Earl of Chester's Midland lands

Who he is

Name

Ranulf III (Ranulf de Blondeville)

Title

Earl of Chester (palatine); lord of the honour of Bolingbroke and of the earl's half of Coventry

Since

Earl since his father Hugh's death in 1181

Born

1170

Family

Married Constance of Brittany in 1188-89; she left him in 1196-98 and the marriage was annulled in 1199. He marries Clemence de Fougeres in 1200 (date in the year not pinned). His sisters married David of Huntingdon, the earl of Derby and the earl of Arundel.

Confidence

high

His palatinate is the chester realm record (eno). He spent most of 1199-1204 in France on John's side.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• The honour and soke of Bolingbroke (the stone castle there is his later work, about 1220)
• The patronage of Revesby abbey (founded by William de Roumare in 1142)
• The earl's half of Coventry with the earl's castle (see Coventry)
• Barrow upon Soar and its soke (Leicestershire)
• Leek and the moorland manors (Staffordshire)
• Old claims to Lincoln castle and to Mountsorrel

How it was acquired

Bolingbroke from the Roumare inheritance; Coventry and Barrow from the Domesday earldom.

Allies and rivals

Kin by marriage of the earls of Huntingdon, Derby and Arundel. Rival of the Haye and Camville custody of Lincoln castle and of the earl of Leicester over Mountsorrel (old quarrels).

How things stand that morning

Absent in France on John's service; his English lands are run by his officers.

Wealth

The fen and marsh manors of the soke of Bolingbroke; Coventry's market and tolls.

Military

The castle at Coventry; Chester's knights; the castle at Bolingbroke is not yet built in stone.

Threats

• The fall-out of the Breton marriage, which lost him the honour of Richmond

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1200 (date not pinned)Marries Clemence de Fougeres, strengthening his Norman and Breton position.Depends on: the match going ahead Stopped by: John forbidding it or the Fougeres family withdrawing

Places of note

• Bolingbroke: Caput of the honour
• Coventry castle: Earl's castle in the earl's half

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The lands are well attested in general; the composition of the Bolingbroke soke in 1200 is drawn from later evidence.

On the map: Main centres only.

Primary sources for England

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond, Jocelin of Brakelond (about 1198 to 1203). An inside account of Bury St Edmunds under Abbot Samson, written while the events were fresh. Read online
• Chronicle of Melrose, Anonymous (monks of Melrose abbey) (about 1173 to 1270, in many hands; the 1200 entries are near contemporary). The main Scottish annal for the year, kept at a Cistercian house on the Tweed. Read online
• Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
• Chronicle of the Princes, Anonymous (Welsh translation of a lost Latin chronicle kept at Strata Florida) (Latin original to about 1282, compiled from contemporary annals; Welsh versions about 1300 and later). The native Welsh record of the year. Read online
• Chronicle; Deeds of the Kings, Gervase of Canterbury (Chronica about 1188 to 1199; Gesta Regum about 1199 to 1210). The Chronica stops in 1199, so for 1200 the witness is the briefer Gesta Regum, which notes John's peace with Philip, the coronation of Isabella at Westminster on 8 October 1200, and matters touching Canterbury: the archbishop Hubert Walter as chancellor, the cathedral priory's quarrel with him, and the Lambeth college dispute lately settled by the pope. Read online
• English Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall, Ralph of Coggeshall (about 1200 to 1224, in stages). Short but independent entries for 1200 from a Cistercian house in Essex: John's levy on the Cistercians and the carucage, the peace with Philip, the king's new marriage and the queen's coronation, and the death of Hugh of Lincoln. Read online
• Flowers of History, Roger of Wendover (about 1220 to 1235 at St Albans). For 1200 Wendover is mostly Howden rewritten, so he is a second witness only where he adds St Albans material: a long account of Hugh of Lincoln's last months, death and funeral, and anecdotes about John's conduct toward the Cistercians and his new queen. Read online
• Images of History, Ralph de Diceto (about 1188 to 1202). A London view of the year from the dean of St Paul's, who knew the justiciar and the bishops personally. Read online

22 more in the sources library for The British Isles.