McDonald and Potts family tree - black Hebrew Yahya » Ranulf de Blundeville "Ranulph" de Meschines 6th Earl of Chester, Earl of Lincoln, Magna Carta Surety (± 1170-1232)

Persoonlijke gegevens Ranulf de Blundeville "Ranulph" de Meschines 6th Earl of Chester, Earl of Lincoln, Magna Carta Surety 

• Roepnaam is Ranulph.
• Hij is geboren rond 1170 in Oswestry, Powis, Wales.
• Beroep: Earl of Chester, 6th Earl of Chester, SIXTH EARL OF CHESTER.
• (MARR) rond oktober 1200 in Of, Normandy, France: Spouse: Clemence de Fougeres, Chester.
• Hij is overleden op 28 oktober 1232 in Wallingford, Berkshire, England.
• Hij is begraven op 3 november 1232 in St Werburg`s, Chester, Cheshire, England.
• Een kind van Hugh de Kevelioc en Bertrade d'Evereux de Montfort

Gezin van Ranulf de Blundeville "Ranulph" de Meschines 6th Earl of Chester, Earl of Lincoln, Magna Carta Surety

Notities over Ranulf de Blundeville "Ranulph" de Meschines 6th Earl of Chester, Earl of Lincoln, Magna Carta Surety

Ranulf died childless, though he was a stepfather to Arthur of Brittany, who was declared successor to the throne of King Richard I but then died of mysterious circumstancesRVILLE was created the Earl of Lincoln 23 MAY 1217. He transferred the title to his sister Hawise upon his death, 28 OCT 1232, and the same title was confirmed to her son-in-law, John de LACY, on 22 NOV in the same year.nulf de Blondeville "The Good" (1181-1232: Fourth Earl), the widow of Henry II’s son Geoffrey, and the mother of Arthur of Brittany, with whom King John contested the succession. They were divorced in 1199.daughter of William of Fougères, widow of Alan de Dinant, and sister of Geoffrey of Fougères. ), Earl Ranulf & his [second] wife had one child: ugh the primary source on which this is based has not yet been identified. Assuming that Marguerite was the daughter of Earl Ranulf, it is more probable that she was his daughter by his second wife as no record has been found of her claiming the succession to Brittany, despite what would have been her superior claim to her younger half-sister Alix. The "Genealogia Comitum Richemundiæ" records the second marriage of "Constantia filia Conani" and "Ranulphus Comes Cestriæ" was childless. The primary source which confirms her marriage has not yet been identified. Marguerite is said to have married, as his first wife, GEOFFROY [I] Vicomte de Rohan, son of ALAIN [IV] Vicomte de Rohan & his wife Mabile de Fougères (-15 Sep 1221). ter otherwise known as Ranulph IV de Meschines (1172-1232) was said to have been small in physical stature. He succeeded to the title of Vicomte d'Avranches [Normandy] and the earldom of Chester (like his father before him) as a minor in 1181 (aged 9) and attained his majority (at 16) in 1187. He has been described as “almost the last relic of the great feudal aristocracy of the conquest”. During his minority his inheritance was administered first by Gilbert Pipard and later by Bertram de Verdon.ry II he married (in 1189) Constance of Brittany, widow of Henry II's son Geoffrey. Somewhat strangely, Ranulf became father to the heir to the English throne when (in 1191) Richard I declared Ranulf's stepson Arthur of Brittany as successor instead of Richard I's brother John. Ranulf would oppose John's attempted coup (of 1193), but also imprisoned his then-estranged wife in 1196. His stepson Arthur was to die in mysterious circumstances after king Richard I died (in 1199) and John grasped the throne. The otherwise childless Ranulf's true feelings towards the stepson Arthur are difficult to fathom. Towards the end of his life Ranulf was powerful enough to defy the Henry III's collection of taxes and begin (in 1225) the construction of Beeston Castle, unfinished at the time of his death (in 1232). Beeston can be seen as a political statement of his own authority. After Ranulf's death the earldom passed to John Canmore - earl for five years (died 1237). Thereafter the earldom was taken by the crown. It is possible that Henry's acquisition of the earldom was a measure intended to prevent anyone else ever getting into as strong a position as Ranulf.e, succeeded to the title of Vicomte d'Avranches [Normandy] in 1181. He was invested as a Knight on 1 January 1187/88 at Caen, Normandy, France. He was styled as Duc de Bretagne between 1189 and 1199 and as Earl of Richmond between 1189 and 1199. A commander of the forces of King Richard I in 1194, he also fought in the Wars with the Welsh between 1209 and 1214. He held the office of Governor of Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1215, and also of Governor of the Peak Castle and Forest. He fought in the defeat of the rebels under the Count of Perche in April 1217, as a Commander of the Royal Army. He was created 1st Earl of Lincoln on 23 May 1217, and held the office of Steward of the Honour of Lancashire. He held the office of Sheriff of Lancashire, Sheriff of Staffordshire and Sheriff of Shropshire. The city of Chester, in Ranulf’s time was a prosperous port described by the monk Lucian as follows:uth side where ships from Aquitaine, Spain, Ireland and Germany unload their cargoes of wine and other merchandise. The daily tides provide a flourishing fish trade and its rising and falling makes a wide expanse of both water and sand. ture in the current arms of the city and in the arms of the "Chester Herald". The arms can be found on the Eastgate Clock. The arms of the city are made up in part of de Blundeville's three sheaves of corn, and the symbols are also used in the logo of the unitary authority of City of Chester and West Cheshire. The arms also features in the assay mark for the Chester Assay Office. More on local heraldry can be found on Cheshire heraldryof Ireland:it. Ceteri vero Anglie cc justicie et primores cum ejus (?) sociis apud Cestria iter navale arripiunt. Eodem anno interfectus Hugo de Lacy a quodam Hiberniense in Hibernia. Quo audito Henricus rex preparuit Johannem filium suum iterum mittere in Hibernia. Qui Johannes veniens Cestriam dum ventum ibi expectat, nuntiatur patri suo mors Galfridi fratris sui comitis de Britania. Qua audita Henricus rex revocare fecit Johannem filium suum et misit in Hiberniam Phillippum de Wigornia cum aliis quam paucis. ships, arrived by sea at Pembroke in Wales. On the Sunday after Easter he started for Ireland in order to be crowned king there. But two hundred other justices and nobles of England, with his [their ?] companions, commence their sea voyage to Ireland at Chester. The same year Hugh de Lacy was killed in Ireland by a certain Irishman. When king Henry heard of it, he prepared to send his son John again into Ireland. But when John had come to Chester, and was waiting for a [favourable] wind, the death of his brother Geoffry, count of Brittany, is announced to his father; when Henry heard of this, he caused his son John to be recalled, and sent Philip of Worcester with a very few others to Ireland. th at Blanville (hence "deBlanville - one of the many spellings of his name) near Avranches in Normandy, others at Oswestry in Shropshire. In the same year his father Earl of Chester Hugh of Cyfeiliog was reported in the Chester Annals to have built a mound at Boughton out of the heads of Welshmen killed at the 'bridge of Baldert', possibly Balderton (in Dodleston), south of Chester. Hugh of Cyfeiliog. In 1173, (aged 26) Hugh stuck with family tradition and joined the baronial Revolt of 1173-1174 against Henry II. Hugh was captured, deprived of his lands and had them partially restored in 1177, and then died (30 June 1181 - aged 34) at Leek, Staffordshire. It has been suggested that Hugh was poisoned, like his father before him.'s court at Domfront in Normandy. He was not quite a prisoner. His early companions would have included Constance of Brittany, whom he was later to marry, and possibly also Otto of Brunswick (born 1175).ster before travelling to Ireland with John, son of Henry II, in 1185 and receiving grants of Ardee in Louth and most of Monaghan. He went on crusade with Richard I and died at Brindisi in 1191. Bertram de Verdon (III) was sheriff of Leicestershire until 1183 and deeply religious man accompanying Henry II on his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella in North of Spain. After King John's first expedition to Ireland, Bertram held the town of Dundalk and several castles in Louth. Following Henry’s death Bertram III remained an influential figure with Richard I and became his castellan, went on the Third Crusade with Richard, was governor of Saint-John of Acre and died at Jaffa in 1191.e crown and strong sense of honour which was a characteristic of his long tenure as Earl. Another major influence would have been his tutor "Alexander son of Ralph", almost certainly a minor Norman steward who married Annabella de Savage, daughter of a Norman lord from Caen. In his teens he would have also received some "education" from Sir Ralph Mainwaring, who had served Ranulf's father and was his half-sister's husband. Whether the half-sister was legitimate was an argument that was to go on for centuries. In his 1673 "Historical antiquities in two books; the first treating in general of Great Britain and Ireland; the second containing particular remarks concerning Cheshire, and chiefly of the Bucklow hundred. Whereunto is annexed a transcript of Domesday-Book, so far as it concerneth Cheshire"; (usually referred to with the shorter title of Historical antiquities), Peter Leycester presented a discussion as to whether or not she was the lawful daughter of Earl Hugh of Cyfeiliog. This led to a dispute with Sir Thomas Mainwaring of Peover (one of her descendants), who in 1673 published a Defence of Amicia. Leycester replied later that year with "An Answer to the Book of Sir Thomas Manwaringe". After this there followed a paper war of 15 pamphlets (sources can be found here). In 1675 the justices itinerant at Chester assizes declared in favour of Amicia's legitimacy. Whether there is a link between Ralph Mainwaring and Fulk FitzWarren (of which more below) has never been clearly decided. 1161 Bretagne – died September 5, 1201 Nantes) at 29 already the widow of Henry II’s son Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany. The Chester annals records it as follows:e year Randle Blundeville, earl of Chester, was knighted by Henry, king of England, on the feast of the Circumcision of our Lord (January 1, 1189 N. S.) at Caen. To whom also Henry, king of England, gave as a wife the countess of Brittany, widow of his son Geoffry, and daughter of Alan (Conan), count of Brittany, Constance by name, with all the county of Richmond; the said Randle, earl of Chester, married her on the feast of S. Werburg the Virgin, that is, February 3. 9). Indeed even at his birth some thought that Arthur should eventually become king:87, six months after the death of his father. He was the first grandson of Henry II., for the graceless young King Henry had died childless. Richard was still unmarried, and the elder child of Geoffrey was a daughter named Eleanor; his birth was therefore the subject of universal joy. There was a prophecy of Merlin, that King Arthur should re-appear from the realm of the fairy Morgana, who had borne him away in his death-like trance after the battle of Camelford, and returning in the form of a child, should conquer England from the Saxon race, and restore the splendours of the British Pendragons. The Bretons, resolved to see in their infant duke this champion of their glories, overlooked the hated Angevin and Norman blood that flowed in his veins, and insisted on his receiving their beloved name of Arthur. Thanksgivings were poured forth in all the churches in Brittany, and the altars and shrines at the sacred fountains were adorned with wreaths of flowers. shment is sometime added to this tale:ld traditions declared, had been buried between two-pyramids within the Abbey. There, in fact, at some distance beneath the surface, was found a leaden cross inscribed with the words, 'Here lies Arthur, Once and Future King' tonbury managed to boost the number of pilgrims visiting them. One chronicler who appears to have a rather low opinion of Ranulf of Chester puts the events which ensued as follows:red Brittany, assembled the States at Nantes, and claimed the guardianship of his grandson's person and domains. They were at first intimidated by his threats, but Constance showed so much spirit that she obtained the keeping of her son, and the immediate government, though she was not to act without the advice and consent of the King of England, who received the oaths of the barons present. The widowed heiress suffered much persecution from the different suitors for her hand, among whom figured her brother-in-law, John Lackland; and Henry, fearing her marriage with some powerful prince, so tormented her by threats of removing her son from her charge, that he forced her into a marriage with Ranulf de Blondeville, Count of Chester, grandson to an illegitimate son of Henry I., a man of violent and ambitious temper, and of mean and ungraceful appearance. In a dispute which took place between him and the Count de Perche, in Lincoln Cathedral, the latter contemptuously called him a dwarf. ' Sayest thou so,' cried Ranulf, 'ere long I shall seem to thee as high as that steeple !' and his words were fulfilled when, as Duke of Brittany, he claimed the allegiance of the count. He made himself extremely hated in Brittany by his cruelty and injustice; and no sooner had the news arrived of the death of Henry II., than the people rose with one consent, drove him away, and restored the power to Constance. Richard I. did not interfere in his behalf, and appeared favourable to his nephew Arthur; acknowledging him as heir presumptive of England, and when at Messina, betrothing him to the daughter of Taucred, King of Sicily. ther for their father's possessions on the continent. The situation was exacerbated by French rebels and the king of France, Philip Augustus. On 11 June 1183, Henry the Young King died causing things to settle down for a while. The final battle between Henry's Princes came in 1184. Geoffrey of Brittany and John of Ireland, the youngest brothers, had been promised Aquitaine, which belonged to elder brother Richard. Geoffrey and John invaded, but Richard had been controlling an army for almost 10 years was an accomplished military commander and was able to expell his fickle brothers. In 1186, with the death of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (trampled to death at a tournament) an unstable Brittany threatened the delicate balance of power between France and England. Matters became worse in 1187 when to strengthen his position, Richard allied himself with 22-year-old Philip II, who was the son of Eleanor's ex-husband Louis VII by his third wife, Adele of Champagne. Roger of Hoveden wrote:pose of recalling his son Richard; who, pretending that he was peaceably inclined and ready to come to his father, made his way to Chinon, and, in spite of the person who had the custody thereof, carried off the greater part of his father's treasures, and fortified his castles in Poitou with the same, refusing to go to his father." ance. They were married on 3rd February 1189 (the feast of St Werburgh).raditionally, Henry's dying words are supposed to have been, "Shame, shame on a conquered king," referring to his sons' insurrections. His legitimate children, chroniclers record him saying, were "the real bastards". When Richard I died (in 1199), John did not gain immediate universal recognition as king as some regarded his young nephew as the rightful heir. Already by 1189 the aging Henry II did not trust the Countess and wanted her married to a magnate he could trust. The marriage gave Ranulf control of the earldom of Richmond and the duchy of Brittany, but was not a success.h were laid out the royal insignia and garments; following them was the Earl of Chester, holding up high the crown, which was of gold and wonderfully set with jewels. Little St Johns) was founded by Earl Ranulph - its site is now the Blue Coat School. "St. John without the Northgate" was established by Ranulf to care for the poor, but seems to have had a limited parochial function - it was allowed to offer the sacrament to visiting strangers, and, by permission of St. Werburgh's and St. John's, to bury the poor who died there, the brethren themselves, and those in confraternity with them.lacres) has Ranulf travelling with King Richard in Crusade in 1190, although the veracity of this is doubted (Ralph of Coggeshall and Roger of Hoveden, who was with Richard, do not mention Ranulf). In September 1190 both King Richard and Philip the French King arrived in Sicily on their way to the Third Crusade. After the death of King William II of Sicily, his cousin Tancred seized power and was crowned early in 1190 as King Tancred I, although the legal heir was William's aunt Constance, wife of the new Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. Tancred had also imprisoned William's widow, Queen Joan, who was King Richard's sister. When Richard arrived, he demanded that his sister be released and given her inheritance. The people of Messina then revolted, demanding that the foreigners leave. Richard attacked Messina, capturing it on October 4, 1190 and looting and burning the city. Tancred finally agreed to sign a treaty on March 4, 1191. The treaty was signed by Richard, Philip and Tancred. Its main terms were: vowed to keep the peace between all three of their kingdoms.Arthur when he came of age.ing Arthur. ed into the political in-fighting that started almost as soon as Richard had left the country. Richard had appointed William Longchamp (Lord Chancellor, Chief Justiciar, and Bishop of Ely) to govern England while he was away, but Longchamp's authority was challenged by John, who eventually succeeded in driving Longchamp from power. Throughout 1190, Longchamp's relations with John were difficult and this led to Longchamp besieging Lincoln Castle because the castellan would not surrender the castle and allow himself to be replaced by Longchamp's nominee. The castellan, Gerard de Camville, had sworn allegiance to John and stated he would no longer recognise the chancellor's authority. In response, John took the two castles of Tickhill and Northampton. News of the dispute reached Richard, who sent Walter de Coutances, the Archbishop of Rouen, to England in late spring 1191, with orders to negotiate a peace between John and Longchamp. Walter brokered a compromise between the two as a result of which Gerard was confirmed as castellan and John relinquished the castles. Longchamp also agreed to work to ensure John's succession to the throne in the event of Richard's death but the intense propaganda campaign led by John continued through 1191. One of the leaders of the campaign against Longchamp was Hugh Nonant, Bishop of Chester, and he convened a trial on 5 October 1191. Longchamp did not attend, but he was deposed and excommunicated, and after trying to hold the Tower of London, was forced to surrender due to lack of support from the citizens of London. He attempted to leave England in various disguises, including a monk's habit and women's clothes (Hugh Nonant wrote that Longchamp attempted on one occasion to hide dressed as a prostitute, which led to him being assaulted by a fisherman who mistook him for a whore). Nonant had already come into conflict with Ranulf as he started to tax Ranulf's property. In July 1192 Ranulf, short of powerful allies, was forced to "donate" control of property to Nonant. Later the same year disaster struck when Richard I was captured while returning from Crusade and began over a year of captivity.e in the kings court. This involved the sponsorship of Richard's new Justicar, Walter de Coutances and Ranulf would now for the first time serve alongside Willam Marshall, generally regarded as one of the major soldiers and statesmen of the age. At around the same time his sister married William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby. Now allied to a powerful faction, Ranulph opposed John's attempted coups of 1193-4, besieging John at Windsor castle in 1193. Nonant was soon to fall from power and the properties that Ranulf had been forced to hand over in 1192 were returned (Nonant died in 1198). While plotting at home John was in deep trouble in France - at the start of 1193, John had paid a visit to Philip II in Paris where he paid homage for Richard’s French lands. When word reached Philip that Richard had finished crusading and had been captured on his way back from Holy Land, Philip promptly invaded the Vexin. His first target was the fortress of Gisors, which surrendered without putting up a struggle. Philip then penetrated deep into Normandy, reaching as far as Dieppe. To keep the duplicitous John on side, Philip entrusted the defense of the town of Evreux over to him. Meanwhile, Philip was joined by Count Baldwin of Flanders, and together they laid siege to the ducal capital of Normandy, Rouen. Here, Philip’s advance was halted. who was aware that Richard was returning to England. In March 1194 in the company of Earl David (Ceannmhor) of Huntingdon, Ranulf played a role in besieging and taking Nottingham Castle. Roger de Hoveden thus describes the siege:ingdon brought-up siege engines including (in its first use in England) a revolutionary machine designed to throw "Greek-Fire". Also present at Nottingham was "Master Urric" one of the King Richard's "ingeniatores", who seems to have regularly accompanied the royal siege train and specialised in the construction of specialist engines. It is likely that Richard had obtained this technology - which would be lacking to John's garrison - from his experience on the Third Crusade, where the Turks had made extensive use of Greek fire, notably in the defence of Acre. Intriguingly, the Pipe Rolls not only reveal the expenses paid for crossbowmen sent to Nottingham, but also those of "quodam Saraceno et quodam Griffon". Greek engineers, some of whom Richard may have encountered in Sicily or Cyprus, were regarded as highly skilled siege technicians.his ways, who, being pricked by his evil conscience, had fled from the face of the king of England into France, also appeased the king with no small sum of money; and having recovered his bishopric, he afterwards took care to make himself useful more in the affairs of the king than in the duties of his pastoral office. tminster tells us that Ranulf was one of the three "sword bearers":ervice, one of the three swords which were brought forward out of the king's treasury ; and the two counts, Hamelin de Warenne on the right hand of the king of Scotland, and Ranulph, earl of Chester, on his left hand) carried the two other swords. s coram archiepiscopo Huberto Cantuariensi contra Robertum de Hastinges quondam abbatem Cestrie tandem patrocinante Sancta Werburga et glorioso Comite Cestrensi Rannulpho Galfridus optinuit dignitatem suam reddendo annuatim supradicto Roberto de Hastinges xx marcas duobus terminis et sic pacificati sunt. litigation with Robert de Hastings the former abbot, before Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury; at last, by the assistance of S. Werburg, and of the glorious earl Randle, of Chester, Geoffry obtained his dignity on the terms of paying an annual pension to the above-mentioned Robert de Hastings of twenty marks by two half-yearly payments; and so peace was made between them. ost completely estranged from his wife Constance, and in 1195, together with Richard, hatched a plot to weaken the power of Constance. An unstable Britanny was once again threatening the balance of power with France. The plot was probably put together in March 1195 when Ranulf and Richard met at Ranulf's castle of St-James-de-Beuvron to sign a charter relating to St Marie de Maontmorel. Also present were Roger of Chester (Ranulf's half-brother), Roger de Lacy (Constable of Chester), Baldwin Wake and William de Verdun. The plan was to capture Constance and Arthur after luring them to discussions regarding Arthur's right to the English crown. Ranulph captured and imprisoned his wife in 1196, but Arthur escaped, an act that sparked a rebellion in Constance's native Brittany:who was now nine years Old, was in 1196 introduced by his mother to the assembly of the states of Brittany, and associated with her in the duchy. His uncle at the same time claimed the charge of him as his heir, and invited Constance to a conference at Pontorson. On her way, it is much to be feared with his connivance, she was seized by a body of troops under her husband, the Earl of Chester, and carried a prisoner to the castle of St.James de Beuvron. lip II. Finally in 1198 Constance was released, and shortly thereafter had her marriage to Ranulf annulled (the grounds, according to "The Judges of England" (Edward Foss, 1848) are curious: "by reason that King John haunted her company"). to Château-Gaillard where Richard intended to build a castle, perched high above the River Seine, an important transport route. Under the terms of the Peace of Louviers (December 1195) between Richard and Philip II neither was allowed to fortify the site; despite this, Richard intended to build a castle to fill a gap in the Norman defences left by the fall of Château de Gisors and to act as a base from which Richard could launch his campaign to take back the Vexin from French control. Richard tried to obtain the manor through negotiation but Walter de Coutances, Archibishop of Rouen, was reluctant to sell the manor as it was one of the diocese's most profitable, but Richard grew tired of waiting and seized the manor. Walter de Coutances left for Rome in November 1196 in an attempt to get Pope Celestine III to intercede,. Richard sent a delegation to represent him in Rome. One of the party, Richard's Lord Chancellor William Longchamp (no longer dressed as a woman), died during the journey. Walter de Coutances meanwhile issued an interdict against the duchy of Normandy which prohibited church services from being performed in the region. Roger of Howden detailed "the unburied bodies of the dead lying in the streets and square of the cities of Normandy". Construction began with the interdict hanging over Normandy, but it was later repealed in April 1197 by Celestine, after Richard made gifts of land to de Coutances. Work at Château-Gaillard cost an estimated £15,000 to £20,000 between 1196 and 1198. According to William of Newburgh, in May 1198 Richard and the labourers working on the castle were drenched in a "rain of blood". While some of his advisers thought the rain was an evil omen, Richard was undeterred.it the pace of work, in which he took such keen pleasure that, unless I am mistaken, even if an angel had descended from heaven to urge its abandonment he would have been roundly cursed. en Phillip and Richard continued - by the fall of 1198, Richard had regained almost all that had been lost in 1193. The castle of Château-Gaillard became Richard's favourite residence, and writs and charters written there are signed "apud Bellum Castrum de Rupe" (at the Fair Castle of the Rock). Richard did not enjoy the benefits of the castle for long, however, as he died in Normandy on 6 April 1199, from an infected arrow wound to his shoulder, sustained while besieging Châlus.r John. John's succession was not uncontested as Arthur of Britany also had a claim to the throne - his mother (Ranulf's wife) the Duchess of Britany had already (in 1194) abdicated in his favour and had the young Arthur proclaimed duke of Brittany as a child of seven years.re were genuine doubts about who was the rightful successor. On the death of Richard, Philip II of France recognized Arthur's right to Brittany, Anjou, Maine, and Poitou, Arthur having invaded the last-named. In return for this Arthur agreed to become the vassal of the king of France. Ralph de Fougeres - his father's old ally in the revolt against Henry II). On September 5, 1201 his ex-wife Constance died at Nantes, but not before marrying Guy of Thouars and becoming the mother of twin daughters; Alix and Katherine of Thouars. Constance's cause of death is debated - some historians believe she died of leprosy. Others believe she died from complications after giving birth to twin girls. Other cite a combination of both. Constance has several eloquent speeches concerning grief and death in Shakespeare's play King John - Ranulf does not feature at all.hur (aged about 15) was surprised by forces of King John while besieging Mirabeau and his octagenarian grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine. John for once showing the boldness of his Angevin roots, covered the eighty miles from Le Mans in fouty-eight hours. After his capture by John's Barons, Arthur was imprisoned at Falaise in Normandy, guarded by Hubert de Burgh.n France and his continued loyalty was bought by Richard by John with further patronage. One of Ranulf's charters from this period survives in Coventry. However trouble was brewing back at home in Chester. In 1194, with the aid of his cousins Gruffudd ap Cynan and Maredudd ap Cynan, Llyewlyn "the Great" defeated Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd at the battle of Aberconwy. In 1197 Llywelyn captured Dafydd and imprisoned him. In 1199, Llywelyn laid siege to Mold and took the town on the 6th of January. The constable of Chester, together with the local baron (Ralph de Montalt) were killed. in 1201, John was able to broker a peace treaty with Llyewlyn. Llywelyn consolidated his position in 1205 by marrying Joan, the natural daughter of King John. Peace was only to last until 1210.contacts with supporters of his former stepson Arthur who vanished mysteriously in April 1203 (aged 16). Arthur's eventual fate is unclear, one account was that one of Arthur's jailers (Hubert de Burgh) feared to harm Arthur when ordered to blind and castrate him, and so he was murdered by John directly and his body dumped in the Seine. Other variants on the tale place the guilt with William de Braose who was put in charge of Arthur of Brittany in 1203 - William had personally captured Arthur the previous year at the Battle of Mirabeau. The Margam annals provide the following account of Arthur's death at the hands of John in a typical Angevin rage:ng John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time, at length, in the castle of Rouen, after dinner on the Thursday before Easter, when he was inebriated and filled with the devil (ebrius et daemonio plenus), he slew him with his own hand, and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine. It was discovered by a fisherman in his net, and being dragged to the bank and recognized, was taken for secret burial, in fear of the tyrant [John], to the priory of Bec called Notre Dame de Pres. 1206 King John gave William de Braose the three great neighbouring trilateral castles of Gwent (Skenfrith Castle, Grosmont Castle, and White Castle). These have been interpreted as bribes encouraging silence on the demise of Arthur, seen by many as a rightful heir to the throne. Some years later, after conflict with King John, William de Braose's wife Maud de Braose personally and directly accused the King of murdering Arthur, which resulted in Maud and her eldest son, also William, being imprisoned and starved to death in Windsor Castle. William de Braose escaped (in disguise as a beggar) to France, where he was supposed to have published a statement on what happened to Arthur, but no copy has been found. William Camden writes:lled King John into question as Duke of Normandie. And notwithstanding he was absent, and not heard once to plead, neither confessing ought nor convicted, yet by a definitive sentence they condemned him and awarded from him Normandie and his possessions in France, albeit himselfe had promised, under safe conduct, to appeere in personally at Paris, there to make answere as touching the death of Arthur, who as a liege subject had bound himselfe by oath to bee true and loyall unto him, and yet started backe from his allegeance, raised a rebellion, and was taken prisoner in battaile. At which time this question was debated, whether the Peeres of France might give judgement of a King annointed, and therefore superiour, considering that a greater dignity drowneth the lesse, and now one and the same person was both King of England and Duke of Normandie. But whither do I digresse? After Arthur, there succeeded orderly in the Earldome of Richmond Guy Vicount of Thouars, unto whom the foresaid Constance was secondly married. Ranulph the third, Earle of Chester, the third husband of the said Constance. ly on that of Arthur (who dies falling from a wall while trying to escape from his prison). In reality, 14 years passed between the death of Arthur and that of John. Arthur is also the principal character of am alternative history novel by the eccentric English writer Frederick Rolfe ('Baron Corvo'), entitled "Hubert's Arthur", posthumously published by A. J. A. Symons in 1935. This is presented as the lengthy narrative of the aged Hubert de Burgh, who is supposed to have saved Arthur's life and accompanied him on crusade to the Holy Land, where he becomes King of Jerusalem and eventually returns to England, defeats King John and kills his son Henry Plantagenet (the historical Henry III) in single combat. The remainder of the book details the prosperous reign of King Arthur, his defeat of the Barons under Simon de Montfort, and his eventual miraculous death.pt Lackelandedaye204-5, Ranulph, suspected of dealings with the rebellious Welsh and of contemplating revolt himself, had extensive estates temporarily confiscated by king John. There may well have been good grounds for the Kings suspicions, as Ranulph later made an alliance with Llywelyn the Great (effectively Prince of Wales), whose daughter Elen married de Blondeville's nephew and heir, John the Scot, in about 1222. It seems that the rift with the king was soon healed as John granted Ranulf the right to hold a weekly Wednesday market and an annual seven-day fair in Leek in 1207.hn’s Welsh wars 1210-12. While John led a campaign against de Braose and his allies in Ireland, an army led by Earl Ranulph of Chester and Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, invaded Gwynedd. Llywelyn destroyed his own castle at Deganwy and retreated west of the River Conwy. The Earl of Chester rebuilt Deganwy (the castle was later demolished by Edward I when Conwy Castle was built opposite), and Llywelyn retaliated by ravaging the earl's lands. It is from this time that a curious tale arises regarding Rhuddlan castle. In 1211, Roger de Lacy rescued Ranulf from Llywelyn's siege at Rhuddlan by collecting a body of "players, fiddlers and other loose persons" from the midsummer fair. This led to the Dutton/Button family being granted the right to hold the "Minstrel Court,"in exercise of a privilege and jurisdiction attached to the Button estate; which, from its curious incidents and long assertion, is worthy of notice. It consisted in a right to license all the minstrels and players of Cheshire, and none were to use minstrelsy within Cheshire or the city of Chester, but by order and licence of the proprietor of the Button estate." Chester, in his charter of foundation of St. Werburgh's Abbey in that city, had granted to them, who should come to Chester fair, that they should not be then apprehended for theft or any other misdemeanour, except the crime were commited during the fair. The consequence of which privilege was, that multitudes of disorderly people resorted thither. Now it came to pass that Ranulph, last Earl of Chester, marching into Wales with a slender attendance, was constrained to retire to his Castle of Rhuddlan, where he was strictly besieged by the Welsh. Finding himself very hard pressed, he contrived to give notice of his danger to Roger Lacy, Constable of Chester, who taking advantage of the number of the minstrels and players attending the fair, collected a crowd and marched to Rhuddlan." * "The minstrels, says an old account, "by their music and their songs, so allured and inspirited the multitudes of loose and lawless persons then brought together, that they resolutely marched against the Welsh. Hugh de Dutton, a gallant youth, who was steward to Lacy, put himself at their head. The Welsh, alarmed at the approach of this rabble, supposing them to be a regular body of armed and disciplined soldiers, instantly raised the siege and retired with precipitation." t, who devolved the same again upon Dutton and his heirs. This Hugh de Dutton was the third in descent from the above mentioned Odard, and under him and his descendants, the minstrels who had been his assistants upon this occasion enjoyed for many ages peculiar honour and privileges, and even so late as the reign of Elizabeth, when this profession had fallen into such discredit, that it was considered in law as a nuisance, the minstrels, under the protection of the family of Dutton, are expressly excepted out of all acts of Parliament made for their suppression, and have continued to be excepted ever since." - from "The Patrician" (1848) edited by John Burke. . Chester, deceased, Esq., are "exempt from the pains and penalties of vagrancy". The march of minstrels to Rhuddlan Castle is depicted in the carvings at Chester Town Hall.ure the peace with the Pope Innocent III in 1213-14, and was with the king in Poitou in 1214. In November 1209 King John had managed to get himself excommunicated by the Pope, and in February 1213, Innocent III threatened stronger measures unless John submitted to Papal rulership. The papal terms for submission were accepted in the presence of the papal legate Pandulph in May 1213 (according to Matthew Paris, at the Templar Church at Dover) in addition, John offered to surrender the Kingdom of England to God and the Saints Peter and Paul for a feudal service of 1,000 marks annually, 700 for England and 300 for Ireland. In effect, King John sold the entire country to the Pope.ile north of Leek, possibly on or near the site of a former hermitage. The story is that after the dissolution of his first marriage followed by a second marriage - that is around the time that Arthur was captured - Ranulph had a vision, while in bed, of his grandfather, Ranulf de Gernon. The elder Ranulph told his grandson to go to 'Cholpesdale in the territory of Leek' and found a Cistercian abbey on the site of the former chapel of St. Mary the Virgin there, providing it with buildings and ample possessions. Ranulph went on to command that in the seventh year of the interdict that was to be laid on England his grandson was to transfer to this new site the Cistercians of Poulton (in Pulford, Ches.); this was a daughter-house of Combermere (Ches.) and had been founded in the elder Ranulph's name by Robert the Butler between 1146 and 1153. When Ranulph told his new wife Clemence about his vision and the proposed foundation she exclaimed in French: 'Deux encres' — 'May God grant it increase'. Ranulph thereupon fixed the name of the place as 'Deulencres' and gave it this name when he laid the foundation stone of the abbey.m 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' with Dieulacres - while the authorship is unknown (the author is known as the "Pearl Poet") it may have been written by a monk at the Abbey. Several scholars have attempted to find a real-word correspondence for Gawain's journey to the Green Chapel. The Anglesey islands, for example, are mentioned in the poem. They exist today as a single island off the coast of Wales.[79] In line 700, Gawain is said to pass the "Holy Head", believed by many scholars to be either Holywell or the Cistercian abbey of Poulton in Pulford. Holywell is associated with the beheading of Saint Winifred. As the story goes, Winifred was a virgin who was beheaded by a local leader after she refused his sexual advances. Her uncle, another saint, put her head back in place and healed the wound, leaving only a white scar. The parallels between this story and Gawain's make this area a likely candidate for the journey. Gawain's trek leads him directly into the centre of the "Pearl Poet's" dialect region, where the candidates for the locations of the Castle at Hautdesert and the Green Chapel stand. Hautdesert is thought to be in the area of Swythamley in northwest Midland, as it lies in the writer's dialect area and matches the topographical features described in the poem. The area is also known to have housed all of the animals hunted by Bertilak (deer, boar, fox) in the 14th century. The Green Chapel is thought to be in either Lud's Church or Wetton Mill, as these areas closely match the descriptions given by the author.an invasion fleet to strike at England. However 0n 30th May 1213, the French fleet of 1700 ships heavily laden with supplies and the personal goods of the French barons was surprised at Damme by 500 ships, 700 knights and their attendants, and a large force of mercenaries, under the command of William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury. Most of the French army was away besieging Ghent, and so the fleet was only lightly guarded. The English seized 300 ships which were anchored or beached outside the harbour, and pillagws and burned a hundred more. The next day they attacked the rest of the ships as well as the town itself. They returned to England with the seized ships and a large booty (the biographer of William Marshal claimed "never had so much treasure come into England since the days of King Arthur"). Emboldened by the French losses John decide to invade Poitou in February 1214 and Ranulf (now 44) was placed in command of one wing of the army. John had arranged that the German Emperor Otto IV would attack simultaneously. Few other English magnates joined the campaign due to the fact that John had become almost completely unpopular.Vouvent and capturing Nantes. Unfortunately the northern wing of the invasion force, commanded by William Longespée and Otto IV suffered a crushing defeat at the battle of Bouvines in July 1214. Bouvines was the most important battle for a century - 'the battle that made France'. If Philippe II had lost, the Platagenêts could have won back their lost Norman and Angevin territories, the counts of Flanders could have gained freedom from the French king, and the German emperor might have retained the Lotharingian territories. For England, Philippe II's victory of Bouvines more than confirmed the end of Platagenêt claims to Angevin France and brought John "Lackland" ("Jean sans Terre" to the French) to his lowest ebb - he now had to return to England and explain to the Norman Magnates how he had lost their lands in France. Salisbury Cathedral and when his tomb was opened, in 1791, the well-preserved corpse of a rat which carried traces of arsenic was found inside his skull. The rat is now on display in a case at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum.o on Crusade. In January 1215 William Marshall (who is buried in the nave next to his sons, under one of the 9 marble effigies of medieval knights there) served as a negotiator during a meeting in the Temple between King John and the barons, who demanded that John uphold the rights enshrined the Coronation Charter of Richard I. William swore on behalf of the king that the grievances of the barons would be addressed in the summer, leading to John's signing of Magna Carta in June. Ranulf was one of the few magnates not to witness the Magna Carta of 1215, probably because clause 50 of the charter was directed against several individuals including Engelard de Cigogne who had fought with Ranulf in France:lard de Cigogne, Peter and Guy and Andrew de Chanceaux, Guy de Cigogne, Geoffrey de Martigny and his brothers, Philip Marc and his brothers and his nephew Geoffrey, together with all their adherents, so that henceforth they shall have no office in England. ester) was one of twenty-five barons charged with overseeing the observance of Magna Carta. Because he had signed under duress, however, John received approval from the Pope to break his word after signing (and because he had sold the country to the Pope in 1213, he needed the Pope's approval to sign anything), provoking the "First Barons War" and an invited French invasion by Prince Louis of France (whom the English barons had invited to replace John on the throne). Ranulf once again found himself on the minority side of politics. Only Ranulf, William Marshal (Earl of Pembroke), William de Ferrers (Earl of Derby) and Henry de Beaumont (Earl of Warwick) stood with the King.es that could hold them. Ranulf gained Newcstle-under-Lyme and The Peak Castle in 1215 and in 1216 gained Lancaster. In addition he gained Bridgenorth, Richmond and Middleham. In 1215 John also gave to Ranulf all the rebel-held lands in Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Northampton, Norfolk and Suffolk. At the same time Ranulf's friends were lining up on the side of the king or against him. Some including Saer de Quincy (father-in-law to Ranulf's sister) were persuaded by the rebel cause, while others remained loyal to the crown. The First Barons War raged on, John travelled around the country to oppose the rebel forces, directing, among other operations, a two-month siege of the rebel-held Rochester Castle. Guala Bicchieri, the Papal legate, arrived in England in the midst of the baronial rebellion, when the suspension and exile of archbishop Stephen Langton had left the English church without a leader. Bicchieri was a supporter of King John and as the Pope’s representative, played an important role in stabilizing the English church in the aftermath of this civil war and was instrumental in the reissuing of the Magna Carta.Falkes de Breauté sacked Worcester, which had allied itself with Louis (the sacking included plunder of Worcester Cathedral - John's favoured church). Retreating from the French invasion, John took a safe route around the marshy area of the Wash to avoid the rebel held area of East Anglia. His slow baggage train (including the Crown Jewels), however, took a direct route across it and was lost to the unexpected incoming tide. This dealt John a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind. Succumbing to dysentery and moving from place to place, he stayed one night at Sleaford Castle before dying on 18 October (or possibly 19 October) 1216, at Newark Castle (then in Lincolnshire, now on Nottinghamshire's border with that county). Numerous, possibly fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches". His last wish was that he should be buried in Worcester Cathedral, so recently plundered by Ranulf.0). Louis and his army had landed in England and he was proclaimed King in London in May 1216. Henry's coronation (29th October) was a simple affair, attended by only a handful of noblemen and three bishops. In the absence of a crown (famously lost by his father) a simple golden band was placed on the young boy's head. Legend has it that the 'crown' was made in a hurry from a necklace. Since other English Kings such as Edward V and Edward VIII were not crowned but only proclaimed, and - more to the point - Louis occupied so much of England and was recognised as king by the barons as well as by the king of Scotland, there is a good case for including Louis VIII in the list of Kings of England. On the other hand, John was still alive at the time. about his father, invader and for a short while King of England that Ranulph (now aged 54) would contend for the regency for the young Henry III with William Marshal - however Ranulph soon stated that he did not want to be regent and both William and Ranulph fought against the Thomas Châteaudun, Count of Perche, at the second battle of Lincoln which occurred at Lincoln Castle on 20 May 1217:illelmo Marescallo et ceteris qui cum Rege Johanne [Henrico] tunc temporis tenuerunt in vigilia Sancte Trinitatis. e, earl of Chester, and William Marshal [earl of Pembroke] and others who at this time held with king [Henry]. rtly before the second Battle of Lincoln. Aware that a large English force was approaching their position, the Count and a number of his peers had moved forward (near to a church) to watch the arrival of Henry’s vanguard. Spotting the rather short Ranulph, the Count of Perche shouted to his companions; “Have we stayed all this time for such a little man, such a dwarf?” Outraged Ranulph replied; “I vow to God and Our Lady whose church this is, that before tomorrow evening, I will seem to thee to be greater and stronger than that church steeple”. The Count of Perche was slain during the ensuing battle, having been stabbed through the eye by Sir Reginald Crocus. There are several variants on this story (see above for one) which have the words being exchanged at various places near Lincoln or in the cathedral.ery effort into preparing themselves. When they were well and truly armed, they organised and duly drew up their squadrons, and formed their battalions. The earl of Chester rode out first, a brave and highly experienced knight, with the earl Marshal next, he and his son side by side, both of them having high expectations of advancing their cause to the best of their ability. r rode out first because he had said that of he could not lead the attack he would not be part of it (french text):pleinnement sanz faille, s'il n'a la premiere bataille, qu'il n'ireit ovec els en l'ost, ne de lui n'avreient acost. and, indeed, he told them plainly, without mincing words, that, if he was not given the right to launch the first attack, he would not join them in the army battle became known as "Lincoln Fair". According to Roger of Wendover writing in Flores historiarum (Flowers of History):y the wagons of the barons and the French, with the sumpter-horses, loaded with baggage, silver vessels, and various kinds of furniture and utensils, all which fell into their possession without opposition. Having then plundered the whole city to the last farthing, they next pillaged the churches throughout the city, and broke open the chests and storerooms with axes and hammers, seizing on the gold and silver in them, clothes of all colours, women's ornaments, gold rings, goblets, and jewels. Nor did the cathedral church escape this destruction, but underwent the same punishment as the rest, for the legate had given orders to the knights to treat all the clergy as excommunicated men, inasmuch as they had been enemies to the church of Rome and to the king of England from the commencement of the war; Geoffrey de Drepinges, precentor of this church, lost eleven thousand marks of silver. When they had thus seized on every kind of property, so that nothing remained in any corner of the houses, they each returned to their lords as rich men, and peace with king Henry having been declared by all throughout the city, they ate and drank amidst mirth and festivity. eir allegiance to the new king, and were preparing to besiege Louis in London when the war was terminated by the naval victory of Hubert de Burgh in the straits of Dover. Louis was forced to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.wards as part of the Fifth Crusade. The Annales Cestrienses records that before his departure he made peace with the Welsh:us princeps Wallie, et in Septimana Pentecostes proxima profectus est dominus Rannulphus comes Cestrie Jerosolimam. , prince of Wales, and in the following Whit Week [June 3-9] the lord Randle, earl of Chester, set out for Jerusalem. y the Earls of Derby, Arundel and Winchester. During preparations for the Crusade in 1217, it was decided that Damietta should be the focus of attack as control of Damietta meant control of the Nile, and from there the crusaders believed they would be able to conquer Egypt, attack Palestine and recapture Jerusalem. His journeys are detailed by the Elizabethan writer Richard Hakluyt in "The Principall Navigations, Voiages and Discoveries of the English Nation":iers and men of warre, to ayde the Christians there against the Infidels, which at the same time had besieged the city of Damiata in Egypt. In which enterprise the valiancy of the same earle after his comming thither was to his great praise most apparent There went with him in that iourney Saer de Quincy earle of Winchester, William de Albanie earle of Arundel, besides diuers barons, as the lord Robert fitz Walter, Iohn constable of Chester, William de Harecourt, and Oliuer fitz Roy sonne to the king of England, and diuers others. elek al-Kamil could not defend Damietta. During September 1219, Sultan al-Kamil, offered the Crusaders peace on startling terms – Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem and central Palastine and Galilee, so long as the Crusaders gave up their war in Egypt. Earl Ranulph was one of the voices in support of taking the offer. However, Pelagio Galvani (the Papal legate), the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the military orders would have none of it. Surprisingly, Ranulf would have been in Egypt at the same time as Francis of Assisi, who actually played a part in the battle. Crossing the lines between the sultan and the Crusaders in Damietta, Francis was received by el-Kamel and challenged his Muslim scholars to a test of true religion by fire - Francis proposed to enter the fire first, under the condition that if he left it unharmed, the sultan would recognize Christ as the true God, the sultan was so impressed that he allowed Francis to preach to his subjects. Although Francis did not succeed in converting the sultan, the last words of the sultan to Francis were, according to Jacques de Vitry, bishop of Acre, in his book "Historia occidentalis, De Ordine et praedicatione Fratrum Minorum (1221)" : “Pray for me that God may deign to reveal to me that law and faith which is most pleasing to him.” Negotiations broke down completely when the crusaders finally refused all offers and on November 5 they found the walls of Damietta poorly manned, so they attacked and secured the city.op Pelagius and the Military Orders he returned to England to find, William Marshal dead and the Regency in the hands of the same Hubert de Burgh who had been the jailer of his long dead stepson Arthur. Perhaps Ranulf had some difficulty with landing on his return from the crusades because in 1220 he is said to have had the "Everton Beacon" erected, it was used for many centuries as a navigational guide (and used as a gaol in its later years). The beacon stood for nearly six hundred years - once located on the present site of St George Church, it fell in the great storm of 1803. It is not the tower on the Everton football club's crest 'The Beacon', or 'The Tower', which has been inextricably linked with the Everton area since it's construction in 1787. Originally used as a bridewell to incarcerate criminals, that tower still stands today on Everton Brow in Netherfield Road.anuile Cestriæ Comes, vir nobilissimi generis, et vtroque iure eruditus, in albo illustrium virorum à me meritò ponendus venit. Ita probè omnes adolescentiæ suæ annos legibus tum humanis tum diuinis consecrauit, vt non prius in hominem pet ætatem euaserit, quàm nomen decúsque ab insigni eruditione sibi comparauerit. Cum profecti essent Francorum Heroes Ptolemaidem, inito cum Ioanne Brenno Hierosolymorum rege concilio, Damiatam Ægypti vrbem obsidendam constituebant, anno salutis humanæ 1218. Misit illùc Henricus rex, ab Honorio 3 Rom. Pontifice rogatus, cum magna armatorum manu Ranulphum, ad rem Christianum iuuandam. Cuius virtus, Polydoro teste, in eo bello miris omnium laudibus celebrata fuit. Quo confecto negotio, Ranulphus in patriam reuersus, scripsit, De legibus Angliæ librum vnum. Fertur præterea, et alia quædam scripsisse, sed tempus edax rerum, ea nobis abstulit. Claruit anno à Seruatoris nostri natiuitate 1230 confectus senio, dum Henricus tertius sub Antichristi tyrannide in Anglia regnaret.

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