nearby at Stockbridge.

The two prisoners, King Stephen and Robert of Gloucester, were then exchanged, but by freeing Stephen, the Empress Matilda had given up her best chance of becoming queen. She later returned to France, where she died in 1167, though her son succeeded Stephen as King Henry II in 1154.

Robert of Gloucester died in 1147 at Bristol Castle, where he had previously imprisoned King Stephen, and was buried at St James' Priory, Bristol, which he had founded.


Buried:
St James' Priory

Died:
Bristol Castle

Robert — Mabel Fitzhamon. Mabel (daughter of Robert Fitzhamon and Sybil De Montgomery) was born 1090, Gloucestershire, England; died 29 Sep 1157, Bristol, Somerset, England. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15922

Notes:

Mabel FitzHamon of Gloucester, Countess of Gloucester (1090 - 29 September 1157) was an Anglo-Norman noblewoman, and a wealthy heiress who brought the lordship of Gloucester, among other prestigious honours to her husband, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester upon their marriage. He was the illegitimate son of King Henry I of England.

Her own father was Robert Fitzhamon, Lord of Gloucester and Glamorgan. As she was the eldest daughter of four, and her younger sisters had become nuns, Mabel inherited all of his honours and properties upon his death in 1107.

As Countess of Gloucester, Mabel was significant politically and she exercised an important administrative role in the lordship.

Mabel was born in Gloucestershire, England in 1090, the eldest of the four daughters of Robert FitzHamon, Lord of Gloucester and Glamorgan, and his wife, Sybil de Montgomery. Her three younger sisters, Hawise, Cecile and Amice all became nuns, making Mabel the sole heiress to her father's lordships and vast estates in England, Wales, and Normandy.

Her paternal grandfather was Hamon, Sheriff of Kent, and her maternal grandparents were Roger de Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Mabel Talvas of Belleme.

In March 1107, her father died in Normandy, leaving his lordships and estates to Mabel. Her mother married secondly Jean, Sire de Raimes.

In 1107, Mabel married Robert of Caen, an illegitimate son of King Henry I by his mistress Sybil Corbet. Their marriage is recorded by Orderic Vitalis who also names her parents. He would later become an important figure during the turbulent period in English history known as The Anarchy which occurred in the reign of King Stephen of England. Throughout the civil war, he was a loyal supporter of his half-sister Empress Matilda who would make him the chief commander of her army. He had originally sworn fealty to King Stephen, but after quarrelling with him in 1137, his English and Welsh possessions were forfeited, and thus he joined forces with Matilda.

Mabel brought to her husband, the honours of Gloucester in England, Glamorgan in Wales, Sainte-Scholasse-sur-Sarthe, Evrecy and Creully in Normandy. By right of his wife, he became the 2nd Lord of Glamorgan, and gained possession of her father's castle of Cardiff in Wales. In August 1122, he was created 1st Earl of Gloucester; henceforth, Mabel was styled as Countess of Gloucester.

As countess, Mabel exercised a prominent administrative role in the Gloucester lordship. Her political importance was evident when she was made responsible for seeing that her husband upheld his side of the agreement in the treaty he made with Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford. She also witnessed four of Robert's charters; as well as giving her personal consent for his foundation of the Abbey of Margam, whose endowment came from her own lands. Later, after Robert's death, Mabel assumed control of the honour of Gloucester's Norman lands on behalf of her eldest son William.

Together Robert and Mabel had at least eight children:

William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (23 November 1112- 23 November 1183), married Hawise de Beaumont by whom he had five children, including Isabella of Gloucester, the first wife of King John of England, and Amice FitzRobert, Countess of Gloucester.
Roger, Bishop of Worcester (died 9 August 1179)
Hamon FitzRobert, (died 1159), killed in the Siege of Toulouse.
Robert FitzRobert of Ilchester (died before 1157), married Hawise de Redvers, by whom he had a daughter Mabel who in her turn married Jordan de Cambernon.
Richard FitzRobert, Sire de Creully (died 1175), inherited the seigneury of Creully from Mabel, and became the ancestor of the Sires de Creully. He married the daughter of Hughes de Montfort by whom he had five children.
Philip FitzRobert, (died after 1147), Castellan of Cricklade. He took part in the Second Crusade.
Maud FitzRobert (died 29 July 1190), married Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester by whom she had three children.
Mabel FitzRobert, married Aubrey de Vere
Robert also sired an illegitimate son, Richard, Bishop of Bayeux by Isabel de Douvres.

Mabel's husband died on 31 October 1147. Mabel herself died on 29 September 1157 in Bristol at the age of sixty-seven years.