Ranulf of Blundeville

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[edit] Ranulph de Blondeville (1181-1232: Fourth Earl)

(Kings: Henry II, Richard I, John, Henry III)

Window in Chester Town Hall - his top is decorated with three "garbs" of corn
Window in Chester Town Hall - his top is decorated with three "garbs" of corn
Arms - again with three "garbs"
Arms - again with three "garbs"

[edit] Summary

Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester 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”.

Throughout his long life Ranulph was comparatively loyal to his four monarchs. Under instructions from Henry 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.

  1. 1189, married to Constance of Brittany, 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.
  2. 1200, married to Clemence of Fougères; daughter of William of Fougères, widow of Alan de Dinant, and sister of Geoffrey of Fougères.

Ranulf de Blundeville, 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.

His coat of arms features in both the windows of the Town Hall and on the Queen's Park bridge, and shows three "garbs" or sheaves of corn. These feature 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. More on local heraldry can be found on Cheshire heraldry

At this time Chester appears to have been a significant military port. The Annals for 1185 record that Prince John used it as a base for his failed invasion of Ireland:

  • mclxxxv Johannes sine terra filius Regis Henrici II. cum multa manu armatorum et navium multitudine apud Penbroch Wallie mare ingrediens Ebdomada pascali Hiberniam Rex coronandus petiit. 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.
  • John Lackland, son of king Henry II., with a great band of armed men, and a multitude of 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.

[edit] Arthur

In 1189, aged seventeen, Ranulf was married to Constance of Brittany (born 1161 Bretagne – died September 5, 1201 Nantes) at 29 already the widow of Henry II’s son Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, and the mother of Arthur of Brittany with whom King John would contest the succession. Indeed even at his birth some thought that Arthur should eventually become king:

  • The son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, and Constance, Duchess of Brittany, was born at Nantes, on Easter Day, 1187, 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.

A rather unlikely embelishment is sometime added to this tale:

  • At the same time a Welsh bard directed King Henry to cause search to be made at Glastonbury, the true Avalon, for the ancient hero's corpse, which, as old 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'

It was a very convenient find - however the exact date seems to have been around 1191 (two years after the death of Henry II) and by finding these relics the monks of Glastonbury 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:

  • Henry entered 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.

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.

[edit] King Richard

Ranulph (aged 27) was present at Richard's coronation in 1189, being one of the three "sword bearers". Matthew of Westminster wrote:

  • William, king of Scotland, on the aforesaid day of the coronation of king Richard, carried before the king, as his proper service, 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.

In 1190, St John's Hospital (Little St Johns) was founded by Earl Ranulph - its site is now the Blue Coat School. "St. John without the Northgate" was established by Ranulph III 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.

In September 1190 both King Richard and Philip the French King arrived in Sicily ont 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:

  • Joan was to be released, receiving her inheritance and the dowry her father had given to her late husband.
  • Richard and Philip recognized Tancred as King of Sicily and vowed to keep the peace between all three of their kingdoms.
  • Richard officially proclaimed his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, as his heir, and Tancred promised to marry one of his daughters to Arthur when he came of age.
  • Richard and Tancred exchanged gifts; According to some (but not all) versions Richard gave Tancred a sword which he claimed was Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur.

Arthur would not yet have been four years old, and his step-father, Ranulf of Chester, had just become step-father to the future king of England.

While King Richard was away, Ranulph opposed John's attempted coup of 1193-4 - on Richard's return from the Third Crusade, in the company of Earl David (Ceannmhor) of Huntingdon he played a role in besieging and taking Nottingham Castle in March 1194 upon Richard's return. Roger de Hoveden thus describes the siege:

  • Earl David, brother of the King of Scotland, and Ranulph, Earl of Chester, and Earl de Ferrers besieged Nottingham Castle with a large army.

The earl was also busy sorting out problems at Chester:

  • mcxciiij Confirmatus est abbas Galfridus in abbatia de Cestra disceptans et litigans 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.
  • 1194 The abbot Geoffry was confirmed in the abbey of Chester after much dispute and 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.

[edit] King John - ebrius et daemonio plenus

King Richard died on Tuesday, 6 April 1199 and was succeeded by his brother 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.

Ranulph imprisoned his wife in 1196, an act that sparked a rebellion in her native Brittany.

  • Arthur, 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.

Finally in 1198 she was released, and shortly thereafter had her marriage to Ranulph annulled (the grounds, according to "The Judges of England" (Edward Foss, 1848) are curious: "by reason that King John haunted her company").

On the death of Richard, Philip II of France also 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.

In 1200 Ranulf (now aged 38) improved his power-base in Normandy by marrying Clemence of Fougères (daughter of Ralph de Feugeres). 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.

On July 31, 1202 Arthur 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.

In 1214 Ranulph founded the the Cistercian abbey of Dieulacres beside the Churnet a mile 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.

Ranulph spent most of 1199-1204 in France and his continued loyalty was bought by John with further patronage. One of Ranulf's charters from this period survives in Coventry

[edit] morte (or murder) d'Arthur

Ranulf maintained 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. William was suspected of involvement in Arthur's disappearance and death, although no concrete evidence ever came to light.

The Margam annals provide the following account of Arthur's death at the hands of John in a typical Angevin rage:

  • After King 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.

William de Braose rose high in John's favour after Arthur's disappearance. In 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:

  • True it is indeede that for this cause the French called 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.

Shakespeare's "King John" compresses history somewhat and has John's death follow quickly 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.

[edit] Rescued by Minstrels

In the winter of 1204-5, 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 had 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.

However Ranulph fought John’s Welsh wars 1209-12 and it is from this time that a curious tale arises regarding Rhuddlan castle. 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."
  • "Hugh, the first Earl of 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."
  • "For this good service Ranulph granted to the Laeys, by charter, a peculiar patronage over men of their sort, 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.

The march of minstrels to Rhuddlan Castle is depicted in the carvings at Chester Town Hall.

Ranulph also helped secure the peace with the pope in 1213-14, and was with the king in Poitou in 1214. Loyal to the king in 1215-16, he was one of the few magnates to witness the Magna Carta of 1215. Because he had signed under duress, however, John received approval from the Pope to break his word after signing, 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).

[edit] Henry III

John died in October 1216, but the war went on between the forces of the future Louis VIII of France and those of King Henry III of England (who was then aged 10). It was thought briefly 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 Count of Perche at the second battle of Lincoln which occurred at Lincoln Castle on 20 May 1217:

  • mccxvij Capta est Lincolnia a Comite Ranulpho Cestrie et Willelmo Marescallo et ceteris qui cum Rege Johanne [Henrico] tunc temporis tenuerunt in vigilia Sancte Trinitatis.
  • 1217 On the eve of the Holy Trinity [May 20], Lincoln was captured by Randle, earl of Chester, and William Marshal [earl of Pembroke] and others who at this time held with king [Henry].

The events of the day are recorded in the "History of William the Marshall":

  • ...and the next day, a Saturday, following mass, they took up their arms and put every 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.

The Earl of Chester rode out first because he had said that of he could not lead the attack he would not be part of it (french text):

  • E quant li cuens de Cestre oï ces moz, point ne s'en esjoï, ainz lor dit 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.
  • ..When the earl of Chester heard these words, he was not one bit pleased, 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

The pillage of the city following the battle became known as "Lincoln Fair". According to Roger of Wendover writing in Flores historiarum (Flowers of History):

  • After the battle was thus ended, the king's soldiers found in the city 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.

The barons switched their 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.

[edit] Crusader

In 1218, de Blondeville decided to honour the crusading vow he had taken three years previously, and journeyed eastwards as part of the Fifth Crusade. The Annales Cestrienses records that befpre his departure he made peace with the Welsh:

  • mccxviij Pacificati sunt dominus Ranulphus comes Cestrie et Lewelinus princeps Wallie, et in Septimana Pentecostes proxima profectus est dominus Rannulphus comes Cestrie Jerosolimam.
  • 1218 Peace was made between the lord Randle, earl of Chester, and Llewelin, prince of Wales, and in the following Whit Week [June 3-9] the lord Randle, earl of Chester, set out for Jerusalem.

Ranulph met up with the Counts of Nevers and La Marche in Genoa, accompanied by 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":

  • In the yeere 1218, Ranulph earle of Chester was sent into the Holy land by king Henry the third with a goodly company of souldiers 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.

Due to famine and disease after the Nile failed to flood, 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. They finally refused the offer and on November 5 they found the walls of Damietta poorly manned, so they attacked and secured the city.

The Everton Beacon
The Everton Beacon

Earl Ranulf left Damietta in September of 1220, leaving behind an indecisive force under the command of Bishop 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. It is the tower on the Everton football club's crest - once located on the present site of St George Church, it fell in the great storm of 1803.

Hakluyt (see his Volume 8) also suggests that Ranulf may have written at least one book:

  • Ranulphus Glanuile 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.
  • Ranulph Granuile earle of Chester, a man of a very noble house, and learned in both the Lawes, deserues of deutie to be here placed by me in the catalogue of woorthy and notable men. He applied so well all the yeeres of his youth to the study of humane and diuine Lawes, that he came not so soone to the age of a man, as he had purchased to himselfe by reason of his singular learning, renowme and honour. When the noble men of France went to Ptolomais, vpon the counsell of Iohn Brenne king of Ierusalem, they resolued to besiege Damiata a city of Egypt, in the yeere 1218. And then Henry the king vpon the motion of Honorius the third, bishop of Rome, sent thither this earle Ranulph with a great power of armed souldiers, to further the enterprise of the Christians: whose valure in that warre (by the testimonie of Polidor Virgil) was marueilously commended of all men. After the end of which businesse, he being returned into his countrey, wrote a booke of the lawes of England. It is also reported that he wrote other books, but time the destroyer of many memorials, hath taken them from vs. He flourished in the yeere after the natiuity of Christ 1230, being very aged, and in the reigne of K. Henry the third.

[edit] Relations with the Welsh - and Beeston

After his return, Randulph was evidently enjoying good relations with the Welsh:

  • mccxx Rediit dominus Rannulphus comes Cestrie de Damata venitque Cestriam in crastino Assumpcionis receptus cum maxima veneratione tam cleri quam plebis. Lewelinus etiam princeps Wallie venit ad eum eodem die, cui dominus Rannulphus comes in . . .
  • 1220 The lord Randle, earl of Chester, returned from Damietta, and came to Chester on the morrow of the Assumption [of the Blessed Virgin, August 16]. He was received with the greatest veneration as well by the clergy as the laity. Also Llewelin, prince of Wales, came to him the same day, to whom the lord Randle, earl . . .

Curiously, this passage of the Annales Cestrienses is unfinished. While the space exists for more words they were never added. However a few lines further on in the Annales we see further evidence of good relations.

  • mccxxij Johannes filius comitis David duxit in uxorem filiam Lewelini pro finali concordia inter ipsum et comitem Cestrie.
  • 1222 John, son of earl David [of Huntingdon], took to wife the daughter of Llewelin, for the purpose of effecting a lasting peace between himself and the earl of Chester.
Beeston seen from Chester
Beeston seen from Chester

Ranulph's may well have shown an interest in castles during his trip of the middle east upon his return he raised taxes and started a program of castle building. In 1220 Ranulph built a magnificent edifice of mortared stone with a circular keep defended by a curtain wall at Chartley Castle in Staffordshire whose outer work incorporates two massive half-towers which still stand in a ruinous, but impressive, state. Chartley may have been started by an earlier earl, but much later, in 1585, was one of the last places of imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots and may be a location for part of the so-called Babington plot.

Sliping back to the castles of the 1220's, what came after Chartley was even more spectacular. In 1225 Ranulph had work started on Beeston Castle which still perches on a rocky crag 150 m above the Cheshire plain. Notably, none of these castles face Wales - indicating that Ranulph felt that he had little to fear from that direction. There is no clear military reason why Ranulf should have built a castle at Beeston. It has been suggested that the castle was a political statement showing the king how powerful Ranulf was - but it should be remembered that in 1225 Henry III was only 18 years old and the country was ruled by regents until 1227.

Beeston featured may innovations. Instead of protecting an established location it was built in the best defensive position. It did not have a keep, but made use of a solid gatehouse instead. Towers are round and projecting to protect them against siege engines allow raking fire along the castle walls. Many of these improvements had been used in the crusader castles such as Krak and it is likely that Ranulf brought many of his idea's back from the fifth crusade. Neither Ranulf, nor his successor would complete the castle.

[edit] Ranulph and Robin Hood

Ranulph de Blondeville is probably the earl of Chester referred to in William Langland's The Vision of Piers Plowman which contains the line:

  • "I kan nought parfitly my Paternoster as the preest it singeth, but I kan rhymes of Robyn hood and Randolf Earl of Chestre".

Both the Earl of Chester and Robin Hood also turn up in the works of the playwright Anthony Munday (1560-1633) - although the earl is not named in those plays as Ranulph, the presence of prince John would indicate that the earl in the plays was indeed Ranulph. The actual connection between the relevant Robin Hood candidate and Ranulph appears quite tenuous:

  1. Hugh of Cyfeiliog's daughter (Maud of Chester) married (26th Aug 1190) one David of Huntingdon (born 1144 died 17th June 1219).
  2. David supported King Richard against King John (most stories put Robin Hood in that era).
  3. The tentative connection is that David had a son - Robert Fitzodo (Fitzooth) (de Huntingdon) born in Loxley, Warwickshire (where legend says Robin was).
  4. Robert was Earl of Huntingdon (as legend says Robin was) and declared an outlaw (as legend says Robin was) and his confiscated lands were given to Ranulph, Earl of Chester.

The theory put forward by some is that this Robert of Huntingdon is the basis for the legend of Robin Hood. This Robin Hood's grandfather would be Hugh of Cyfeiliog earl of Chester and "Ranulf Erle of Chestre" would be his uncle.

However, according to Stringer (see sources), David of Huntingdon only had three legitimate sons, two of which, Henry and David, died in infancy, and the surviving son was John 'de Scotia' (John Canmore), Earl of Huntingdon and later of Chester. John married Helen, daughter of Llewellyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of north Wales, but died without issue. Earl David also had two illegitimate sons, Henry of Brechin and Henry of Stirling, both older than John, being born before his marriage to Maud (so they could not become Earls). There are two other sons mentioned, Philip, who only occurs in Gervaise of Canterbury's Historical Works, and an actual Robert, who occurs only in Fordun's Chronicles, who Fordun says also died in infancy. The timing also presents some problems - Prince John's attempted coup would have been during King Richard I's absence (on the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1194) - given that Maud of Chester (David's wife) was only born in 1171, it would be impossible for "Robin" to have been born in time for the coup. Worse still for the theory, David Earl of Huntingdon lived until 17 June 1219, which means that any "Robin Hood" son of his would only have become Earl three years after the death of King John.

As for Robert Fitzodo, he was indeed associated with Loxley - but not at the same time. The tradition that Loxley was the birth-place of "Robin Hood" appears to have originated with J. R. Planché, who, in a paper read in 1864, followed up Stukeley's derivation of his name from Fitzooth and connected the outlaw with Robert FitzOdo, lord of the manor of Loxley in the later 12th century. The transfer of lands to Ranulph seems completely fabricated.

Another theory connecting Ranulf and Robin Hood is that concerning Roger de Lacy who was the 7th Baron of Halton and Constable of Chester (de Lacy is the one who famously relieved the besieged Ranulf with a crowd of minstrels - as depicted in carvings at the Town Hall). Roger is a possible candidate for the Sheriff of Nottingham. He is reputed to have become ‘the terror and scourge of the Welsh’ because of his cruelty during his part in their subjugation. For his ferocious temper and the pitiless way he executed his prisoners he was nicknamed ‘Yclept’ or ‘Helle’ by the Welsh. De Lacy was buried in the abbey founded by his father at Stanlow (now almost unreachable between the Mersey and the Ship-canal).

[edit] Ranulph and Fulk Fitzwarrene

The Waryn who turned up in the story of Miletta Peveril had a son who became the outlaw Fulk FitzWarin. Waryn (died 1156AD) had married Miletta Peverel and their son Fulk Fitz Waryn (Fitzwarrene) took over the barony and castle of Whittington, Shropshire. In 1200 he lost his possessions to a rival claimant (whom in some versions he murdered) was outlawed by King John and for the next three years he engaved in war against King John in the marches. He was pardoned in 1203AD at the request of two of the king’s supporters, one of whom is suggested to have been Ranulph, earl of Chester and on being pardoned he recovered his possessions. Links to the full text of the legend can be found here.

One interesting part of the tale puts Ranulph in Ireland fighting a giant:

  • Fouke took leave of the Earl Marshal and went to see Earl Randolph of Chester, who was assembling an army to go to Ireland to defend his rights there. When they got there a great troop of their enemies was waiting for them. The earl commanded his men to take up their arms. Fouke himself set off with three young brothers whom the earl had brought with him. The three young men were of great valor and strength, well armed and mounted on fine horses. Among the enemies facing them stood a hideous giant. He was well armed, black and horrible, twelve feet taller than any other. The giant stepped forward and shouted out: "Earl of Chester, send me the most valiant knight whom you have, to defend your rights." The three youths heard the shout and rushed to engage the giant. He killed them swiftly, one after the other, with the hatchet which he was wielding. Then Fouke charged forward on his steed and tried to pierce him with his lance; but the giant dodged the blow, striking Fouke instead, such that he almost disabled him. Fearful now, Fouke became very cautious, until he was finally able to smite his opponent through the body with his lance. As he was falling down, the giant struck Fouke's horse, severing its two legs. Fouke himself fell to the ground, but quickly leaped up again. He drew his sword and cut off his enemy's head. After the battle, Fouke was later to take this giant's hatchet to his castle at Whittington. For now he helped the Earl of Chester in his conquest of all these lands and castles in Ireland. Sir Randolph stayed long enough in that country to restore his lands, after which he returned to England.

[edit] French Wars and Trouble in Wales

In 1230 Henry III sailed for France with an invading force. He was accompanied by the earl of Chester and Willam Marshal (son of the regent of the same name). The Annales Cestrienses gives the following details:

  • mccxxx Circa festum Sancti Hylarii Henricus rex Anglie et omnis exercitus anglie convenerunt apud Portesmue ut transfretarent. Sed habito consilio remanserunt ad festum apostolorum Philippi et Jacobi transfretavit Henricus rex Anglie cum exercitu suo ad partes transmarinas. Reddita est etiam Rannulpho Cestrie terra sua de Sancto Jacobo super Boverum. Rex autem circa festum Sancti Michael reversus est in Angliam relicto ibi Rannulpho comite Cestrie et Willelmo Marescallo cum paucis. Item Willelmus de Breaus inculpatus est a Lewelino principe Wallie de uxore sua, et suspenditur. Et mulier carcerata custodia diu.
  • 1230 About the feast of S. Hilary [January 13] Henry [III.], king of England, and the whole army of England, assembled at Portsmouth in order to cross the Channel. But, having taken counsel, they remained until the feast of S. Philip and S. James the Apostles, [May 1], when Henry, king of England, with his army, crossed to the parts beyond the seas [to S. Malo]. There was restored to Randle, earl of Chester, his territory of S. James de Beuvron. But about Michaelmas the king returned into England, having left [in Brittany] Randle, earl of Chester, and William Marshal [earl of Pembroke], with a few [soldiers]. Also William de Braose was charged by Llewelin, prince of Wales, with adultery with his wife, and was hanged. And the woman was imprisoned for a long time.
  • mccxxxj Obiit Willelmus Marescallus. Lewelinus princeps Wallye recepit uxorem suam filiam Johannis Regis quam antea incarceravit. Orta est werra inter Henricum Regem filium Johannis et Lewelinum in partes Suth Wallye. In qua werra dictus Henricus rex firmavit castellum payn ubi venit ad eum nobilis vir ille Rannulphus Comes Cestrie et Lyncolyn de sancto Jacobo de Boverum capta prius treuga trium annorum a Rege Gallie in transmarinis. Orta est quedam discordia inter regem Anglie et ipsum Rannulphum Comitem Cestrie apud predictum castellum pain quare a rege discessit iratus. Et sic apud Cestriam venit in vigilia Octavarum assumpcionis mandatus autem a domino Rege per Stephanum de Sagreve venit ad eum. Obiit Ricardus archiepiscopus Cantuarie in transmarinis.
  • 1231 William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, died. Llewelin, prince of Wales took back his wife, the daughter of king John, whom he had formerly imprisoned. War arose between king Henry [III.], son of John, and Llewelin in the parts of South Wales. In the course of this war the said king Henry strengthened the castle of Pain, where there came to him that noble person Randle, earl of Chester and Lincoln from S. James de Beuvron, having before accepted a truce of three years from the king of France in the parts beyond seas. A certain quarrel arose between the king of England and this same Randle, earl of Chester, at the afore- said castle of Pain, wherefore he departed from the king in a rage. And thus he came to Chester on the eve of the octave of the Assumption [August 21]. But by the command of our lord the king, [given] through Stephen de Segrave, he returned to the king. Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, died beyond seas [at S. Gemma or Gemine, between Todi and Narni, in Italy].

Just what the quarrel was is not clear. However it could have been something to do with the matter of William de Braose who was married to Eva Marshall (the daughter of William Marshal), and who's daughter Isabella de Braose was married to Llywelyn's only legitimate son Dafydd ap Llywelyn. Well connacted though he was, William found time (in 1230) to be caught in bed with Joan the wife of Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Wales and the illegitimate daughter of king John (hence king Henry's half sister) and the one mentioned in the Annales. William de Braose was excecuted by Llewellyn ap Iorwerth at Garth Celyn. William was the grandson of the William de Braose who had been the jailer of Ranulph's long dead step-son, Arthur of Brittany

As noted above, Ranulph was related to the de Montfort's of Leicester. Simon de Montfort's, 5th Earl of Leicester (father of the rather more famous Sixth earl) mother, Amicia, was the eldest daughter of Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester. After the death of her brother Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester without children in 1204, Amicia inherited half of his estates, and a claim to the Earldom of Leicester. The division of the estates was effected early in 1207, by which the rights to the earldom were assigned to Amicia and Simon. However, King John of England took possession of the lands himself in February 1207, and confiscated its revenues. Later, in 1215, the lands were passed into the hands of Ranulph who was Simon's nephew.

[edit] Papal Taxes

Ranulph strenuously resisted the imposition of a tax by Pope Gregory IX of a tenth of the revenues of the clergy and "one tenth part of the movables of England". This had been imposed in order to fund a war against the Holy Roman Emperor Frederic II, who had been excommunicated for not fulfilling his part in the crusades (in particular the sixth). The Earl's lands were the only part of England which did not pay this tax. Tax "avoidance" was something that Ranulf did quite well at - in 1220 some of his estates avoided payment of "carucage"; in 1225 "Aid" was not levied in Cheshire; and in 1229 he successfully resisted the ecclesiastical tax collector. His only major failure, in old age, was not avoiding the 1132 windfall tax of "one fortieth" on his lands.

Ranulph died in October 1232, aged sixty. His viscera was buried at Wallingford Castle, his heart was buried at DieuLacres Abbey (which he had founded), and the rest of his body was buried at St Werburg's, Chester.

[edit] sources - de Blundeville

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