Biography of Ralph I Capet I Count Vermandois -1152

Paternal Family Tree: Capet

Maternal Family Tree: Adela Valois Countess Blois and Vermandois

Ralph I Capet I Count Vermandois was appointed I Count Vermandois.

Ralph I Capet I Count Vermandois and Lauretta Metz Countess Namur and Luxemburg were married. She the daughter of Thierry Count Flanders and Swanhilde Countess Flanders. He the son of Hugh "Great" Capet and Adelaide I Countess Vermandois. They were second cousin twice removed.

Ralph I Capet I Count Vermandois and Petronilla Poitiers were married. She the daughter of William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine and Aenor Chatellerault Duchess Aquitaine. He the son of Hugh "Great" Capet and Adelaide I Countess Vermandois. They were second cousin twice removed.

Ralph I Capet I Count Vermandois was born to [his father] Hugh "Great" Capet and [his mother] Adelaide I Countess Vermandois.

In 1080 [his grandfather] Herbert Vermandois IV Count Vermandois (age 52) died. His son [his uncle] Odo succeeded I Count Vermandois but he was declared insane. His daughter [his mother] Adelaide succeeded I Countess Vermandois.

In 1096 [his brother-in-law] Robert Beaumont 1st Earl of Leicester Count Meulan (age 56) and [his sister] Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey (age 11) were married. She by marriage Countess of Leicester. The difference in their ages was 45 years. She the daughter of [his father] Hugh "Great" Capet (age 39) and [his mother] Adelaide I Countess Vermandois.

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The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall describes the reigns of Kings Henry II, Richard I, John and Henry III, providing a wealth of information about their lives and the events of the time. Ralph's work is detailed, comprehensive and objective. We have augmented Ralph's text with extracts from other contemporary chroniclers to enrich the reader's experience. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.

On 18th October 1101 [his father] Hugh "Great" Capet (age 44) died.

In 1103 Renaud II Count Clermont (age 28) and [his mother] Adelaide I Countess Vermandois were married. He by marriage Count Vermandois. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Herbert Vermandois IV Count Vermandois and [his grandmother] Adela Valois Countess Blois and Vermandois.

In 1118 [his brother-in-law] Charles Estrigen I Count Flanders (age 34) and [his half-sister] Marguerite Clermont Countess Flanders (age 13) were married. The difference in their ages was 21 years. She the daughter of Renaud II Count Clermont (age 43) and [his mother] Adelaide I Countess Vermandois. He the son of King Canute "The Holy" IV of Denmark and Adela Flanders Queen Consort Denmark. They were half sixth cousins.

Before 1119 [his brother-in-law] William Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey and [his sister] Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey (age 33) were married. She by marriage Countess Surrey. She the daughter of [his father] Hugh "Great" Capet and [his mother] Adelaide I Countess Vermandois. He the son of William Warenne 1st Earl of Surrey and Gundred Countess of Surrey.

In 1120 [his mother] Adelaide I Countess Vermandois died.

In 1125 Ralph I Capet I Count Vermandois and Eleanor Blois were married. She the daughter of Stephen Blois II Count Blois and Chartres and Adela Normandy Countess Blois (age 58). He the son of Hugh "Great" Capet and Adelaide I Countess Vermandois. They were second cousin once removed. She a granddaughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

In 1125 [his brother-in-law] King Stephen I England (age 31) and Matilda Flanders (age 20) were married. She the daughter of Eustace Flanders III Count Boulogne and Mary Dunkeld Countess Boulogne. He the son of Stephen Blois II Count Blois and Chartres and [his mother-in-law] Adela Normandy Countess Blois (age 58). They were half fourth cousin once removed. He a grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

In 1129 [his brother-in-law] Bishop Henry of Blois (age 31) was appointed Bishop of Winchester.

On 13th February 1131 [his sister] Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey (age 46) died.

Death of King Henry I

On 1st December 1135 King Henry I "Beauclerc" England (age 67) died at Lyons-la-Forêt, Normandy [Map]. The succession fell between Henrys daughter Empress Matilda (age 33) and Henry's nephew [his brother-in-law] King Stephen I England (age 41), son of [his mother-in-law] Adela Normandy Countess Blois (age 68) daughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England. The period from 1135 to 1153 during which the succession was fought over is known as The Anarchy.

The phrase "surfeit of lampreys" to describe the cause of his death appears first to have been used in the Chronicle of Richard Baker. "Lampreys", in Latin "murenarum", may mean "eel". The word is used in the Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon and The Flowers of History by Roger of Wendover.

Coronation of King Stephen

                    On 22nd December 1135 [his brother-in-law] King Stephen I England (age 41) was crowned King of England by Archibishop of Canterbury William de Corbeil (age 65).
                
                    The date of his coronation described differently by many Chroniclers:
                
                    Florence of Worcester: "on the thirteenth of the calends of January" i.e. 20th December 1135.
                
                    Orderic Vitalis: "on the eighteenth of the calends of January" i.e. 15th December 1135; the editor provided a note suggesting this date is incorrect and the correct date is the 26th December 1135.
                
                    The Annals of Winchester: "on the 22nd day after the death of his uncle, on the 1st of January." We should note that if King Henry died on the 1st  December this date would refer to the 22nd or 23rd of December.
                
                    Roger of Wendover's Flowers of History: "on the day of the proto-martyr St. Stephen" i.e. 26th December 1135.
                
                    Chronicle of Richard Baker: "and so upon St. Stephen's day, in Anno 1135"  i.e. 26th December 1135.
                
                    Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: "on midwinter day" i.e. probably 20th or 21st of December but possibly the 25th.
                
                    Matthew Paris Chronica Majora: "on the Feast of Saint Stephen" i.e. 26th December 1135.

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In 1139 Josce de Dinan and Sybil de Lacy were married by which he gained control of Ludlow Castle [Map]. The marriage arranged by [his brother-in-law] King Stephen I England (age 45).

In 1143 [his daughter] Elizabeth Capet was born to Ralph I Capet I Count Vermandois and Petronilla Poitiers (age 18). She married her third cousin once removed Philip I Count of Flanders, son of Thierry Count Flanders and Sibylla Anjou Countess Essex and Flanders.

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After 1143 William Roumare 1st Earl Lincoln (age 47) was created 1st Earl Lincoln by [his brother-in-law] King Stephen I England (age 49).

In 1145 [his half-sister] Marguerite Clermont Countess Flanders (age 40) died.

In 1145 [his son] Ralph Capet II Count Vermandois was born to Ralph I Capet I Count Vermandois and Petronilla Poitiers (age 20). He married his half third cousin once removed Margaret Metz Countess Hainault and Flanders, daughter of Thierry Count Flanders and Sibylla Anjou Countess Essex and Flanders.

In 1147 [his wife] Eleanor Blois died.

In 1149 [his daughter] Eleanor Capet Countess Vermandois was born to Ralph I Capet I Count Vermandois and Petronilla Poitiers (age 24). She married (1) her fourth cousin Geoffrey Flanders, son of Baldwin Flanders IV Count Hainault and Alice Namur Countess Hainault (2) 1164 her third cousin twice removed William IV Count of Nevers.

On 14th October 1152 Ralph I Capet I Count Vermandois died.