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Birth:          1099 Gernon Castle,  Normandy
Death:          16 Dec 1153 England
Burial:         St. Werburgh, Chester, Cheshire, England

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranulf_de_Gernon,_4th_Earl_of_Chester
Ranulf II (also known as Ranulf de Gernon) (1099–1153) was an Anglo-Norman 
potentate who inherited the honour of the palatine county of Chester upon the death 
of his father Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester. He was descended from the 
Counts of Bessin in Normandy.

In 1136 David I of Scotland invaded England as far as Durham but was forced by 
Stephen of England to negotiate treaties that involved granting Ranulf's lands to 
Scotland. Ranulf allied himself to Matilda to further his cause. He took Lincoln Castle 
in 1141, which was retaken by Stephen in a siege in which Ranulf was forced to flee 
for his life. Ranulf enlisted the help of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester to retake the 
castle and succeeded when King Stephen surrendered to him at Lincoln. While 
Matilda ruled England, Stephen's queen Matilda of Boulogne managed to defeat 
Ranulf and his allies at Winchester, which eventually resulted in Stephen being able 
to resume the throne.
Early life[edit]

Ranulf was born in Normandy at the Château Guernon, around 1100. He was the son 
of Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester and Lucy of Bolingbroke, who were both 
significant landowners with considerable autonomy within the county palatine. His 
father had begun a new lineage of the earldom of Chester. Ranulf married Maud, 
daughter of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester and inherited the earldom in 1128. Three 
years later he founded an abbey in North Wales, colonised by monks from the Norman 
Congregation of Savigny.

Loss of northern lands to Scotland[edit]

In late January 1136, during the first months of the reign of Stephen of England, his 
northern neighbour David I of Scotland crossed the border into England. He took 
Carlisle, Wark, Alnwick, Norham and Newcastle upon Tyne and struck towards 
Durham. On 5 February 1136, Stephen reached Durham with a large force of 
mercenaries from Flanders and forced David to negotiate a treaty by which the Scots 
were granted the towns of Carlisle and Doncaster, for the return of Wark, Alnwick, 
Norham and Newcastle.

Lost from England to Scotland along with Carlisle was much of Cumberland and the 
honour of Lancaster, lands that belonged to Earl Ranulf's father and had been 
surrendered by agreement to Henry I of England in return for the Earldom of Chester. 
Ranulf claimed that his father had at that time been disinherited. When he heard of 
the concessions made to the Scottish King, Ranulf left Stephen's court in a rage.

In the second Treaty of Durham (1139), Stephen was even more generous to David, 
granting the Earldom of Northumbria (Carlisle, Cumberland, Westmorland and 
Lancashire north of the Ribble) to his son Prince Henry. Ranulf was prepared to revolt 
in order to win back his lordship of the north.
Death[edit]

In 1153 Henry — by then Stephen's accepted heir — granted Staffordshire to Ranulf. 
That year, whilst Ranulf was a guest at the house of William Peverel the Younger, his 
host attempted to kill him with poisoned wine. Three of his men who had drunk the 
wine died, while Ranulf suffered agonizing pain. A few months later Henry became 
king and exiled Peverel from England as punishment. Ranulf succumbed to the poison 
on 16 December 1153: his son Hugh inherited his lands as held in 1135 (when 
Stephen took the throne), while other honours bestowed upon Ranulf were revoked.
[citation needed]

Parents
LE MESCHIN Ranulph "De Briquessart" (ABT 1070 - Jan 1129)
OF MERCIA Lucy (Lucia) (ABT 1071 - 1141)

Siblings
LE MESCHIN Alice (Adeliza) (ABT 1094 - AFT 1142)
LE MESCHIN Ranulph "de Gernon" (1099 - 16 Dec 1153)
DE ST. PIERRE William (ABT 1103 - )

Marriage To FITZ ROBERT Maud (1120 - 29 Jul 1189)
    m.  

Notes

Parents
DE CAEN Robert "The King's Son" (1090 - 31 Oct 1147)
FITZ HAMON Maud (Mabel) (Sibyl) (1090 - 29 Sep 1157)

Children by FITZ ROBERT Maud 1120 - 29 Jul 1189
DE MESCHINES HUGH OF KEVELIOC (1147 - 30 Jun 1181)

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