Individual Details
Ranulf "Randulph, Randle, Ralph" Meschines
(1172 - 28 Oct 1232)
[[Category:Earls of Chester]] [[Category:Earls of Lincoln]] [[Category: Fifth Crusade]]
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== Biography =='''Randle the third, surnamed Blundeville, 6th earl of Chester from 1181 - 1232'''}
Randulph de Blundevill was born in Blundevill which Dugdale identified as Oswetry in Powis, Wales,} about 1172.
Randulph, warrior and statesman, was the son and heir of Hugh "de Kivolioc" earl palatine of Chester, and as was common in those times he took his surname from his birthplace.
Randulph had siblings:#Maud who was married in 1190 to David earl of Huntingdon, the brother of William, king of the Scots;#Mabel who was married to William de Albini, earl of Arundel; #Agnes who was married to William Ferrers, earl of Derby; and#Hawys who was married to Robert de Quency, son of Laher, earl of Winchester
===Marriages===In 1187, Henry II granted earl Randulph the marriage of Constance, the widow of the king's second son Geoffrey, and the daughter and heir of Conan duke of Brittany, in her own right, the "duke" of Brittany as her father had died on 19 August 1186. Earl Randulph became the stepfather of Arthur, Constance's son, and sometimes styled himself as Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond.
In 1199, his wife Constance deserted him and fled to Angers with her son Arthur, and married Guy the brother of Vicomte of Thours.
By 7 October 1200 earl Randulph was married to Clemence, died 1252, the widow of Alan de Dinan, the daughter of William and sister of Geoffrey, the great-niece of Ralph de Fougeres and niece of William de Humez, constable of Normandy.
He left no children by either of his wives.
===Career===In 1180/1, Randulph succeeded his father as earl of Chester during the reign of Henry II King of England.
Earl Randulph fought with his brother-in-law David for King Richard I in the siege of Nottingham in 1194 which surrendered on 28 March. He then accompanied his king to Normandy.
Earl Randulph quarrelled with his wife Constance and intercepted her on her way to Richard, imprisoning her in the castle of St Jean Beveron in 1196.
In 1199 Earl Randulph was present at the coronation of King John and then accompanied him abroad.
In 1203 Randulph was entrusted with the keep of Avranches on which he had an hereditary claim.
On 6 March 1205, he was granted the honour of Richmond which in 1211 was worth forty and a half knights' fees.
In 1209-10 he was leading the English forces engaged in Welsh wars, and when he was besieged in Rhuddlan Castle, a rabble from Chester fair, that had been sent by the constable of Chester, rescued him.
In 1214 earl Randulph founded the abbey of Dieulacres in Leek Staffordshire, as a safer place for the white monks from Pulton Abbey in Cheshire. Later that year he accompanied King John to Poitou.
Earl Randulph fought with both King John and King Henry III against the barons in 1215, against his uncle Simon de Montfort, and was a witness ''ex parte regis'' to the signing of the Magna Carte on 15 June.
In 1216 he was entrusted with the castle and county of Lancaster, took the cross with King John, and stormed and plundered Worcester with Fulk de Breaute. King John died on 19 October 1216 and earl Randulph was one of his executors and present at the coronation of John's son Henry III.
In 1217 when Mountsorrel Leicestershire was held for King Louis of France, Earl Randulph unsuccessfully laid siege to it, then shared in the royalist victory at Lincoln, he was then rewarded with the earldom of Lincoln which had belonged to his cousin, Gilbert de Grant.
In May 1218 Earl Randulph went on crusade to the Holy Land where in 1219 he joined in the siege and capture of Damietta where he distinguished himself greatly.
On his return to England in 1220 Pembroke, he found the regent had been dead for a year and Hubert de Burgh was the new regent, and Earl Randulph eventually deserted the royal party and plotted ineffectually with Aumale and de Breaute to surprise the Tower and obtain dismissal of Hubert de Burgh, however threatened with excommunication he submitted, losing Shrewsbury, Brigenorth and Lancaster.
Earl Randulph participated in the siege of Nantes with Henry III in 1230, and was left in Brittany with Aumale and William Marshall in charge of the army, he captured the train of the French army in 1231 and after invading Brittany arranged a truce for three years.
He returned to England in 1231 and joined Henry III who was at war with Llewellyn, at Castle Maude.
===Death===Randulph died on 26 or 28 October 1232 at Wallingford, Berkshire, England, and his body was borne to its burial-place at St Werburgs, Chester, with great and unusual honour, where he was buried on 3 November 1232 apart from his heart which was interred at Dieulacres according to his wishes.
Although small in stature, Randulph de Blundevill was fiery in spirit and had been earl of Chester for more than half a century.
Prior to his death earl Randulph gave his earldom of Lincoln to his sister Hawys de Quency, who then granted it to her son-in-law John de Lacy, constable of Chester, which was confirmed by the king on 23 November 1232. His estates passed to his sisters: Maud, countess of Huntingdon, whose son John of Scots, succeeded to the earldom of Chester; Mabel de Albini, countess of Arundel; Agnes Ferrers, countess of Derby; and Hawys de Quency, countess of Winchester.
Randall was earl of Chester for fifty-one years, and was "''the most distinguished of the palatinate earls. not only for prowess, then considered the first in rank of all the cardinal virtues, but for wisdom and prudence: he was the principal adviser and counsellor of four English monarchs''."
=== Profile's Relationship Changes===A third wife, Margaret de Bohun (Bohun-60), was detached as no supporting evidence had been found for their marriage. Margaret's profile had no parents, siblings, other spouses or children. After her profile was imported, her year of birth was changed to 1175 with no new sources added to the profile. [[Thompson-14289|Thompson-14289]] 22:00, 11 December 2014 (EST)
== Sources ==
See Also* Hulton, W.A. ed., ''The Coucher Book or Cartulary of Whalley Abbey. Vol. I'', [[Space:Remains Historical & Literary Connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester|Remains Historical & Literary Connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester]] (Printed for The Chetham Society, 1846) [https://books.google.ca/books?id=2_0rAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA9 Vol. 10, Page 9]
*Douglas Richardson, ''Royal Ancestry'', I:542-4.
}
== Biography =='''Randle the third, surnamed Blundeville, 6th earl of Chester from 1181 - 1232'''}
Randulph de Blundevill was born in Blundevill which Dugdale identified as Oswetry in Powis, Wales,} about 1172.
Randulph, warrior and statesman, was the son and heir of Hugh "de Kivolioc" earl palatine of Chester, and as was common in those times he took his surname from his birthplace.
Randulph had siblings:#Maud who was married in 1190 to David earl of Huntingdon, the brother of William, king of the Scots;#Mabel who was married to William de Albini, earl of Arundel; #Agnes who was married to William Ferrers, earl of Derby; and#Hawys who was married to Robert de Quency, son of Laher, earl of Winchester
===Marriages===In 1187, Henry II granted earl Randulph the marriage of Constance, the widow of the king's second son Geoffrey, and the daughter and heir of Conan duke of Brittany, in her own right, the "duke" of Brittany as her father had died on 19 August 1186. Earl Randulph became the stepfather of Arthur, Constance's son, and sometimes styled himself as Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond.
In 1199, his wife Constance deserted him and fled to Angers with her son Arthur, and married Guy the brother of Vicomte of Thours.
By 7 October 1200 earl Randulph was married to Clemence, died 1252, the widow of Alan de Dinan, the daughter of William and sister of Geoffrey, the great-niece of Ralph de Fougeres and niece of William de Humez, constable of Normandy.
He left no children by either of his wives.
===Career===In 1180/1, Randulph succeeded his father as earl of Chester during the reign of Henry II King of England.
Earl Randulph fought with his brother-in-law David for King Richard I in the siege of Nottingham in 1194 which surrendered on 28 March. He then accompanied his king to Normandy.
Earl Randulph quarrelled with his wife Constance and intercepted her on her way to Richard, imprisoning her in the castle of St Jean Beveron in 1196.
In 1199 Earl Randulph was present at the coronation of King John and then accompanied him abroad.
In 1203 Randulph was entrusted with the keep of Avranches on which he had an hereditary claim.
On 6 March 1205, he was granted the honour of Richmond which in 1211 was worth forty and a half knights' fees.
In 1209-10 he was leading the English forces engaged in Welsh wars, and when he was besieged in Rhuddlan Castle, a rabble from Chester fair, that had been sent by the constable of Chester, rescued him.
In 1214 earl Randulph founded the abbey of Dieulacres in Leek Staffordshire, as a safer place for the white monks from Pulton Abbey in Cheshire. Later that year he accompanied King John to Poitou.
Earl Randulph fought with both King John and King Henry III against the barons in 1215, against his uncle Simon de Montfort, and was a witness ''ex parte regis'' to the signing of the Magna Carte on 15 June.
In 1216 he was entrusted with the castle and county of Lancaster, took the cross with King John, and stormed and plundered Worcester with Fulk de Breaute. King John died on 19 October 1216 and earl Randulph was one of his executors and present at the coronation of John's son Henry III.
In 1217 when Mountsorrel Leicestershire was held for King Louis of France, Earl Randulph unsuccessfully laid siege to it, then shared in the royalist victory at Lincoln, he was then rewarded with the earldom of Lincoln which had belonged to his cousin, Gilbert de Grant.
In May 1218 Earl Randulph went on crusade to the Holy Land where in 1219 he joined in the siege and capture of Damietta where he distinguished himself greatly.
On his return to England in 1220 Pembroke, he found the regent had been dead for a year and Hubert de Burgh was the new regent, and Earl Randulph eventually deserted the royal party and plotted ineffectually with Aumale and de Breaute to surprise the Tower and obtain dismissal of Hubert de Burgh, however threatened with excommunication he submitted, losing Shrewsbury, Brigenorth and Lancaster.
Earl Randulph participated in the siege of Nantes with Henry III in 1230, and was left in Brittany with Aumale and William Marshall in charge of the army, he captured the train of the French army in 1231 and after invading Brittany arranged a truce for three years.
He returned to England in 1231 and joined Henry III who was at war with Llewellyn, at Castle Maude.
===Death===Randulph died on 26 or 28 October 1232 at Wallingford, Berkshire, England, and his body was borne to its burial-place at St Werburgs, Chester, with great and unusual honour, where he was buried on 3 November 1232 apart from his heart which was interred at Dieulacres according to his wishes.
Although small in stature, Randulph de Blundevill was fiery in spirit and had been earl of Chester for more than half a century.
Prior to his death earl Randulph gave his earldom of Lincoln to his sister Hawys de Quency, who then granted it to her son-in-law John de Lacy, constable of Chester, which was confirmed by the king on 23 November 1232. His estates passed to his sisters: Maud, countess of Huntingdon, whose son John of Scots, succeeded to the earldom of Chester; Mabel de Albini, countess of Arundel; Agnes Ferrers, countess of Derby; and Hawys de Quency, countess of Winchester.
Randall was earl of Chester for fifty-one years, and was "''the most distinguished of the palatinate earls. not only for prowess, then considered the first in rank of all the cardinal virtues, but for wisdom and prudence: he was the principal adviser and counsellor of four English monarchs''."
=== Profile's Relationship Changes===A third wife, Margaret de Bohun (Bohun-60), was detached as no supporting evidence had been found for their marriage. Margaret's profile had no parents, siblings, other spouses or children. After her profile was imported, her year of birth was changed to 1175 with no new sources added to the profile. [[Thompson-14289|Thompson-14289]] 22:00, 11 December 2014 (EST)
== Sources ==
See Also* Hulton, W.A. ed., ''The Coucher Book or Cartulary of Whalley Abbey. Vol. I'', [[Space:Remains Historical & Literary Connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester|Remains Historical & Literary Connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester]] (Printed for The Chetham Society, 1846) [https://books.google.ca/books?id=2_0rAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA9 Vol. 10, Page 9]
*Douglas Richardson, ''Royal Ancestry'', I:542-4.
Events
| Birth | 1172 | Oswetry, Powis, Wales | |||
| Death | 28 Oct 1232 | Wallingford, Berkshire, England | |||
| Alt name | de Blundevill de Blondeville | ||||
| Reference No | 1375480 | ||||
| Reference No | 1398942 | ||||
| Reference No | 60 |
Families
| Father | Hugh "6th Earl of Chester, Viscount D'avranches, Viscount Bayeux" Gernon (1141 - 1181) |
| Mother | Bertrade Montfort (1155 - 1227) |
| Sibling | Maud "Mabel of Chester" Meschines (1172 - 1232) |
| Sibling | Countess Matilda Chester (1171 - 1233) |
| Sibling | Amicia "Amice" Meschines (1167 - 1247) |
| Sibling | Beatrice Meschines (1170 - ) |
| Sibling | Unknown Meschines (1170 - ) |
| Sibling | Helga Meschines (1173 - 1222) |
| Sibling | Agnes "Beatrix, Lady of Chartley" Meschines (1174 - 1247) |
| Sibling | Lady Adeliz Meschines (1174 - 1247) |
| Sibling | Unknown Meschines (1180 - ) |
| Sibling | Hawise "of Chester, de Kevelioc, of Cyfeiliog, Countess of Lincoln, Havice" Kevelioc (1180 - 1243) |