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Contents 1 Hugh (the Wolf, the Fat) (1071-1101: First Earl) 1.1 Summary 1.2 Origins 1.3 War with the Welsh 1.4 Hugh and the Abbey 1.5 Children 1.5.1 Sources - Hugh

[edit] Hugh (the Wolf, the Fat) (1071-1101: First Earl)

(Kings: William I, William II (Rufus), Henry I)

[edit] Summary

Given a Palatine county with the power to make and break any law save treason in return for bankrolling Duke William's Invasion, Hugh built castles in England and made a poor job of invading Wales. He managed to arrange the marriage of his son into the monarchs family, but this was to end in tragedy.

• Parents: Son of Richard Goz, Viscount of Avranches, in the far southwest of Normandy.
• Spouse: Ermentrude of Claremont.
• Children: One legitimate son, Richard of Avranches, who succeeded him. - see below for illegitimate issue.

[edit] Origins

Hugh's father was Richard Goz (otherwise Le Gotz, or Le Gois) believed to be himself descended from Ansfrid, a Dane. One Hrolf Turstain apparently followed his uncle Rollo, first Duke of Normandy to Normandy and married Gerlotte de Blois, daughter of Thibaut Count of Blois and Chartres. The third son of Gerlotte was Ansfrid the Dane, first Vicomte of the Hiemois, and father of Ansfrid the second (surnamed Goz) whose son another Turstain (Thurstan, or Toustain) Goz was a great favourite of Robert Duke of Normandy, the father of the Conqueror.

Thurstain accompanied Duke Robert to the middle east and was entrusted to bring back the relics the Duke had obtained from the Patriarch of Jerusalem to present to the Abbey of Cerisi - it is not clear whether any of these relics were later unknowingly sworn upon by Harold. Unfortunately, Thurstain revolted against the young Duke William in 1041 and as a consequence was exiled, and his lands confiscated and given by the Duke to his mother, Herleve, wife of Herluin de Conteville.

Richard Goz, Vicomte d'Avranches, or more properly of the Avranchin, was one of the sons of the revolting Turstain, by his wife Judith de Montanolier, and appears not only to have avoided being implicated in the rebellion of his father, but obtained a pardon and restoration to the Vicomté of the Hiemois. Richard strengthened his position at court by securing the hand of Emma de Conteville, one of the daughters of Herluin and Herleve, and therefore half-sister of Duke William. By this fortunate marriage Richard Goz not only recovered the lands forfeited by his father but also acquired much property in the Avranchin.

Richards son Hugh d'Avranches had in part bankrolled William's invasion of England (providing 60 ships), and probably did not fight at Senlac Hill (called Hastings by some), but was trusted to stay behind and govern Normandy. Initially, his holdings in England were limited to Tutbury Castle but with the convenient departure of Ghebard were greatly extended (for what happened to Tutbury see here). Hugh ended up with several manors and lands which ad belonged to the Anglo-Saxons and Northumbrians including: Allestrey, Kniveton, Mackworth and Mark-eaton (all in Derbyshire) from Siward of Northumbria (or Morcar his successor (after the unpopular Tostig)). Avranches also has several connections with the Wirral: see the wiki entry on Saughall Massie for another example.

Witing of the year 1072, Matthew of Westminster (who probably didn't exist) gets the story of Hugh completely wrong, confusing Hugh with Ranulf of Blundeville who he calls "Ranulph of Micenis":

• In the same year, king William invaded Scotland with a great army, and Malcolm, king of Scotland, came peaceably to Berwick to meet him, and became his subject. At this time, count Ranulph of Micenis governed the earldom of Carlisle, who had given efficacious assistance to king William in his conquest of England. He began to build the city of Carlisle, and to strengthen the citizens with many privileges. But when king William was returning from Scotland through Cumberland, seeing so royal a city, he took it from count Ranulph, and gave him instead of it the earldom of Chester, which was endowed with many honours and privileges.

By 1075 and the subjugation of the Revolt of the Earls, the Conquest was completed.

In 1094 Hugh assisted William in the defence of Normandy against the French king. As recorded in the AS Chronicle:

• There was the King of France through cunning turned aside; and so afterwards all the army dispersed. In the midst of these things the King William sent after his brother Henry, who was in the castle at Damfront; but because he could not go through Normandy with security, he sent ships after him, and Hugh, Earl of Chester.

[edit] War with the Welsh

Hugh did have some misadventures in Wales with Gruffydd ap Cynan - who, despite having been imprisoned for some years at Chester Castle - outlived Hugh (who died in 1101) and lasted until 1137. However, wars with the welsh were only to be expected:

• Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, and William Fitz Osborne, Earl of Hereford, all of whom were near relations to king William, were by him entrusted with the care and government of the western parts of the island, in order to secure them against the incursions and depredations of the Welsh, who frequently plundered these people, and were likely to be very troublesome, as were afterwards found to be by many of their descendants.

Hugh fought one major battle at Abergely -

• Hugh Lupus, on his march to invade the Isle of Anglesey, passing through the defile of Cevn Ogo, which is the narrowest pass on this part of the coast, was attacked by an armed band of Welshmen, which had been posted there to intercept his progress, and of which, after an obstinate and protracted battle, 1100 were left dead on the spot.

..and his campaign seems to have been noted for it's violence:

• Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, while carrying on his desolating warfare against the Welsh, landed his forces at Cadnant, in the parish, in 1096, and, having encamped on the summit of an eminence called Dinas, at the upper extremity of the vale, commenced a series of devastations, which were characterized by the most barbarous and atrocious outrages.

Gerald of Wales has the following to say about "Hugh" and Angelsey

• "As many things within this island are worthy of remark, I shall not think it superfluous to make mention of some of them. There is a stone here resembling a human thigh, which possesses this innate virtue, that whatever distance it may be carried, it returns, of its own accord, the following night, as has often been experienced by the inhabitants. Hugh, earl of Chester, in the reign of king Henry I., having by force occupied this island and the adjacent country, heard of the miraculous power of this stone, and, for the purpose of trial, ordered it to be fastened, with strong iron chains, to one of a larger size, and to be thrown into the sea. On the following morning, however, according to custom, it was found in its original position, on which account the earl issued a public edict, that no one, from that time, should presume to move the stone from its place. A countryman, also, to try the powers of this stone, fastened it to his thigh, which immediately became putrid, and the stone returned to its original situation."

Of course the problem here is that the Hugh of King Henry's time is possibly not the same Hugh who invaded Wales with Shrewsbury (in 1098). In fact it is difficult to see who exactly Gerald means. Hugh was earl from from 1071-1101, and Henry I was king from 1100 until 1135, so either this even happened in the last year of the earls life or Gerald has his facts wrong. What is more certain is that in 1088 Hugh took over lands in North Wales and rebuilt the castle at Rhuddlan where he based the somewhat over zealous cousin..

• Robert of Rhuddlan, who, in 1088, encamped a considerable army near its walls. In the same year, Grufydd ab Cynan is said to have entered the Conway with three ships, and, landing under the castle at high water, to have left his vessels on shore at the recess of the tide, and proceeded to ravage the neighbouring country. Returning from his predatory incursion, and driving before him a large booty of men and cattle towards his ships, Robert, who witnessed the spectacle with indignation, descended from his fortress, attended only by a single soldier, and without any defensive armour but his shield. The Welsh attacked him with missiles, and, having filled his shield so full of darts that it fell under the weight, rushed upon him in a body, and striking off his head, fastened it to the mast of one of their ships, and sailed away in triumph.

Gruffydd was captured in 1081 when he was enticed to a meeting with Hugh Earl of Chester and Earl of Shrewsbury (probably Roger) at Rug, near Corwen. According to his biographer this was by the treachery of one of his own men, Meirion Goch. Gruffydd was imprisoned at Chester Castle for many years (some say ten, others 16).

Hugh lost Anglesey and much of the rest of Gwynedd in the Welsh revolt of 1094, led by Gruffydd ap Cynan, who had escaped from captivity at Chester. By late 1095 the uprising had spread to many parts of Wales. This induced the then king William II of England (William Rufus) to intervene, invading northern Wales in 1095. However his army was unable to the Welsh to battle and returned to Chester without having achieved very much. Hugh stood loyally by Rufus in the rebellion of 1096 - and was perhaps a little over zealous as he was charged, with having barbarously blinded and mutilated his brother-in-law, William Comte d'Eu, who had been taken prisoner in the uprising.

King Willam mounted a second invasion of Wales in 1097, but again without much success.

A possible side effect of these attempts to conquer north Wales was the transfer of the north-west Mercian see in 1075 from Lichfield to St. John's, Chester. One possible reason for the move was that the new Norman bishop, Peter, may have seen prospects for diocesan expansion in north Wales (there was then no neighbouring bishop at St. Asaph and Peter may have felt that if large territories in north-east Wales were to come under his jurisdiction, Chester would be a more central base than Lichfield. However, in 1098, the Norman attempt to conquer north Wales suffered a severe setback. Florence of Worcester records that, in 1098, Hugh of Chester and Hugh de Montgommery Earl of Shrewsbury led troops into Anglesey where they mutilated or massacred many of the inhabitants of the island. Gerald tells the story of what happened next (in 1098):

• There is also in this island the church of St. Tefredaucus, into which Hugh, earl of Shrewsbury, (who, together with the earl of Chester, had forcibly entered Anglesey), on a certain night put some dogs, which on the following morning were found mad, and he himself died within a month; for some pirates, from the Orcades, having entered the port of the island in their long vessels, the earl, apprised of their approach, boldly met them, rushing into the sea upon a spirited horse. The commander of the expedition, Magnus, standing on the prow of the foremost ship, aimed an arrow at him; and, although the earl was completely equipped in a coat of mail, and guarded in every part of his body except his eyes, the unlucky weapon struck his right eye, and, entering his brain, he fell a lifeless corpse into the sea. The victor, seeing him in this state, proudly and exultingly exclaimed, in the Danish tongue, "Leit loup," let him leap; and from this time the power of the English ceased in Anglesey.

Here Gerald refers to the military campaign in the summer of 1098 when Earl Hugh joined with Hugh of Montgomery (2nd Earl of Shrewsbury) in an attempt to recover his losses in Gwynedd. Gruffydd ap Cynan had retreated to Anglesey, but then was forced to flee to Ireland when a fleet he had hired from the Danish settlement in Ireland changed sides. The "Pirates" were a Norwegian fleet under the command of King Magnus III of Norway, also known as Magnus Barefoot, who attacked the Norman forces near the eastern end of the Menai Straits. Hugh of Shrewsbury was killed by an arrow (said to have been shot by Magnus himself). The Saga of Magnus Barefoot actually mentions "Hugh the Stout":

• Afterwards King Magnus sailed to Wales; and when he came to the sound of Anglesey there came against him an army from Wales, which was led by two earls -- Hugo the brave, and Hugo the Stout. They began immediately to give battle, and there was a severe conflict. King Magnus shot with the bow; but Huge the Brave was all over in armour, so that nothing was bare about him excepting one eye. King Magnus let fly an arrow at him, as also did a Halogaland man who was beside the king. They both shot at once. The one shaft hit the nose-screen of the helmet, which was bent by it to one side, and the other arrow hit the earl's eye, and went through his head; and that was found to be the king's.

The Normans were thus obliged to evacuate Anglesey, and the following year (1099) Gruffydd ap Cynan returned from Ireland to take possession again. Hugh apparently made an agreement with Gruffydd and did not again try to recover these lands, which makes it difficult to see how Hugh could have been in Angelsey during the reign of Henry I.

Before his death in 1101, Hugh had made a huge fortune from his position as the Earl of Chester and also became so fat that he could hardly walk (he was known in later life as "Hugh the Fat"). Orderic Vitalis states that Hugh was "a slave to gluttony, he staggered under a mountain of fat" and was "given over to carnal lusts and had a numerous progeny of sons and daughters by his concubines". The Welsh called him Hugh Flaidd (Hugh the Wolf or Hugh Lupus) and a wolf's head appears on his arms. In an 1086 engraving of the coat of arms the artist has gave the head of the wolf a wide grin, which might be mistaken for that of a cat - this has been suggested as the origin of the Cheshire Cat. As regards Hugh, Hemmingway quotes the following:

• He was, "saith Ordericus, not only liberal, but profuse; he did not carry a family with him, but an army. He kept no account of receipts or disbursements. He was perpetually wasting his estates; and was much fonder of falconers and huntsmen, than of cultivators of land, and holy men , and by his gluttony he grew so excessively fat, that he could hardly crawl about.

Besides Chester castle, a further castle was build at Frodsham although nothing of this now remains. Another castle was built at Shotwick and again little remains to be seen today. Hugh is also credited with the construction of Aberlleiniog Castle, on Angelsey.

[edit] Hugh and the Abbey

In 1092, af Hugh's third invitation Anselm of Bec came from France to England to found the Benedictine Abbey at Chester. Alselm had spent some time in Avranches in 1060 before entering the abbey of Bec as a novice - and it is possible that he met Hugh then. The Chester Annales record the foundation thus:

• In hoc anno venit dompnus Anselmus abbas Ecclesiæ Beccensis Angliam qui sepius ante venerat in Angliam, veniens itaque tunc Angliam Anselmus a multis acclamatus archiepiscopus, quitanti honoris onus humiliter fugiens, rogatu nobilis principis, comitis Hugonis Cestriam venit, ibique abbatiam in honorem Sanctæ Werburgæ fundavit, et monachis ibidem congregatis Ricardum monachum Beccensem primum abbatem instituit. Quo facto, in eodem anno in reditu suo a Cestria, archiepiscopus Cantuariensis factus est.

• 1093 In this year the lord Anselm, abbot of the church of Bec, came to England, who before this had frequently been in England. On his coming to England this last time, Anselm was acclaimed by many as archbishop, but, humbly desiring to escape the burden of so great an honour, on the invitation of the noble prince, earl Hugh, he came to Chester, and there founded the abbey in honour of S. Werburg, and, having assembled the monks together, he appointed Richard, a monk of Bec, the first abbot. Having done this, in the same year, upon his return from Chester, he was made archbishop of Canterbury.

In reality the situation was rather more complex. When about to return to Bec, Anselm was refused permission by the then king (William Rufus) but the following year, when the king fell ill (and believed himself dying) Anselm was nominated to the then vacant see of Canterbury. The reluctant Anselm was finally consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093 (this was a disaster for William as the two did not get on).

From an early period the monks of St. Werburgh's claimed that Earl Hugh I had granted them the right to hold a fair on the three days around the feast of St. Werburg's translation on 21 June. Robert of Torigny's De Immutatione Ordinis Monachorum records that "Hugo vicecomitis Abrincatensis postea…comes Cestrensis" also founded "abbatiam Sancti Severi in Constantinensi episcopatu" - Saint-Sever in Normandy.

It has been suggested that Hugh became a monk at St Werburg in Chester, four days before he died (1101). The Chester Annales simply record his death:

• Defuncto Hugone comite cestrensi principe nobili. Ricardus puer vij annorum comitatum suscepit.

• 1101 The noble prince Hugh, earl of Chester, being dead, Richard, a boy of seven years of age, inherited the earldom.

[edit] Children

He married Ermentrude of Claremont, by whom he had one son, Richard_of_Avranches, who succeeded him. Richard married Lucia-Mahaut of Blois, daughter of Stephen Count of Blois and sister of another Stephen of Blois (the future King Stephen). Richard's mother in law was Adela, a daughter of William the Conqueror and hence sister to both William Rufus and Henry I. Both Hugh's son Richard and Richard's wife died in the White Ship disaster (1120)

Earl Hugh had three [known] illegitimate children by unknown mistresses:

• Otuel: also drowned with the loss of the White Ship (25 Nov 1120) - a note in the text of Florence of Worcester names "Ricardus comes Cestrensis, Otthuel frater eius" among those drowned in the sinking of the White Ship. He was tutor to the children of Henry I King of England.

• Robert: recorded as the son of Hugh Earl of Chester by Orderic Vitalis, he became a monk at the abbey of Saint-Evroul, Normandy. He was appointed Abbot of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk in 1100 by Henry I King of England, but deposed in 1102 by Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury at the Council of London.

• Geva, who married Geofrey Riddell of Drayton Basset in Staffordshire. “Geva, filia Hugonis comitis Cestriæ, uxor Galfridi Ridelli” founded Canwell priory, with the consent of “Ranulfi comitis Cestriæ cognate mei…hæredum meorum… Gaufridi Ridelli et Radulfi Basset”, by undated charter. Orderic Vitalis records that she also drowned in the sinking of the White Ship.

[edit] Sources - Hugh

• D. Crook (1991). "Central England and the Revolt of the Earls". Historical Research. 64:403-10.
• Mike Ibeji, Treachery of the Earls, by Mike Ibeji, from "BBC History of the Normans".
• Edward Augustus Freeman (1901). A Short History of the Norman Conquest of England. Page 113-114
• Simon Evans (1990). A Mediaeval Prince of Wales: the Life of Gruffudd Ap Cynan. Llanerch Enterprises. ISBN 0-947992-58-8.
• Arthur Jones (1910). The history of Gruffydd ap Cynan: the Welsh text with translation, introduction and notes. Manchester University Press. . Translation online at The Celtic Literature Collective
• K.L. Maund (ed) (1996). Gruffudd ap Cynan : a collaborative biography. Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-389-5.
• Kari Maund (ed) (2006). The Welsh kings:warriors, warlords and princes. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2973-6.
• Paul Russell (ed) (2006). Vita Griffini Filii Conani: The Medieval Latin Life of Gruffudd Ap Cynan. University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-1893-2.
• Avranche genealogy
• History of the Normans in French
• British History Online
• Annales Cestrienses - Chronicle of the Abbey of S. Werburg, at Chester up to 1297, in Latin with an English translation.