Ranulf de Briquessart

• Preferred Name: Ranulf de Briquessart^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}
  
• Alternate Name: Ranulf the Younger
  
• Gender: M
  
• Ranulf+de+Briquessart: 1089 in Chester, Cheshire West and Chester Unitary Authority, Cheshire, England at LATI: N3.1938 LONG: E2.8921 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• Alt. Birth: 1046 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France at LATI: N9.2764 LONG: E0.7031
  
• Birth: ABT 1047 in Normandy, France at LATI: N8.928 LONG: E0.5326
  
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Meschines-95: with note: Description: Wikitree Ranulph (Ranulf I) "Vicomte de Bayeux" le Meschin formerly Meschines aka de Briquessart, of the Bessin II Born about 1047 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France Son of Ranulph (Bayeux) de Bayeux and Adelize (Normandie) de Bayeux Brother of Warner (Chester) FitzRanulph and Hugh (Chester) of Chester
  
• Burial: 1100 in Chester, Cheshire, England at LATI: N3.1938 LONG: E2.8921
  
• Alt. Death: NOV 1120 in Chester, Cheshire, England at LATI: N3.1938 LONG: E2.8921
  
• https://www.geni.com/people/Ranulph-II-le-Meschin-de-Bayeux/6000000003494695157: with note: Description: Geni
  
• http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility: with note: Description: Viscount of Bessin
  
• http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility: 1089 with note: Description: Viscount of Bayeaux
  
• Alt. Burial: AFT NOV 1120 in Chester Cathedral, Cheshire, England at LATI: N3.1918 LONG: E2.8883
  
• Death: NOV 1129 in Bayeux, Normandie, France at LATI: N9.2764 LONG: E0.7031
  
• Alt. Death: ABT 1089 in Chester, Cheshire, England at LATI: N3.1938 LONG: E2.8921
  
• FSID: LH86-HY5
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Ranulf I, who was hereditary viscount of the Bessin, the earls’ chief seat in Normandy was Briquessart, a few miles south-west of Bayeux.[98] Their scattered holdings also included the important castle and castellanry of Saint-Jacques-de-Beuvron, which though lost in 1204 was restored to Ranulf III in 1230, and interests in the Channel Island of Guernsey where they had a vicecomes. [99]
  
  98. F. M. Powicke, The Loss of Normandy (Manchester, 1913), pp. 49n., 59, 75-6, 78, 335-6; Alexander, Ranulf, p. 12; C.E.C., no. 186.
  99. Ann. Cest., p. 56; pers. comm. D. Crouch; C.£.C„ no. 41
  
  The Earls and Their Earldoms, A. L. Thacker in Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society vol 71, The Earldom of Chester and its charters: a tribute to Geoffrey Barraclough
  (https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1147407&recordType=Journal)
  ...............................................................................
  
  Ranulf II de Bayeux, Vicomte de Bessin was born circa 1050 at Bayeux, Normandy, France. He was the son of Ranulph de Bayeux, Vicomte de Bessin and Aliz de Normandie.
  He married Margaret d'Avranches, daughter of Richard le Goz, Vicomte d'Avranches and Emma de Contville, circa 1069 at Avranches, Normandy, France.
  He died in November 1120.
  He gained the title of Vicomte de Bayeux [Normandy] in 1089, or 'de la Bessin', of which Bayeux is the capital.
  
  Children of Ranulf II de Bayeux, Vicomte de Bessin and Margaret Le Goz of Avaranches
  
  1. William le Meschin, Lord of Copeland
  2. Ranulph le Meschin, 1st Earl of Chester b. c 1070, d. 17 Jan 1128/29
  
  http://www.thepeerage.com/p4881.htm#i48804
  
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  RANULF [Ralph] (-after [1098]). Vicomte du Bessin (Bayeux). "…Ranulfus vicecomes Baiocensis…" witnessed the charter dated 1064 under which Guillaume II Duke of Normandy settled a claim in favour of the monks of Marmoutier relating to property donated by "Guido de Valle"[395]. "…Rannulfus filius Rannulfi vicecomitis…Rannulfus vicecomes" witnessed the charter dated 24 Apr 1089 under which Robert III Duke of Normandy donated property to Bayeux cathedral[396]. The Liber Vitæ of Durham names "Rannulfus Mahald uxor eius Ricardus Rannulfus de Mesc filii eorum Lucia uxor Rann"[397]. m MARGUERITE [Mathilde] d'Avranches, daughter of RICHARD Vicomte d'Avranches & his wife --- (-after [1098]). She is named "Mathilda soror Hugonis comitis" by Orderic Vitalis, who also names her son[398].
  
  Her husband is named in another passage, as father of his son Guillaume[399]. The Liber Vitæ of Durham names "Rannulfus Mahald uxor eius Ricardus Rannulfus de Mesc filii eorum Lucia uxor Rann"[400]. Vicomte Ranulf & his wife had four children:
  
  i) RICHARD (after [1098]). The Liber Vitæ of Durham names "Rannulfus Mahald uxor eius Ricardus Rannulfus de Mesc filii eorum Lucia uxor Rann"[401]. As Richard is named in this source together with his brother’s wife, his date of death is estimated based on his brother’s estimated marriage date. “R de Meschin, Richerio vicecomiti Karleoli” donated property to Wetherall priory, Cumberland, for the soul of “…Richard fratris mei…et uxoris meæ Luciæ…”, by undated charter, witnessed by “Osberto vicecomite, Walteof filio Cospatricii comitis, Forno Sigulfi filio, Chetello Ectredi filio…”[402].
  
  ii) RANULF du Bessin "le Meschin" (-17 or 27 Jan 1129, bur Chester, Abbey of St Werburgh). Orderic Vitalis names him and his mother[403]. "…Rannulfus filius Rannulfi vicecomitis…Rannulfus vicecomes" witnessed the charter dated 24 Apr 1089 under which Robert III Duke of Normandy donated property to Bayeux cathedral[404]. The Liber Vitæ of Durham names "Rannulfus Mahald uxor eius Ricardus Rannulfus de Mesc filii eorum Lucia uxor Rann"[405]. He succeeded his father as Vicomte du Bessin (Bayeux). He was appointed Vicomte d'Avranches in 1120 after the death of his first cousin Richard d'Avranches, and also obtained the grant of the county palatine of Chester thereby becoming Earl of Chester (upon which he surrendered the lordship of Carlisle). - EARLS of CHESTER.
  
  iii) WILLIAM FitzRanulf (-[1130/35]). The Cronicon Cumbriæ records that William I King of England granted “totam terram de comitatu Cumbriæ” to “Ranulpho de Meschines, et Galfrido fratri eiusdem…et Willielmo fratri eorundem terram de Copland”[406]. - see below.
  
  iv) GEOFFROY of Gillesland . The Cronicon Cumbriæ records that William I King of England granted “totam terram de comitatu Cumbriæ” to “Ranulpho de Meschines, et Galfrido fratri eiusdem Ranulphi totum comitatum Cestriæ, et Willielmo fratri eorundem terram de Copland”, adding that Geoffroy died without heirs and was succeeded by his brother Ranulf[407].
  
  Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
  
  BIO
  BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMAN%20NOBILITY.htm#RanulfBessinMMargueriteAvranches as of 4/5/2016
  
  RANULF [Ralph] (-after [1098]). Vicomte du Bessin (Bayeux). "…Ranulfus vicecomes Bai
  
  === Ranulphus, a noble Norman in the train o ===
  Ranulphus, a noble Norman in the train of William the Conqueror, one of the soldiers of fortune, who acquired as their share of the spoil, the county of Chester, had, for his immediate division, fifteen lordships there, amongst which was Peore (afterwards Over-Peover). His son and heir, Richard de Mesnilwaren, was ancestor of William Mainwaring, of Over Peover. [John Burke, Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland, and Scotland, 2nd Edition, Scott, Webster, and Geary, London, 1841, p. 334]
  
  === !Ranulph II, adult by 1066, living April ===
  !Ranulph II, adult by 1066, living April 1089, vocomte of Bayeux in Normandy, m. Margaret (or Maud), dau. of Richard (le Goz), living 1084, vocomte d'Avranches, by his wife Emma (Emma has been alleged to be a half-sister of William the Conqueror, Professor Douglas Labels this fictitious.) Ref: (Douglas, William the Conqueror, pp. 92-93; Douglas, "The Rise of Normandy", pp. 127-128; CP III 166; XII pt. 1 App. K. 32-33).
  
  === Ranulf de Bayeux, II, Vicomte de Bayeux ===
  Ranulf de Bayeux, II, Vicomte de Bayeux
  Also Known As:
  "Ranulph", "de Meschines", "Ranulf De Meschines", "De Bayeux", "Meschimes", "Viscount de Bayeux", "Earl of Chester"
  Birthdate:
  circa 1050 (79)
  Birthplace:
  Bayeux, Calvados, Normandie, France
  Death:
  circa November 1129 (71-87)
  Bayeux, Calvados, Normandy, France
  Place of Burial:
  Chester, Cheshire, England
  Immediate Family:
  Son of Ranulph I de Bayeux, Vicomte du Bessin and Alix FitzRichard de Normandie
  Husband of Maude de Avanches and Maud (Margaret) d'Avranches, Le Goz
  Father of William le Meschin; Ranulph Iii "de Briquessart" le Meschin, Earl of Chester; William FitzRanulf Meschin; Geoffrey de Meschines; Robert de Meschines and 3 others
  Brother of Alice de Bayeux
  Occupation:
  Commander of the Royal Forces in 1124 at Normandy, France., Viscount de Bayeux, viscount of the Bessin, Prob viscount who witness charter 1066, Vicomte, de Bayeux, du Bessin, Sieur, de Briquessart, VISCOUNT DE BAYEUX, Viscmte De Bayeux, Vidscount
  
  === !Ancestral Roots by Weis, Seventh Editio ===
  !Ancestral Roots by Weis, Seventh Edition L 132A-26
  
  === Came over with William The Conqueror. ===
  Came over with William The Conqueror.
  
  === !Ranulph III le Meschin, also styled de ===
  !Ranulph III le Meschin, also styled de Briquessart, d. ca. 1129, bur. St. Werburg's, Chester, lord of Cumberland, vocomte of Bayeaux in Normandy, became Earl of Chester in 1120, following the death of his first cousin, Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester; in 1124 he was commander of the Royal Forces in Normandy; m. prob. ca. 1098 Lucy, living 1130, widow of Roger Fitz Gerold. Ref: (CP III 166; VII, App. J. 743-746; Douglas, William the Conqueror, pp. 92-93; Sanders, English Baronies, pp. 32-33; Douglas, "The Rise of Normandy", pp. 127-128).
  
  === SORLEY'S PEDIGREES (GS NUMBER Q929.242 S ===
  SORLEY'S PEDIGREES (GS NUMBER Q929.242 SO68) P.18, 19, 22; ANCESTRAL FILE, LDS GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY;
  
  === [De La Pole.FTW] Sources: A. Roots 255; ===
  [De La Pole.FTW] Sources: A. Roots 255; Norr; Kraentzler 1370; Ayers, p324 , 852. Norr: Harold de Ewyas, Lord of Sudley. Built Ewyas Castl e. Ewyas Harold was named after him. Married a daughter, bo rn about 1066, of William the Conqueror. Roots: Harold de Ewyas, Lord of Sudeley and Ewyas Harold , living 1115; wife's name lacking. K: Harold de Ewyas, seated himself about 1086 at Sudley , Gloucester; later rec. Ewyas, Hereford. Born about 1052 . Living 1120. Ayers: Harold de Sudeley (Harold of Ewyas), Lord of Sude ley and Ewyas Harold.
  
  === 2. Ranulph or Randle de Meschines, surn ===
  2. Ranulph or Randle de Meschines, surnamed de Bricasard, Viscount Bayeux, in Normandy (son of Ralph de Meschines, by Maud, his wife, co-heir of her brother, Hugh Lupus, the celebrated Earl of Chester), was given by King Henry I., the Earldom of Chester, at the decease of his first cousin, Richard de Abrincis, 2nd Earl of Chester, of that family (See Abrincis Line), without issue. By some of the historians he is styled Earl of Carlisle, from residing in that city; and they further state, that he came over in the train of the Conqueror, assisted in the subjugation of England, and shared, of course, in the spoil of the Conquest. He was lord of Cumberland and Carlisle, by descent from his father, but having enfeoffed his two brothers, William, of Coupland, and Geoffrey, of Gillesland, in a large portion thereof, he exchanged the Earldom of Cumberland for that of Chester, on condition that those whom he had settled there, should hold their lands of the king, in capite. He married Lucia Romara, widow of Roger de Romara, Earl of Lincoln, and daughter of Algar, the Saxon, Earl of Mercia
  
  === Ranulph III de Meschin, de Briquessare, ===
  Ranulph III de Meschin, de Briquessare, d. c 1129, buried StWerburg's, Chester, lord of Cumberland, vicomte of Bayeux in Normandy,Earl of Chester in 1120, following the death of his first counsin Hughd'Avranches, Earl of Chester; in 1124 commander of the Royal Forces inNormandy; m. probably c 1098 Lucy, living 1130, widdow successively,of Ives Taillebois and Roger FitzGerold. [Ancestral Roots]
  ___________________
  
  EARLDOM OF CHESTER (IV,1)
  
  Ranulph le Meschin (a), styled, also 'De Briquessart,' Vicomte DeBayeux in Normandy, son and heir of Ranulph, Vicomte De Bayeux, byMargaret, sister of Hugh (d'Avranches), Earl of Chester, being thus1st counsin and heir to the last Earl (whom he succeeded as Vicomted'Avranches & C. in Normandy), obtained, after the Earl's death in1120, the grant of the county palatine of Chester becoming therebyEarl of Chester. He appears thereupon to have surrendered the Lordshipof the great district of Cumberland, which he had acquired, shortlybefore, from Henry I. In 1124 he was Commander of the Royal forces inNormandy. He married Lucy, widow of Roger FitzGerold (by whom she wasmother of William de Roumare, afterwards Earl of Lincoln). He died 17or 27 January 1128/9, and was buried at St Werburg's, Chester. TheCountess Lucy confirmed, as his widow, the grant of the Manor ofSpalding to the monks of that place (f). [Complete Peerage III:166,XIV:170, (transcribed by Dave Utzinger)[
  
  (a) ie. 'The young' from the Latin 'Mischinus'; French 'Meschin' (LeJeune). 'Apud Francos mediae aetatis scriptores sumitur vox 'Meschin'pro adolescente et juvenculo.' Ducange.
  
  (f) She paid 500 marks to King Henry in 1130 for license to remainunmarried for 5 years.
  _________________
  
  Ranulf or Randle de Meschines, surnames de Bricasard, Viscount Bayeus,in Normandy, (son of Ralph de Meschines, by Maud, his wife, co-heir ofher brother, Hugh Lupus, the celebrated Earl of Chester), was given byKing Henry I the Earldom of Chester, at the decease of his 1st cousin,Richard de Abrincis, 2nd Earl of Chester, of that family, withoutissue. By some historians, this nobleman is styled Earl of Carlisle,from residing in that city; and they further state that he came overin the train of the Conqueror, assisted in the subjugation of England,and shared, or course, in the spoil of conquest. He was lord ofCumberland and Carlisle, by descent from his father, but havingenfeoffed his two brothers, William of Coupland, and Geffrey ofGillesland, in a large portion thereof, he exchanged the Earldom ofCumberland for that of Chester, on condition that those whom he hadsettled there should hold their lands of the king, in capite. Hislordship m. Lucia, widow of Roger de Romara, Early of Lincoln, anddau. of Algar, the Saxon, Earl of Mercia, and had issue, Ranulph, hissuccessor; William, styled Earl of Cambridge, but of his issue nothingis known; Adeliza, m. to Richard FitzGilbert, ancestor of the oldEarls of Clare; and Agnes, m. to Robert de Grentemaisnil. The earl d.in 1128 and was s. by his elder son, Ranulph de Meschines. [Sir BenardBurke, 'Dormant and Extinct Peerages', Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London,1883, p. 365, Meschines, Earls of Chester]
  
  From Post-em Display of Curt_Hofemann@yahoo.com:
  
  Ranulph le Meschin , 1st Earl of Chester
  
  To Richard succeeded in the Earldom of Chester, Ranulph, sirnamed _deBricasard_, as he is called by some, and by others, _Ranulph deMæcenis_) Sisters Son to Earl Hugh, and his next Her in Blood, by thedeath of Earl Richard, without issue. But I cannot say, he enjoyed hisEarldom by vertue of that his descent; for I find, that having weddedLucia, Sister to those Noble Brothers, Edwyne and Morkar (of whom Ihave made mention under the Titles Mercia and Northumberland) he notonly gave up those Lands of her Inheritance, in lieu thereof, but alarge sum of Money besides, which was not totally paid of a good whileafter. For it appears, that in 5 Steph. Ranulph, Earl of Chester, (Sonto this Ranulph) is certified, to be indebted to the King in athousand pounds, _De debito Patris sui, pro terrâ Hugonis Comitis_.
  This Ranulph, before he thus enjoyed the Earldom of Chester, was Earlof Cumberland; for so I find him stiled in that Confirmation made byKing William, of the Mannor of Wederhale, to the Abbey of S. Maries atYork (which afterwards became a Cell to that Monastery).
  By some of our Historians he is called Earl of Carlisle (by reason ofhis residence there, that being the cheif City of Umberland,) whofarther report of him, that he came over with William, Duke ofNormandy and gave him effectual assistance in his Conquest of England;as also, that he began the building of the City of Carlisle, andgranted divers Immunities to the Inhabitants thereof. And moreover,that King William in his return from Scotland discerning Carlisle tobe so Royal a Town, took it from him, and gave him this of Chester inits stead.
  It is likewise recorded of this Ranulph; that being a person of morethan ordinary valor, King William the Conqueror gave him that vastMountainous Country, called Stanemore, situate on the skirts ofYorkshire and Westmerland, then possessed by Aliens, upon condition,he could recover it out of their hands; and that, by his singularcourage, having beaten out those Foreigners, he Enfeoffed his twoBrothers in a large portion thereof, viz. William of Coupland, andGeffrey of Gillesland; and a multitude of others within the County ofCumberland, amongst which, one Waltheof, a Man of note in that age, asalso the Morvills, and sundry persons in Anandale, whose estates, theKing at his request confirmed. But the Earldom, id est, of Cumberland,he retained to himself, with all Royalty and Dominion, for a longtime, with as much power and freedom, as if there had been anotherKing in those parts. And that after this, the King proposing to himthe waging War with the Marchers in Cheshire, who had invaded a greatpart of the Countrey; he undertaking the work, drove them out.Whereupon he gave him that whole Province, and made him Count Palatineof it, as he had Earl Hugh. So that he thenceforth left the Earldom ofCumberland, on condition, that those whom he had Enfeoffed there,should hold their Lands of the King in Capite, and setled himself inCheshire.
  This Earl was Founder of the Abbey at Kaldra in Cumberland; andtranslated the Bones of his Uncle Earl Hugh from the Churchyard, intothe Chapter-House at Chester: at which time he gave to the Monks ofthe Abbey of S. Werburg there, the Lordship of Uptune in Cheshire. Hegave also to the Abbey of S. Maries at York, the Church of S. Michael;and the Church of S. Laurence, belonging to his Castle at Appleby (inWestmerland). And departing this life in the year One thousand onehundred twenty nine (29 H. 1.) was buried in the Abbey of S. Werburgbefore mentioned; leaving Issue by Lucia his Wife, Daughter to Algar,sometime Earl of Mercia (as I have elswhere shewed) two Sons, viz.Ranulph and William; and two Daughters, Alice, Wife to RichardFitz-Gilbert, Ancestor of the Earls of Clare, and Agnes of Robert deGrent-Maisnil.
  Which Lucia, surviving him, in 5 Steph. paid to the King Cclxvi l.xiii s. iiii d. for Livery of her Fathers Lands; and likewise FiveHundred marks fine, to the end, she might not be compelled to marryagain within the space of five years.
  To the Nuns of Stikesmould (in Lincolnshire) she have (sic: gave)Seven Carucates, and Four Ox-gangs of Land, lying in Huntendon. Andconfirmed to the Priory of Spalding in the same County, the Mannor ofSpalding, which Ivo Talboys, her first Husband, had formerly given tothe Monks of S. Nicholas at Angiers in France; unto which Monastery,this of Spalding, was a Cell, where she afterwards had Sepulture.[Ref: Dugdale, Baronage of England, 1675, reprinted by Georg OlmsVerlag, Hildesheim & New York, 1977; Earls of Chester, pp. 36-37]
  
  '16. By the same Frith, more within the land, standeth DrumboughCastle, belonging of later time to the Lords of Dacre, a station intimes past of the Romans. Some will have it to have beene ExploratorumCastra , notwithstanding the distance utterly countrouleth [excludes]it. There was also an other station of the Romans beside it, which nowbeeing changed into a new name is called Burgh upon Sands, whence theterritorie adjoyning is named the Baronie of Burgh, the which RichardMeschines Lord of Cumberland gave unto Robert de Trivers, but from himit came to the Morvills...' From: Britain, or, a ChorographicallDescription of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, andIreland, by William Camden (1607), translated from the Latin byPhilemon Holland (1610), Chapter on Cumberland, quoted in A Visionof Britain Through Time website, URL:http://vision.edina.ac.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Camden&c_id=28&p_id=951[date accessed: 6/30/07].
  
  'The barony of Burgh (fn. 4) was given by Earl Ranulph [le Meschins]to Robert D'Estrivers, from whose family it passed by successive heirsfemale to the families of Morvill, Multon, Dacre, and Howard.
  
  4 This barony comprises the parishes of Burgh, Bowness, Aikton,Thursby, Orton, KirkBampton, Beaumont, Kirk-Andrews on Eden, andGrinsdale.'
  
  From: 'General history: Baronies', Magna Britannia: volume 4:Cumberland (1816), pp. LIII-LV. URL:http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=50664. Dateaccessed: 01 July 2007.
  
  Ranulph III de Meschin, de Briquessare, d. c 1129, buried StWerburg's, Chester, lord of Cumberland, vicomte of Bayeux in Normandy,Earl of Chester in 1120, following the death of his first counsin Hughd'Avranches, Earl of Chester; in 1124 commander of the Royal Forces inNormandy; m. probably c 1098 Lucy, living 1130, widdow successively,of Ives Taillebois and Roger FitzGerold. [Ancestral Roots]
  ___________________
  
  EARLDOM OF CHESTER (IV,1)
  
  Ranulph le Meschin (a), styled, also 'De Briquessart,' Vicomte DeBayeux in Normandy, son and heir of Ranulph, Vicomte De Bayeux, byMargaret, sister of Hugh (d'Avranches), Earl of Chester, being thus1st counsin and heir to the last Earl (whom he succee
  
  === Ranulf (Ranulph) II 'le Meschin' de Baye ===
  Ranulf (Ranulph) II 'le Meschin' de Bayeux, de Briquessart, du Bessin (de Bayeux), Vicomte de Bayeux
  Also Known As: "Ranulf De /Meschines/", "Ranulf /De Meschines/", "Ranulf /De Bayeux/", "Ranulph /Meschimes/", "Viscount de Bayeux", "Ranulf "Earl of Chester""
  Birth circa 1050 Bayeux, Calvados, Normandie, France
  Death: Died November 1129 in Bayeux, Calvados, Normandy, France
  Place of Burial: Chester, Cheshire, England
  Immediate Family:
  Son of Ranulph I de Bayeux, Vicomte du Bessin and Alix FitzRichard de Normandie
  Husband of Maud (Margaret) d'Avranches, Le Goz
  Father of Ranulph III "de Briquessart" le Meschin, Earl of Chester; Geoffrey de Meschines; Robert de Meschines; Agnes (Adeliza) de Meschines, de Bayeux; Matilda Dau Of Ranoulf le Meschin and 2 others
  Brother of Alice de Bayeux
  Occupation:Commander of the Royal Forces in 1124 at Normandy, France., Viscount de Bayeux, viscount of the Bessin, Prob viscount who witness charter 1066, Vicomte, de Bayeux, du Bessin, Sieur, de Briquessart, VISCOUNT DE BAYEUX, Viscmte De Bayeux, Vidscount
  
  === [[Category: Earls of Chester]] {{LongPro ===
  [[Category: Earls of Chester]] {{LongProfiles}} Styled le Briquessart, after his castle there, he was first cousin andheir to the previous Earl of Chester, Hugh d'Avranches, upon whose death in 1120, he succeeded as Vicomte d'Avranches in Normandy, as well as a grant in the county palatine of Chester, by which he became Earl of Chester. About this time he appears to have surrendered the Lordship of the great district of Cumberland. In 1124 he was Commander of theRoyal forces in Normandy.
  
  == Biography ==
  Ranulph III "le Briquessart" de Bayeux, Earl of Chester (1121-1129), Vicomte de Bayeux
  
  b: c 1074 at Briquessart, Livry, France.
  An indirect inheritor, Ranulph le Meschin (the Younger), Earl of Chester was also Vicomte de Bayeux. He was also known as Ranulph de Briquessart. He succeeded to the title of Vicomte d'Avranches on 25 November 1120 and was created Earl of Chester in 1121. He was Commander of the Royal forces in Normandy in 1124.
  He died either on 17 or 27 January 1128 at Chester and is buried at St. Werburg's, Chester. His wife Lucy survived him, and in 1130 paid 500marks to King Henry for license to remain unmarried for 5 years.
  Ranulf only became earl at the age of 51 (in 1120). Prior to this Ranulf served the English king as a kind of semi-independent governor in Cumberland and Westmorland. A contemporary illustration of this authority is one charter in the records of Wetheral Priory, which recorded Ranulf addressing his own sheriff, "Richer" (probably Richard de Boivill). A source from 1212 attests that the jurors of Cumberland rememberedRanulf as quondam dominus Cumberland ("sometime Lord of Cumberland").
  Ranulf's earliest appearance in surviving historical records was 24 April 1089, the date of a charter of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, to Bayeux Cathedral. Ranulf, as "Ranulf son of Ranulf the viscount", was one of the charter's witnesses.
  He appears again c. 1093/4, as a witness to the foundation charter of Chester Abbey, granted by his uncle Hugh of Avranches.
  Between 1098 and 1101, probably in 1098, Ranulf became a major Englishlandowner in his own right when he became the third husband of Lucy, heiress of the honour of Bolingbroke in Lincolnshire. This brought himthe lordship of Appleby in Cumberland, previously held by Lucy's second husband. He promptly constructed Appleby Castle.
  Originally this would have been an earth ringwork and bailey fortress. The square stone keep of Appleby is one of the best preserved examples of its type and was added in 1170 (by Hugh de Morville). It is known as "Caesar's Tower" - this is similar to the Agricola Tower at Chester Castle neither of which had anything to do with the Romans.
  
  Ranulf ceded Appleby to the crown when he became earl of Chester.
  Ranulfs family (his brother William) also constructed Egremont Castle.He had an older brother (Richard) who died in youth.
  In 1106 that Ranulf founded Wetheral Priory, a Benedictine monastic house.
  In 1121, following the loss of the White Ship, the earldom passed through the First Earl Hugh's sister Maud to the drowned Richard of Avranches's first cousin Ranulf. Merely four days before the disaster, Ranulf and cousin Richard had witnessed a charter together at Cerisy. Ranulf was not simply given the earldom, but had to surrender the bulk of the lands of his wife, Lucy and his own lands at Carlisle.
  Chester's annual fair was reorganized by Ranulf, who provided new regulations governing its hours of opening. St Giles Hospital was founded in the time of Ranulf, for lepers - it had a burial ground St Giles Cemetery, in which the heads of Welshmen killed in battle with Hugh of Cyfeiliog were reputed to have been buried in 1170.
  Ranulf was keen on hunting. He created Alan Sylvester chief forester of the forest of Wirral and granted to him the manors of Hooton, Storeton and Puddington to hold, upon condition that he performed the dutiesof forester and in addition that he blew or caused to be blown a hornat the Gloverstone in Chester on the morning of every fair day.
  The "Wirral Horn" has apparently survived to the present day, and carries the following inscription, believed to have been added in the 17thCentury:
  * In the year 1120, Ranalf de Meschines, Earl of Chester,created Alan Sylvester chief forester of the forest of Wirral and granted to him the manors of Hooton, Storeton and Puddington to hold upon condition that he performed the duties of forester and in addition that he blew or caused to be blown a horn at the Gloverstone in Chester on the morningof every fair day, to indicate that the tolls on all goods bought or sold in the city or within the sound of that horn belonged to the Earlor his tenants. Alan Sylvester was succeeded by his son, Ralph, on whose death, without issue, Hugh Cyveliac, Earl of Chester, granted the same manors with the forestership to Alexander de Storeton on his marriage with Annabella, the daughter of Alan Sylvester. Alexander de Storeton again had only female issue and the forestership passed next to Sir Thomas Bamville, who married Agnes de Storeton,daughter of Alexander. Sir Philip Bamville, the heir of Sir Thomas, also left issue, threedaughters only, the eldest of whom, Jane, married Sir William de Stanley, and brought the forestership as part of her dower, the title of her son, John Stanley, having been proved in 1346 before Jordan de Macclesfield, justice in Eyre to the Earl of Chester. In this family it remained until disafforested by King Edward 111 on the complaint of the citizens of Chester who represented that they were grievous sufferers from the freebooters who lurked in the forest. The Stanleys petitionedthe king for renumeration for the loss of the profits attached to theoffice of chief forester, and were granted an annuity of twenty marks, which however seems to have been indifferently paid. The horn, however, which was the symbol of their tenure, has remained in the possession of the Stanley family ever since.While the inscription on the horn blames the "disafforestation" of theStanley's on the inhabitants of Wirral, the complaints, were actuallyby the residents of the Wirral about the wildness of the area and oppression by the Stanleys. A charter confirming the disafforestation of Wirral was issued by King Edward III on July 20, 1376. While the horn was displayed for a short while at the Wirral Museum it has since beenreturned to its permanent home at the Stanley ancestral seat in Drayton, Somerset. The forest of Wirral turns up in Arthurian legend - Sir Gawain spent Christmas on Wirral before his confrontation with the Green Knight.
  RANULF du Bessin "le Meschin", son of RANULF Vicomte du Bessin [Bayeux] & his wife Marguerite [Maud] d'Avranches (-17 or 27 Jan 1129, bur Chester, Abbey of St Werburgh). Orderic Vitalis names him and his mother[46]. "…Rannulfus filius Rannulfi vicecomitis…Rannulfus vicecomes"witnessed the charter dated 24 Apr 1089 under which Robert III Duke of Normandy donated property to Bayeux cathedral. He was awarded the lordship of Carlisle by Henry I King of England[48]. He succeeded his father as Vicomte du Bessin [Bayeux]. “R de Meschin, Richerio vicecomiti Karleoli” donated property to Wetherall priory, Cumberland, for the soul of “…Richard fratris mei…et uxoris meæ Luciæ…”, byundated charter, witnessed by “Osberto vicecomite, Walteof filio Cospatricii comitis, Forno Sigulfi filio, Chetello Ectredi filio…”. “Ranulfus Meschines” donated property to Wetherall priory, Cumberland, by undated charter, witnessed by “uxore mea Lucia, Willielmo fratre meo…”. He was appointed Vicomte d'Avranches in 1120 after thedeath of his first cousin Richard d'Avranches, and also obtained the grant of the county palatine of Chester thereby becoming Earl of Chester (upon which he surrendered the lordship of Carlisle). He was commander of the royal forces in Normandy in 1124.
  Ranulf or Randle de Meschines, surnamed de Bricasard, Viscount Bayeux,in Normandy, (son of Ralph de Meschines, by Maud, his wife, co-heir of her brother, Hugh Lupus, the celebrated Earl of Chester), was given by King Henry I the Earldom of Chester, at the decease of his 1st cousin, Richard de Abrincis, 2nd Earl of Chester, of that family, without issue. By some historians, this nobleman is styledEarl of Carlisle, from residing in that city; and they further state that he came over in the train of the Conqueror, assisted in the subjugation of England, and shared, of course, in the spoil of conquest. He was lord of Cumberland and Carlisle, by descent from his father, but having enfeoffed his two brothers, William, of Coupland, and Geffrey, of Gillesland, in a large portion thereof, he exchanged the Earldom of Cumberland for that of Chester, on condition that those whom he had settled there should hold their lands of the king, in capite. His lordship m. Lucia, widow of Roger de Romara, Earl of Lincoln, and dau. of Algar, the Saxon, Earlof Mercia, and had issue, Ranulph, his successor; William, styled Earl of Cambridge, but of his issue nothing in known; Adeliza, m. to Richard FitzGilbert, ancestor of the old Earls of Clare; and Agnes, m. to Robert de Grentemaisnil. The earl d. in 1128 and was s. by his elder son, Ranulph de Meschines. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 365, Meschines, Earls ofChester]
  ==Sources==
  
  See also:*Weis, Frederick Lewis, Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700 (7th ed., Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992.), 125-27, 132A-26, 132D-26, Los Angeles Public Library, Gen 974 W426 1992.
  *Harleian Society, "Visitiation Cheshire 1580: Chester Earls".
  * C.B., LL.D., Ulster King of Arms Sir Bernard Burke, B:xP, pg. 457.
  * K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, "Parentage of Countess Lucy".*Cokayne, George Edward, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant (London: St. Catherine
  
  === ANCESTRAL ROOTS, by F. L. Weis, 7th Ed., ===
  ANCESTRAL ROOTS, by F. L. Weis, 7th Ed., Line 132A #26, pg. 116: Ranulph III le Meschin, de Briquessart, d. c1129, bur. St. Werburg's, Chester, lord of Cum- berland, vicomte of Bayeux in Normandy, Earl of Chester in 1120, foll. the death of his 1st cousin, Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester; in 1124 commander of the Royal Forces in Normandy; m. prob. c1098 Lucy, liv. 1130, wid., successively, of Ives Taillebois and Roger Fitz Gerold. (CP III 166, VII, App. J, 743-746; Douglas, cit., pp. 92-93; Sanders, 32-33; Douglas, "The Rise of Normandy", pp. 127-128).
  
  === !Ranulph md Lucy de Bolingbroke abt 1098 ===
  !Ranulph md Lucy de Bolingbroke abt 1098. Ancestral. Complete Peerage GS 942 D22 cok Vol 3 pp. 166-7.
  
  === Ranulf le Meschin Wetheral_Priory_Gateho ===
  Ranulf le Meschin Wetheral_Priory_Gatehouse
  http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=4cc0eba2-5362-4728-b905-51a547589092&tid=12369943&pid=1314992302
  
  Earl of Chester
  http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=3ffb93b2-185f-4aa6-9c3a-638260281eab&tid=12369943&pid=1314992302
  
  Ranulph De Meschines 1070 to 1129
  http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=22ec4672-350c-4b21-beee-9230639acfcf&tid=12369943&pid=1314992302
  
  Ranulf le Meschin Chester_Cathedral
  http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=f9df2bcf-7d95-483b-9834-94f041197f57&tid=12369943&pid=1314992302
  
  === Ranulph found at the Battle of Val-ed-Du ===
  Ranulph found at the Battle of Val-ed-Dunes in 1047.
  
  === Sources: A. Roots 132A; Kraentzler 1346, ===
  Sources: A. Roots 132A; Kraentzler 1346, 1383; Fortune's Knave by Mary Lide. Roots: Ranulph I, Vicomte of the Bessin, fought at the Battle of Val-es-Dunes, 1047. Hopefully the information from Roots line 132A straigtens up all the confusion among the various Ranulphs and their wives. K: Ranulf, Count de Bayeux. Lide: Rannulf of the Bessin, a supporter of Guy of Burgundy, whosought to supplant William as Duke of Normandy. [Chapter 14, page 186+.] His sister married William d'Albini.
  
  === REF: Weis: Ancestral Roots of Certain Am ===
  REF: Weis: Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists 132A-25. Vicomte of Bayeux in Normandy.
  
  === Randle I, surnamed Micines or Meschines, ===
  Randle I, surnamed Micines or Meschines, Viscount Bayeux in Normandy, and Earl of Cumberland and Lord of Carlisle, obtained the Earldom of Chester from Henry I, King of England, with all the patrimony thereof as next heir to that deceased nobleman, Richard 2nd, Earl of Chester, his cousin (son of his mother's brother Hugh, 1st Earl of Chester), who was drowned crossing the English Channel and died sine prole. Randle restored to King Henry all the land which he had by his wife, the widow of Roger de Romara, for the Earldom of Chester. He married Lucy of Mercia ans as Lucy had married 1st Ivo, son of x, Earl of Anjou 2nd, Roger de Romara this made Randle her 3rd husband. Randle I died 1128, after he'd been Earl of Chester 8 years. Lucy, his widow, gave £266 13s 4d for the livery of her father's lands and also 500 marks fine that she might not be compelled to marry within 5 years.
  
  === Additional Life Sketch ===
  Ranulf le Meschin's father and mother represented two different families of viscounts in Normandy, and both of them were strongly tied to Henry, son of William the Conqueror.[1] His father was Ranulf de Briquessart, and likely for this reason the former Ranulf was styled le Meschin, "the younger".[2] Ranulf's father was viscount of the Bessin, the area around Bayeux.[3] Besides Odo, bishop of Bayeux, Ranulf the elder was the most powerful magnate in the Bessin region of Normandy.[4] Ranulf le Meschin's great-grandmother may even have been from the ducal family of Normandy, as le Meschin's paternal great-grandfather viscount Anschitil is known to have married a daughter of Duke Richard III.[5]
  Per Wikipedia.org
  
  === Lord of Cumberland, vicomte of Bayeux in ===
  Lord of Cumberland, vicomte of Bayeux in Normandy; Earl of Chester in1121; in 1124 commander of the Royal Forces in Normandy.
  
  === Ranulf or Randle de Meschines, surnamed ===
  Ranulf or Randle de Meschines, surnamed de Bricasard, Visco unt Bayeux, in Normandy, (son of Ralph de Meschines, by Mau d, his wife, co-heir of her brother, Hugh Lupus, the celebr ated Earl of Chester), was given by King Henry I the Earldo m of Chester, at the decease of his 1st cousin, Richard d e Abrincis, 2nd Earl of Chester, of that family, without is sue. By some historians, this nobleman is styled Earl of Ca rlisle, from residing in that city; and they further stat e that he came over in the train of the Conqueror, assiste d in the subjugation of England, and shared, of course, i n the spoil of conquest. He was lord of Cumberland and Carl isle, by descent from his father, but having enfeoffed hi s two brothers, William, of Coupland, and Geffrey, of Gille sland, in a large portion thereof, he exchanged the Earldo m of Cumberland for that of Chester, on condition that thos e whom he had settled there should hold their lands of th e king, in capite. His lordship m. Lucia, widow of Roger d e Romara, Earl of Lincoln, and dau. of Algar, the Saxon, Ea rl of Mercia, and had issue, Ranulph, his successor; Willia m, styled Earl of Cambridge, but of his issue nothing in kn own; Adeliza, m. to Richard Fitz-Gilbert, ancestor of the o ld Earls of Clare; and Agnes, m. to Robert de Grentemaisnil . The earl d. in 1128 and was s. by his elder son, Ranulp h de Meschines. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Pee rages,. Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 365, Meschi nes, Earls of Chester]
  
  === Source: Frederick Lewis Weis & Walter Le ===
  Source: Frederick Lewis Weis & Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., Ancestral Roots of certain American colonists..., (Edition 7, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1992), 132A-26.
  
  === "The Genealogist," Vol. 5 - lists marria ===
  "The Genealogist," Vol. 5 - lists marriage date Ranulph, also styled "de Briquessart," was Vicomte de Bayeux in Normandy; first cousin and heir to the last Earl (whom he succeeded as Vicomte d'Avranches, etc.); became Earl of Chester in 1120; Commander of Royal Forces in Normandy, 1124. {-"The Complete Peerage," London, Vol. 3, pp. 164-5.} He was Vicomte of the Bessin and in 1121 Vicomte also of the Avranchin. He "held the new Cumbrian gains of the Norman house in a block of land stretching from Stainmore west to the sea and from Carlisle south to the Derwent" prior to his accession to the earldom of Chester {-"The Northerners," J. C. Holt (Oxford: Clarendon, 1961), p. 214}. He is buried in St. Werburg at Chester, England.
  
  === !SOURCES: 1. Complete Peerage vol 2 p. 4 ===
  !SOURCES: 1. Complete Peerage vol 2 p. 492, vol 1 p. 353, vol 4 Ch 4, vol 7 p. 673-77,vol 3 p. 166, vol 5 Ch p. 736, vol 9 p. 271, vol 8 Ch p. 48 (GS #942 D24c) 2. Ormerod's Hist of Ches pt 1 p. 12 (GS #Folio 942.71 H2or) 3. Wurts' Magna Charta vol 1-2 p. 58, vol 2 p. 422, 429, vol 6 p. 1757-58 (GS #942 D22w) 4. Baker's Nrthmp vol 1 p. 121, 241 (GS #Q942.55 H2ba) 5. Nichols' Leics vol 1 pt 1 p. 18, 67 (GS #Q942.54 H2nic) 6. The Battle Abbey Roll vol 2 p. 263 (GS #942 D2bb) 7. Plantagenet Ancestry p. 85, 94-95, 98, 140 (GS #Q940 D2t) 8. Ormerod's Parentalia p. 8-9 (GS #942.7 D2orma)
  
  === !Complete Peerage vol 2 p.492,vol 1 p.35 ===
  !Complete Peerage vol 2 p.492,vol 1 p.353,vol.4 p.4,7 p.673-77,vol.3 p.166,vol.5 p.736,vol 9 p.271,vol 8 Ch p.48 (GS #942 D24c); Wurts'Magna charta vol1-2 p.58,vol.3 p.422,429,vol 6 p.1757-58 (GS #942D22w); Baker's Northampt Vol 1 p.121,241,(GS #Q942 D2bb); Plantagenet Ancestary p.85,94,95,98,140 (Gs #Q940 D2t) Oremord's Parentalia p 8-9(GS #942.7 D2orma); Visitation of Chester Vol 18 p.4 (GS #942 B4h).
  
  === Weis. 132A-25, 132B-25. Ranulph II, a ===
  Weis. 132A-25, 132B-25. Ranulph II, adult by 1066, living April 1089, vicomte of Bayeux in Normandy.
  
  === !The Oxford Illistrated History of the B ===
  !The Oxford Illistrated History of the British Monarchy by Cannon and Griffith. !Genealogical Society of Utah; Gareth Rice
  
  === Sources: Kraentzler 1143b, 1309, 1346, 1 ===
  Sources: Kraentzler 1143b, 1309, 1346, 1428; Norr; A. Roots 132A,132B, 132C, 132D. Roots: Ranulph II, vicomte of Bayeux in Normandy, adult by 1066,living April 1089. Think K., below, sometimes got Ranulph II mixed up with Ranulph III. K-1346: Ranulph le Meschin, styled also "de Briquessart." Vicomte deBayeux en Normandie. Earl of Chester. K-1309: Ranulf de Bricasard, Viscount deBayeaux K-1428: Ranulf "Le Meschin," 3rd Earl of Chester. K-1143b: Ranulph "le Meschines," 3rd Earl of Chester.
  
  === VITAL: Ranulfus did not use a surname. B ===
  VITAL: Ranulfus did not use a surname. BIOGRAPHY: A companion in arms of the Conqueror, who rewarded him with 15 lordships in county of Cheshire; founder of the family of Mainwaring in Cheshire. Lord of various towns in Cheshire and Norfolk.
  
  === The Manor of Chipping Campden, prior to ===
  The Manor of Chipping Campden, prior to the Reformation (1534 formation of the Angelican Church: Chipping Campden History, internet. states that "Raluf de Meschines, or Micene, cousin of Richard succeeded him and on his death his son Randolph Gernous became lord of the manor. Around 1173 Hugh de Gondeville ( Gondaville or Grunderel) possessed the manor and became the first resident lord of the manor. During this time he obtained a charter of incorporation for the town, and founded the Free Chapel of St. Katherine. At this time there were 4 water mills in Chipping Campden (there were two at the time of the Domesday Book).
  
  === !Ranulph III le Meschin was lord of Cum ===
  !Ranulph III le Meschin was lord of Cumberland, vicomte of Bayeux in Normandy, Earl of chester in 1120, following the death of his first Cousin, Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester; ub 1124 commander of the Royal Forces in Normandy, m. Lucy liv. 1130, wid. of Ives Taillebois and Roger Fitz Gerold.
  
  === Viscount Bayeux in Normandy was granted ===
  Viscount Bayeux in Normandy was granted the Earldom of Chester by King Henry I. Viscount Bayeux in Normandy was granted the Earldom of Chester by King Henry I.
  
  === Randle I, surnamed Micines or Meschines ===
  Randle I, surnamed Micines or Meschines, Viscount Bayeux i n Normandy, and Earl of Cumberland and Lord of Carlisle, ob tained the Earldom of Chester from Henry I, King of England , with all the patrimony thereof as next heir to that decea sed nobleman, Richard 2nd, Earl of Chester, his cousin (so n of his mother's brother Hugh, 1st Earl of Chester), who w as drowned crossing the English Channel and died sine prole . Randle restored to King Henry all the land which he had b y his wife, the widow of Roger de Romara, for the Earldom o f Chester. He married Lucy, Granddaughter of Algar, Earl o f Mercia, and great-granddaughter of Lady Godiva of Coventr y. Lucy had married 1st Ivo, son of Geoffrey, Earl of Anjou , and brother of Fulk, King of Jerusalem. 2nd, Roger de Rom ara, by whom she had William, Earl of Lincoln. Thus Randl e was her 3rd husband. She with her two sons founded the Pr iory of nuns at Stikeswold in Lincolnshire. They also ha d a daughter Agnes who married Robert de Grentmaisnil and A deliza, who married Richard de Clare and they were the gran dparents of Richard de Clare, Surety for the Magna Charta , from whom you descend through Robert Abell and John Whitn ey. Randle I died 1128, after he had been Earl of Cheste r 8 years. Lucia, his widow, gave 266œ 13s 4d for the liver y of her father's lands and also 500 marks fine that she mi ght not be compelled to marry within 5 years. Her sister Ag atha married Harold, King of England, slain at Hastings 106 6.
  
  === !SOURCES:
  1. Plantagenet Ancestry p. 85, ===
  !SOURCES:
  1. Plantagenet Ancestry p. 85, 95 (GS #Q942 D2t)
  2. Complete Peerage vol 7 p. 677, vol 4 Ch 4, vol 3 p. 166 (GS #942 D24c)
  3. Visit of Cheshire, 1580 vol 18 p. 4 (GS #942 B3h)
  4. Ormerod's Hist of Ches pt 1 p. 18 (GS #Folio 942.71 H2or)
  5. Cheshire Pipe Rolls p. 19 (GS #942.7 B4Lc)
  6. Baker's Nrthmp vol 1 p. 121 (GS #Q942.55 H2ba)
  7. Nichols' Leics vol 1 pt 1 p. 18 (GS #Q942.54 H2nic)
  8. Dict. of Nat'l Biog. vol 28 p. 161-2 (GS #Ref 920.042 D56 1n)

• m. 1070 in Bayeux, Calvados, Normandy, France

1. Guillaume de Briquessart, b. ABT 1078 in Normandie, France     d. 1130 in Egremont, Cumberland, England
2. Ranulf Meschin, b. ABT 1070 in Normandie, France     d. JAN 1129 in Chester, Cheshire, England
3. Maud de Briquessart, b. environ 1069 in Normandie     d. in Cumberland, England

1. Title: Ranulph de Meschines in Burke's Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, pg. 365 [See document in the Memories section]
   Author: Burke's Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, pg. 365
   Note: Ranulph de Meschines in Burke's Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, pg. 365 [See document in the Memories section]
   Page: Ranulph de Meschines in Burke's Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, pg. 365 [See document in the Memories section]
   
2. Title: Ranulf I de Briquessart
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranulf_de_Briquessart;
   
3. Title: The Register of the Wetheral Priory
   Author: The Register of Wetheral Priory, John Eustace Prescott, Publisher London, E. Stock, Kendal, T. Wilson, 1897
   Publication: Name: https://archive.org/details/cu31924028281883/page/4/mode/2up?q=Orm;
   Note: The information about the ancestry of Ranulf's wife Lucia is inaccurate.
   Page: Appendix A. Ranulf Meschin, his wife Lucia, and the Honor of Carlisle.
   
4. Title: Geni
   Publication: Name: https://www.geni.com/people/Ranulph-II-le-Meschin-de-Bayeux/6000000003494695157;
   Note: “Commander of the Royal Forces in 1124 at Normandy, France., Viscount de Bayeux, viscount of the Bessin, Prob viscount who witness charter 1066, Vicomte, de Bayeux, du Bessin, Sieur, de Briquessart, VISCOUNT DE BAYEUX, Viscmte De Bayeux”
   
5. Title: Find a Grave: Ranulf de Briquessart
   Publication: Name: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85989517;
   Note: Ranulf de Briquessart BIRTH 1050 Caen, Departement du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France DEATH 1089 (aged 38–39) Chester, Cheshire West and Chester Unitary Authority, Cheshire, England BURIAL Chester Cathedral Chester, Cheshire West and Chester Unitary Authority, Cheshire, England MEMORIAL ID 85989517 Ranulf de Briquessart or Ranulf the Viscount was an 11th century Norman magnate and viscount. Ranulf's family were connected to the House of Normandy by marriage, and, besides Odo, bishop of Bayeux, was the most powerful magnate in the Bessin region. He married Margaret, daughter of Richard Goz, viscount of the Avranchin and Emma de Conteville, whose son and successor Hugh d'Avranches became Earl of Chester in England. Ranulf is probably the "Ranulf the viscount" who witnessed a charter of William, Duke of Normandy, at Caen on 17 June 1066. Ranulf helped preside over a judgement in the curia of King William (as duke) in 1076 in which a disputed mill was awarded to the Abbey of Mont St. Michael. On 14 July 1080 he witnessed a charter to the Abbey of Lessay another in the same year addressed to Remigius de Fécamp bishop of Lincoln in favour of the Abbey of Préaux. and one more in the same period, to the Abbey of St Stephen of Caen. His name is attached to a memorandum in 1085, and on April 24, 1089 he witnessed a confirmation of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy and Count of Maine to St Mary of Bayeaux, where he appears below his son in the witness list. He probably died sometime after this. His son Ranulf le Meschin became ruler of Cumberland and later Earl of Chester. The Durham Liber Vitae, shows that his eldest son was one Richard, who died in youth, and that he had another son named William. He also had a daughter named Agnes, who later married Robert de Grandmesnil. Family Members Spouse Margaret d'Avranches 1054–1136 Children Ranulf Le Meschin 1070–1128 Matilda Maud le Meschines 1075 – unknown
   
6. Title: The Earls' Norman Estates
   Author: Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society 71, 1991, The Earldom of Chester and its charters: a tribute to Geoffrey Barraclough, Introduction: The Earls and their Earldom, A. T. Thacker, Appendix: The Earls' Norman Estates.
   Publication: Name: https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1147407&recordType=Journal;
   Note: Hugh I’s estates were focused upon the rich honor of Saint-Sever in the Cotentin, but after the accession of Ranulf I [father of le Meschin], who was hereditary viscount of the Bessin, the earls’ chief seat in Normandy was Briquessart, a few miles south-west of Bayeux. Their scattered holdings also included the important castle and castellanry of Saint-Jacques-de-Beuvron, which though lost in 1204 was restored to Ranulf III [de Guernon] in 1230, and interests in the Channel Island of Guernsey where they had a vicecomes. . . . That they retained a strong interest in Normandy is demonstrated by the temporary elevation of Ranulf II from viscount to count of the Avranchin by Duke Henry in 1153, and by the pattern of grants showing that earl’s ambition to dominate the Breton march. It is also perhaps suggested by Earl Hugh II’s Norman marriage into the house of Montfort. The inclusion of the relevant charters in Professor Barraclough’s volume will, it is hoped, assist analysis of this important area of the earls’ interests. Only after such work has been attempted will it be possible fully to assess the impact of their Norman tenants on their English domains. Professor Barraclough notes the Norman origin of several in the earls’ entourage, including interestingly several bearing the name ‘de Briquessart’, and certainly under Ranulf III at least some Norman tenants were active in Cheshire and elsewhere in the honor.
   
7. Title: The History of Cheshire
   Author: The History of Cheshire, Ormerod, George Esq., LL.D., F.S.A., 2nd Edition by Thomas Helsby, Esq, London: George Routledge & Sons, 1882, Brigham Young University, Harold B. Lee Library, Provo, UT 84604, Page number: vol. 1, p. 49
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2332820711
   
8. Title: Wikitree
   Publication: Name: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Meschines-95;
   Note: Ranulph (Ranulf I) "Vicomte de Bayeux" le Meschin formerly Meschines aka de Briquessart, of the Bessin II Born about 1047 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France ANCESTORS Son of Ranulph (Bayeux) de Bayeux and Adelize (Normandie) de Bayeux Brother of Warner (Chester) FitzRanulph and Hugh (Chester) of Chester Husband of Margaret (Avranches) le Meschin — married 1069 [location unknown] DESCENDANTS Father of Maud (Meschin) de Trevers, Richard (UNKNOWN) Meschines, Ranulph (Meschines) le Briquessart, Geoffrey Meschines, Robert Meschines and William (FitzRanulph) le Meschin Died [date unknown] [location unknown]
   
9. Title: Ranulf son of Ranulf vicomte in Regesta regum anglo-normannorum
   Author: Regesta regum Anglo-Normannorum, 1066-1154 by Davis, H. W. Carless (Henry William Carless), 1913-68, Oxford: Clarendon Press
   Publication: Name: https://archive.org/details/regestaregumangl01daviuoft/page/80/mode/2up?q=Ranulf;
   Note: Page 80, charter 308. 24 April 1089: First appearance of Ranulf in the records and the last appearance of his father.
   Page: He witnessed a charter in Vernon, France in 1089. So he may have died in France.
   
10. Title: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy -Ranulf, the younger, married Marguerite (Mathilda?) d'Avranche
    Publication: Name: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/normabc.htm#_Toc38177818;
    Note: RANULF [Ralph] (-after [1098]). Vicomte du Bessin (Bayeux). "…Ranulfus vicecomes Baiocensis…" witnessed the charter dated 1064 under which Guillaume II Duke of Normandy settled a claim in favour of the monks of Marmoutier relating to property donated by "Guido de Valle"[395]. "…Rannulfus filius Rannulfi vicecomitis…Rannulfus vicecomes" witnessed the charter dated 24 Apr 1089 under which Robert III Duke of Normandy donated property to Bayeux cathedral[396]. The Liber Vitæ of Durham names "Rannulfus Mahald uxor eius Ricardus Rannulfus de Mesc filii eorum Lucia uxor Rann"[397]. m MARGUERITE [Mathilde] d'Avranches, daughter of RICHARD Vicomte d'Avranches & his wife --- (-after [1098]). She is named "Mathilda soror Hugonis comitis" by Orderic Vitalis, who also names her son[398]. Her husband is named in another passage, as father of his son Guillaume[399]. The Liber Vitæ of Durham names "Rannulfus Mahald uxor eius Ricardus Rannulfus de Mesc filii eorum Lucia uxor Rann"[400]. Vicomte Ranulf & his wife had four children: i) RICHARD (after [1098]). The Liber Vitæ of Durham names "Rannulfus Mahald uxor eius Ricardus Rannulfus de Mesc filii eorum Lucia uxor Rann"[401]. As Richard is named in this source together with his brother’s wife, his date of death is estimated based on his brother’s estimated marriage date. “R de Meschin, Richerio vicecomiti Karleoli” donated property to Wetherall priory, Cumberland, for the soul of “…Richard fratris mei…et uxoris meæ Luciæ…”, by undated charter, witnessed by “Osberto vicecomite, Walteof filio Cospatricii comitis, Forno Sigulfi filio, Chetello Ectredi filio…”[402]. ii) RANULF du Bessin "le Meschin" (-17 or 27 Jan 1129, bur Chester, Abbey of St Werburgh). Orderic Vitalis names him and his mother[403]. "…Rannulfus filius Rannulfi vicecomitis…Rannulfus vicecomes" witnessed the charter dated 24 Apr 1089 under which Robert III Duke of Normandy donated property to Bayeux cathedral[404]. The Liber Vitæ of Durham names "Rannulfus Mahald uxor eius Ricardus Rannulfus de Mesc filii eorum Lucia uxor Rann"[405]. He succeeded his father as Vicomte du Bessin (Bayeux). He was appointed Vicomte d'Avranches in 1120 after the death of his first cousin Richard d'Avranches, and also obtained the grant of the county palatine of Chester thereby becoming Earl of Chester (upon which he surrendered the lordship of Carlisle). - EARLS of CHESTER. iii) WILLIAM FitzRanulf (-[1130/35]). The Cronicon Cumbriæ records that William I King of England granted “totam terram de comitatu Cumbriæ” to “Ranulpho de Meschines, et Galfrido fratri eiusdem…et Willielmo fratri eorundem terram de Copland”[406]. - see below. iv) GEOFFROY of Gillesland . The Cronicon Cumbriæ records that William I King of England granted “totam terram de comitatu Cumbriæ” to “Ranulpho de Meschines, et Galfrido fratri eiusdem Ranulphi totum comitatum Cestriæ, et Willielmo fratri eorundem terram de Copland”, adding that Geoffroy died without heirs and was succeeded by his brother Ranulf[407].
    
11. Title: SULPICE . The Chronicle of Saint-Maxence
    Page: France, Northwest & Central - Normandy, Nobility, p. 128: RANULF [Ralph] "le Meschin" (-after [1098]). Vicomte du Bessin (Bayeux). "…Ranulfus vicecomes Baiocensis…" witnessed the charter dated 1064 under which Guillaume II Duke of Normandy settled a claim in favour of the monks of Marmoutier relating to property donated by "Guido de Valle"[1069]. "…Rannulfus filius Rannulfi vicecomitis…Rannulfus vicecomes" witnessed the charter dated 24 Apr 1089 under which Robert III Duke of Normandy donated property to Bayeux cathedral[1070]. The Liber Vitæ of Durham names "Rannulfus Mahald uxor eius Ricardus Rannulfus de Mesc filii eorum Lucia uxor Rann"[1071]. m MARGUERITE [Mathilde] d'Avranches, daughter of RICHARD Vicomte d'Avranches & his wife --- (-after [1098]). She is named "Mathilda soror Hugonis comitis" by Orderic Vitalis, who also names her son[1072]. Her husband is named in another passage, as father of his son Guillaume[1073]. The Liber Vitæ of Durham names "Rannulfus Mahald uxor eius Ricardus Rannulfus de Mesc filii eorum Lucia uxor Rann"[1074].