TO HOLD BY THE SWORD

THE 5TH NORMAN EARL OF CHESTER - RANULPH DE GERNONS

BY PHILLIP E JONES

Unlike his father, Ranulph II was neither an unremarkable or forgettable Earl of Chester, but rather was renowned as probably the most ruthless and ambitious individual ever to hold the title. He succeeded to the Earldom in 1129 and in the following 24 years, up until his death in 1153, he rose to become one of the most powerful and influential men in England.

When the monarch Henry I died in 1135, he was succeeded to the English throne by his nephew, the young Prince Stephen. However, his entitlement to rule was immediately challenged by Henry’s daughter, the Empress Mathilda, the widow of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V who had later married Geoffrey of Anjou. And who believed that her son Henry of Anjou was the legitimate heir to the Crown. She had found support amongst a large number of the leading Barons of England and her cause had been further helped by Stephen’s decision to seize the lands and estates of these already disaffected noblemen. Mathilda was also the aunt of Ranulph’s wife Maud and a sister of Robert Earl of Gloucester, De Gernon’s father in law.

Between 1139 and 1145 England was in an almost continuous state of crisis, as the two parties vied with one another for control of the country and the support of the country’s leading noblemen. Robert, the Earl of Gloucester who was the father-in-law of Ranulph II was reported to have been a noted campaigner for the Angevin claims of Mathilda and this relationship was thought to have been factor in Ranulph’s later decision to back the claim of the Empress.

The Earl of Chester’s loyalty to Stephen had already been seriously undermined by the new king’s earlier decision to grant the Earldom of Carlisle to the son of the King of Scotland, rather than reinstate the title to Ranulph himself. His father, Ranulph de Meschines had been forced to surrender these very same titles and estates by Henry I after he had accepted the more lucrative and influential grant of Chester. Unlike his father though, Ranulph II was a far more independent and ambitious individual who was happy to exploit any situation for his own benefit.

De Gernons had inherited extensive properties and lands throughout England from his predecessors, including those he held in Lincolnshire and it was here that Ranulph finally announced his division with King Stephen, in the most public way. Sometime in 1141 the Earl made the decision to seize the royal Castle at Lincoln ostensibly in support of his own claims within the county. Unfortunately for him, Ranulph’s actions soon became embroiled in the much larger dispute that was dividing the country, that of the right of succession to the English throne.

Historical records suggest that Ranulph’s seizure of the royal castle was a fairly peaceful affair and one that might have been regarded as slightly farcical, had the repercussions not been so serious for all the parties involved. The Earl was said to have sent his wife Maud to the castle, supposedly to visit the wives of the garrison’s commanders, a visit that would almost certainly have distracted the husband’s as well. Sometime later Ranulph and a small number of unarmed men called at the castle on the pretext of collecting the Earl’s wife and escorting her home. Totally unaware that anything was amiss, the guards allowed the Earl and his retainer’s access to the inner precincts.

Once inside the castle Ranulph and his small number of supporters were reported to have picked up heavy tools and implements which were lying nearby and used them to incapacitate the unsuspecting guards. Once they were in control of the castle’s entrances, Ranulph was then able to summon additional men who soon took complete control of the castle complex. As soon as this had been completed, the Earl then took steps to gain some level of control over the civilian population in the nearby city.

Surprisingly perhaps, on hearing the news of Ranulph’s seizure of the royal castle King Stephen appeared to be largely undisturbed by the Earls illegal actions and was even reported to have been prepared to acquiesce to Ranulph’s demands on the subject. However, having received news that the citizens of Lincoln were being mistreated by De Gernon and his supporters, the monarch was finally forced into some sort of military action against the unruly Earl and after gathering his forces began the march to Lincoln.

Perhaps believing that Stephen would not take action against him, for fear of alienating him from the royal cause, Ranulph was thought to have been caught somewhat unawares when the king finally arrived at Lincoln accompanied by a substantial military force with which to besiege the castle. Although regarded as a highly combative individual, the Earl of Chester was no fool and quickly realised that his hold on the castle was tenuous at best and that he needed to reinforce his position as soon as possible.

Leaving his wife, his brother and most of his retainers to hold the castle, Ranulph was thought to have escaped the siege at dead of night and made his way back to the relative safety of Chester. Having reached the security of the city, he immediately began to assemble a military force with which to raise Stephen’s siege of Lincoln Castle, including troops supplied by the Welsh Princes Madog ap Maredudd of Powys and Cadwaladwr ap Gruffudd the exiled prince of Gwynedd who were no doubt eager to exploit the king’s weaknesses and perhaps gain greater benefits for themselves and their people, as well as expanding their own personal spheres of influence.

One of Ranulph’s first acts was to send word to his father-in-law, his wife Maud’s father, Robert the Earl of Gloucester, regarded as one of the most powerful magnates in England. Not surprisingly, having been told of his daughter’s plight at Lincoln Robert agreed to join Ranulph in his venture and began to assemble his own forces, which would later join the Earl of Chester in the battle that lay ahead. Content that he now had the means with which to defeat Stephen, Ranulph’s final act was to openly declare his support for the Angevin claimant Mathilda, a public declaration that would inevitably lead to bloodshed between the two men. In return for her military support at Lincoln, Ranulph was reported to have sworn fealty to the foreign Empress and her son Henry of Anjou, as well as his future collaboration in her claim for the English throne.

At Lincoln itself, King Stephen’s forces were still trying to capture the castle complex which was being resolutely held by Ranulph’s brother William of Roumare and his relatively small garrison of men. On hearing that a large force of men, led by the Earl’s of Chester and Gloucester, was approaching the city the king ordered that efforts to capture the castle should be intensified and took the advice of his leading nobles. Despite being advised to withdraw in order to raise a greater military force with which to confront the rebels, instead the king chose to confront the two Earls and their army with the resources at his disposal, a move that would later prove to be flawed.

As the two sides faced one another on the field of battle, the royalist forces were reported to have been led by their commanders William of Ypres and Alan of Dinan, who were faced by the Welsh Princes Maredudd and Cadwaladwr, along with the Earl’s of Chester and Gloucester. Despite being heavily outnumbered by the his adversaries Stephen and his entourage were said to have dismounted and placed themselves in full view of their enemy determined to hold their ground whatever the cost.

Almost immediately Stephen’s royal forces began to fragment from the onslaught unleashed by the Welsh foot soldiers that seemed to have no fear of the knights facing them. Even a number of Stephen’s most trusted lieutenants; supposedly men of character and valour were reported to have fled the field before the hordes of rebel troops overwhelmed them. Only the brave remained, including Stephen and his most ardent supporters who were said to have held their ground and resisted the tide of soldiers that came against them. Almost inevitably though one by one the king’s retinue was reduced as the individual knights succumbed to the weaponry that was employed against them. Finally, even the king, exhausted from fighting with both sword and axe was said to have been worn down by the sheer numbers of his enemies and was forced to surrender his arms to his enemy Robert of Gloucester.

Having won the day and captured the king, the Earl’s of Chester and Gloucester were reported to have held Stephen prisoner, before handing him over to his enemy, the Empress Mathilda. For the victorious Earl’s though, the capture of the king appears to have been poor reward for their efforts and shortly after Stephen was taken their troops were reported to have ransacked the whole of the city of Lincoln, slaughtering those citizens who had been foolish enough to remain within its precincts, their livestock and causing untold damage to its fabric, including the ancient cathedral.

With Stephen a prisoner, it seemed that there was little to prevent the Empress Mathilda from seizing the throne on behalf of her son Henry of Anjou. However, the demands of her new subjects and her own autocratic personality, reflected in an unwillingness to concede to such demands, would almost inevitably lead to a widespread public rejection of the Empress herself and preventing her from taking control of the country. She was reported to have managed to stay in London for about a week, before concerns for her personal safety forced her to withdraw fro the capital and ultimately undermining her ability to take full control.

Not only did she alienate the citizenry of England, but in a relatively short time had caused a great deal of disaffection amongst the leading Earl’s and magnates who had helped her to seize control of England in the first place. Her dictatorial manner deepened the continuing unrest and inadvertently aided those royalist factions in the country that were seeking to reinstate the captive Stephen. Helped by Stephen’s Queen, resistance to the Angevin candidate Henry of Anjou began to build and arrangements were made for the seizure of Mathilda’s brother, Robert the Earl of Gloucester by those still loyal to the king. Having managed to capture the Earl, he was then reported to have been exchanged for Stephen, an event which fundamentally marked the end of Mathilda’s tenuous grasp on the English throne.

For his part, Ranulph II of Chester appears to have distanced himself from the events which resulted in his father-in-law being exchanged for the captured king, possibly because he had already achieved his own singular objective of gaining possession of Lincoln Castle. Perhaps believing that these gains would remain in his hands regardless of who was on the throne, De Gernon clearly expected that his rebellious actions against Stephen would soon be forgiven and seems to have taken very little part in the restoration of the monarch.

Despite what Ranulph may have thought, Stephen was determined to avenge his humiliation at the hands of the Angevin supporters, many of whom had been granted extensive rights by him. The king had learned from his earlier mistakes though and knew that he had to secure his position within England, before he would dare to confront those that had rebelled against, notably Ranulph II, Earl of Chester. 

By 1146 the king’s position and authority within the country was once again safe his having reached an agreement with the Empress Mathilda, which would see her son and heir Henry of Anjou succeed to the English throne on Stephen’s death. With no further cause of dispute to divide the kingdom, Stephen now chose to confront and deal with those Earls and Lords that had acted against him. In the same year, the Welsh Prince Owain ap Gruffudd was reported to have rebelled against the Norman Marcher Lords of North Wales, forcing Ranulph II to approach Stephen for his help in suppressing the outbreak of violence. However, instead of receiving offers of help from the monarch, the Earl was immediately arrested for his part in the Battle of Lincoln and the subsequent imprisonment of the king.

Having been held at Northampton for some months, surprisingly Ranulph II was thought to have escaped any serious punishment for his wrongdoings against the king, save from having to surrender those properties he had illegally seized, deliver hostages to guarantee his future behaviour and pay compensation for the damage that he had caused to Lincoln’s cathedral building. Despite the apparent leniency of the demands levied against him by King Stephen, the loss of his hard won properties, the demands made on his purse, plus the loss of reputation were all difficult things for the Earl to bear. His displeasure was even greater, having found out that during his enforced imprisonment, that the Welsh rebels were said to have captured the vitally important township of Mold.

Somewhat typically and despite having given hostages to the king to guarantee his future behaviour, as soon as he was released from his captivity, Ranulph was reported to have begun a series of malicious raiding campaigns designed to bring disorder and mayhem throughout his holdings until such time as his seized and sequestered lands were returned to him. It was reported by one source that;

“Having been released by King Stephen, the Earl Ranulph followed his inclination and flew straight away to arms. In one district he seized the king’s castle and in another, the new castles he built in haste could be seen rising and he passed rapidly from one region to another with his army and by his ravages he turned everything to desert and bare fields. In front of the city of Lincoln, which he had returned to the king for his freedom and in which Stephen had stationed the flower of his troop’s, he made frequent raids and won a glad and victorious triumph over the kings men”

It was only after much death and destruction had been wrought by the malevolent Earl, that the king finally relented and ordered the return of many of Ranulph’s assets and lands. Having had most of his losses restored to him, De Gernon’s was thought to have ended his tyrannical raids and an uneasy peace began to descend on the country once again.

In 1149 Ranulph was thought to have met with King David of Scotland and his nephew, Prince Henry of Anjou, who was the legitimate heir to the English throne and who was trying to develop future alliances within England. As a consequence of this meeting Ranulph was reported to have been granted Northern Lancashire by the Scottish monarch, presumably for his future support of the Angevin prince, which further enhanced and extended his northern holdings. A noted historian, Henry of Huntington described Ranulph II thus;

“He is a man of reckless audacity, ready for a plot, not to be depended on for carrying it out, prepared to rush into war, careless of danger with designs well beyond his powers and aiming at impossibilities”

Although he has often been regarded as a military gambler who more often than not turned most situations to his own advantage, the ruthless Earl was not always a winner when it came to battles. Around 1150 he was thought to have come into direct confrontation with Prince Owain ap Gruffudd the ruler of the Gwynedd area of North Wales. At the Battle of Lincoln, Ranulph had employed Owain’s exiled brother Cadwaladwr and his sponsor, the ruler of Powys Madog ap Maredudd in his force, which immediately put Ranulph and Owain at odds with one another. The Earl had chosen to ally himself once again with Maredudd, this time in the Powysian leader’s dispute with Owain which would prove to be a military error for De Gernon’s. The two warring sides were reported to have met at the Battle of Coleshill in 1150, with Owain ap Gruffudd proving to be victorious over Maredudd and Ranulph II.

Despite the unfortunate outcomes of previous ventures, Ranulph continued to be the most unreliable of subjects, who was constantly seeking new opportunities that would enhance his purse, holdings and influence. In 1153 Henry of Anjou, the son and heir of the Empress Mathilda arrived in England to pursue his rights and entitlements which had been previously agreed between his mother and the monarch, King Stephen. The Earl of Chester was in the vanguard of those that offered their support to the young Prince, in the hope of gaining further rewards in return for his fealty. Unfortunately for Ranulph, he was reported to have cast an envious and prospective eye on the lands of William Peverell of the Peak, the Lord of Nottingham, an act that would ultimately have fatal consequences for De Gernons. In the same year, it has been suggested that Peverell arranged for the acquisitive Earl to be poisoned, but whether or not that was at Peverell’s own hand or through a third party isn’t entirely clear. What is known though, is that Peverell was later said to have entered a monastery in order to either escape divine retribution or to make reparation for his actions.

At the time of his death there is a suggestion that De Gernon was under threat of excommunication by the Pontiff, despite the fact that throughout his life he was reported to have been a generous benefactor to the church. He has been credited with the foundation of St Mary’s Benedictine Convent at Chester, but most experts believe that this particular religious house had been in existence for some years before that. This accreditation for Ranulph II may well simply reflect the later grant of lands in the southwest quadrant of the city, overlooking the River Dee, rather than the initial foundation of the order.

Ranulph II was reported to have been survived by his wife Maud and his two sons Hugh of Gyffyllioc and Richard. It was his older son Hugh that would succeed to his title and to the extensive lands and holdings which Ranulph had managed to accumulate throughout his lifetime.   

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