Biography of Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester 1099-1153

Paternal Family Tree: Gernon

Maternal Family Tree: Lucy Bolingbroke Countess Chester

Around 1083 Ivo Taillebois (age 47) and [his mother] Lucy Bolingbroke Countess Chester were married.

After 1094 Roger Roumare 1st Baron Kendal and [his mother] Lucy Bolingbroke Countess Chester were married.

In 1097 [his father] Ranulf le Meschin Gernon 3rd Earl Chester (age 27) and [his mother] Lucy Bolingbroke Countess Chester were married.

In 1099 Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester was born to Ranulf le Meschin Gernon 3rd Earl Chester (age 29) and Lucy Bolingbroke Countess Chester at Château Guernon, Guernon.

In January 1129 [his father] Ranulf le Meschin Gernon 3rd Earl Chester (age 59) died. He was buried at Chester Cathedral [Map]. His son Ranulf (age 30) succeeded 4th Earl Chester.

Around 1130 Combermere Abbey [Map] was founded by Hugh Malbank, Baron of Nantwich, confirmed in 1130 by Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester (age 31) who was one of the witnesses of its foundation charter. Other witnesses included Hugh Malbank's son, William, and Roger de Clinton, the Bishop of Coventry. The original grant included the manor of Wilkesley, comprising two Domesday manors worth 18 shillings pre-Conquest; the villages of Dodcott, Lodmore and Royal; land at Burleydam; a mill and fishery at Chorley; and woods at Brentwood, Light Birchwood and Butterley Heyes. The Abbey originally belonged to the Savigniac order, which merged with the Cistercian order by 1147.

In 1132 Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester (age 33) founded Basingwerk Abbey [Map]. The first location of the abbey was at the nearby Hen Blas. In 1147 the abbey joined the Cistercian Order. It was a daughter house of Combermere Abbey [Map].

First Battle of Lincoln

On 2nd February 1141 the army of Empress Matilda (age 38) commanded by [his future father-in-law] Robert Normandy 1st Earl Gloucester (age 42) defeated the army of King Stephen I England (age 47). Matilda's army included Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester (age 42) and Madog ap Maredudd Mathrafal Prince Powys. King Stephen I England, Gilbert Gaunt 1st Earl Lincoln (age 15), William "The Younger" Peverell (age 61) and Ilbert Lacy 3rd Baron Pontefract were captured. William of Blois 1st Earl Albemarle 1st Earl York (age 40) fought for Stephen, his cousin.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1140. Thereafter died William, Archbishop of Canterbury; and the king (age 46) made Theobald (age 50) archbishop, who was Abbot of Bec. After this waxed a very great war betwixt the king and Randolph, Earl of Chester (age 41); not because he did not give him all that he could ask him, as he did to all others; but ever the more he gave them, the worse they were to him. The Earl held Lincoln against the king, and took away from him all that he ought to have. And the king went thither, and beset him and his brother William de Romare in the castle.

Annals of Winchester. [1141]. In this year, King Stephen (age 47) came to Lincoln with a great army, thinking he could easily subdue the Earl of Chester (age 42) and his brother, along with their castle. However, [his future father-in-law] Robert, Earl of Gloucester (age 42), whose [his future wife] sister [daughter] had been married to the Earl of Chester, came to their aid. Crossing the river Trent with difficulty, Robert and the Earl of Chester fought valiantly against the king and his forces. After many of the king's men were killed and captured, the king himself was captured, having been struck by a stone. He was then presented to the Empress Matilda (age 38), imprisoned in the castle, and held in chains. The Empress was received as the ruler by nearly all the leaders of England in Winchester, with the Lord Legate Henry (age 43), the Bishop of Winchester, presiding over the ceremony. She received the homage and fealty of all. However, the people of London did not submit willingly, or if they did, they did so grudgingly. Regardless, they continually plotted against her. When she happened to be in London, they made every attempt to capture her, but she was forewarned, leaving her belongings behind and escaping with her supporters. Finally, a dispute arose between the legate and the Empress. The Empress and her followers held the royal castle and the eastern part of Winchester, along with the townsmen. The legate and his supporters held their castle with the western part of the city and the Londoners. To make a long story short, the city was set on fire and laid waste. The nunnery church was burned, as was the church of Hyde, and a large crucifix was stripped of over two hundred marks of silver and thirty marks of gold. In the end, the Earl was captured and released as part of a ransom deal with the king. And so, the others were exchanged for others. The king regained his realm.

MCXLI. Hoc anno venit rex Lincolniam cum magno exercitu, æstimans comitem Cestrensem cum fratre suo et castello facile sibi posse subicere. Sed Robertus comes Glouecestriæ, cujus sororem comes Cestrensis dudum duxerat, venit eis in auxilium. Transitoque, licet cum difficultate, flumine Trenta, cum invento ibi rege et exercitu viriliter dimicavit, et comes Cestrensis cum suis ex parte altera. Exclusus rex, interfectis multis ex suis et captis, ictu denique lapidis procumbens, captus est, et imperatrici præsentatus, et in castello in annulis missus. Imperatrix igitur a domino legato Henrico, Wintoniensi episcopo, et omnibus fere capitaneis Angliæ apud Wintoniam in dominam suscepta est, suscepitque omnium homagia et fidelitates. Londonienses tamen non fecerunt fidelitatem, aut si fecerunt hoc, inviti. Licet autem fecerunt an non, semper ei insidiabantur, ita ut cum forte fuisset Londoniæ, illam capere modis omnibus temptaverunt; sed præmunita, relictis supellectilibus suis, clanculo cum suis aufugit. Facta demum inter legatum et imperatricem discordia, imperatrix cum suis castellum tenuit regium et orientalem partem Wintoniæ, et burgenses cum ea; legatus cum suis castrum suum cum parte occidentali et Londoniensibus. Quid multa? Combusca est civitas et depopulata. Ecclesia sanctimonialiurn combusta, et ecclesia de Hida, et excrustata est magna crux, inventæqne sunt in illa plus quam D. marcæ argenti et auri xxx. Comes postremo captus est, et redditus pro excambio regis, et sic cæteri alii pro aliis. Recepitque regnum suum rex.

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In or before 1147 Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester (age 47) and Matilda Fitzrobert Countess Chester were married. She by marriage Countess Chester. She the daughter of Robert Normandy 1st Earl Gloucester (age 48) and Mabel Fitzhamon Countess Gloucester. He the son of Ranulf le Meschin Gernon 3rd Earl Chester and Lucy Bolingbroke Countess Chester. They were half third cousins. She a granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

In 1147 [his son] Hugh de Kevelioc Gernon 5th Earl Chester was born to Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester (age 48) and [his wife] Matilda Fitzrobert Countess Chester at Kevelioc Monmouthshire South East Wales. He a great grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

On 31st October 1147 [his father-in-law] Robert Normandy 1st Earl Gloucester (age 48) died. His son [his brother-in-law] William succeeded 2nd Earl Gloucester.

All About History Books

The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.

In or before 1151 [his brother-in-law] William Fitzrobert 2nd Earl Gloucester and Hawise Beaumont Countess Gloucester were married. She by marriage Countess Gloucester. She the daughter of Robert Beaumont 2nd Earl of Leicester (age 46) and Amice Gael Countess Leicester. He the son of [his father-in-law] Robert Normandy 1st Earl Gloucester and [his mother-in-law] Mabel Fitzhamon Countess Gloucester. They were fourth cousins. He a grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

On 16th December 1153 Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester (age 54) died from poisoning by William "The Younger" Peverell (age 73). His son [his son] Hugh (age 6) succeeded 5th Earl Chester. William "The Younger" Peverell was exiled.

On 29th July 1189 [his former wife] Matilda Fitzrobert Countess Chester died.

Biography of Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester 1099-1153

Royal Descendants of Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester 1099-1153

Ancestors of Ranulf Gernon 4th Earl Chester 1099-1153