Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester 1047-1101

Paternal Family Tree: Avranches

Around 1047 Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester was born to Richard le Goz Viscount Avranches and Emma Mortain Viscountess Avranches.

Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy. Robert, Count of Mortain, built the monastery of Grestain¹; and Hugh [aged 13], who afterwards became Earl of Chester, the abbey of Saint Sever². Eudo also built the church of the Holy Trinity at Lessay³ along with its chapel; Baldwin of Reviers another monastery at Montbourg; and Nigel, Viscount of the Cotentin, the monastery of Saint Savior⁴. The monastery of Saint Mary at Lonlay was founded from the ground up by William Talvas the elder, who, having cleared the forest on a certain hill, built there the castle called Domfront. The church of Saint Stephen of Fontenay was built by Ralph Tesson and his brother Ernauld; and the monastery of Saint Peter of Castillon by Ralph of Tosny.

Monasterium Gresteni Robertus comes Moritolii fecit: Hugo vero, postea comes Cestrensis, abbatiam sancti Severi. At ecclesiam Sanctæ Trimitatis Exaquei Eudo cum capello feeit: Balduinus etiam de Revers aliam apud Montisburgum: Nigellus vicecomes Constantiniensis cœnobinm Sancti Salvatoris. Monasterium vero Sanctæ Mariæ Lonleii Willelmus Talavacius primus, qui exciso nemore, in monte quodam castrum nomine Damfrontem construxerat a fundamentis ædificavit. Ecclesiam Sancti Stephani Fontanenti Rodulfus Taisson et Erneisus frater ejus construxerunt: Monasterium autem Sancti Petri Castellionis Rodulfus de Toenio.

Note 1. Grestain Abbey, on the south side of the Seine estuary, seven kilometres east of Honfleur.

Note 2. The Abbey of Sainte-Marie-et-Saint-Sever, Calvados, Normandy, founded by Hugh of Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester, around 1047-1101. Some sources suggest his mother was Emma of Mortain, maternal half-sister of Duke William.

Note 3. The Abbey of the Holy Trinity at Lessay in north-west Normandy, founded by Eudes au Capel, seneschal, i.e. steward, of Duke William's household. Construction commenced in 1064.

Note 4. The Abbey of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte in the Cotentin peninsula of north-west Normandy, founded by Nigel II Saint-Sauveur in 1067.

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After 1066 Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester [aged 19] was given command of Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire [Map].

Around 1071 Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester [aged 24] was created 1st Earl Chester.

In 1081 King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd [aged 26] was imprisoned by Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester [aged 34] at Chester Castle [Map].

In 1082 Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester [aged 35] succeeded Viscount Avranches.

In 1082 [his father] Richard le Goz Viscount Avranches died.

Around 1090. Mountsorrel Castle [Map] is a Norman earthwork motte and bailey fortress, probably founded by Hugh Lupus [aged 43], earl of Chester. A stone castle of the earl of Leicester, it was confiscated by King Henry II in 1174 and the tower over the walls and other buildings were repaired in the late 12th century. Repaired again in King John's reign, only to be abandoned in 1217 after being razed to the ground, early in the reign of King Henry III. Standing on the northern part of a granite outcrop is a scarped circular motte, with the remaining platform becoming a now mutilated bailey. The motte is partly quarried away and crowned by a war memorial, with the remains of a wide bailey ditch to the south.

Before 1094 Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester [aged 46] and Ermentrude Clermont Countess Chester [aged 35] were married. She by marriage Countess Chester. She the daughter of Hugh Clermont Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis [aged 63].

In 1094 [his son] Richard Avranches 2nd Earl Chester was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester [aged 47] and [his wife] Ermentrude Clermont Countess Chester [aged 36]. He married in or before 1120 his half second cousin Lucia Mahaut Blois Countess Chester, daughter of Stephen Blois II Count Blois and Chartres and Adela Normandy Countess Blois.

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Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans

Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.

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On 27th July 1101 Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester [aged 54] died.

After 13th May 1106 [his former wife] Ermentrude Clermont Countess Chester [deceased] died.

[his son] Robert Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester and Ermentrude Clermont Countess Chester.

[his daughter] Helga Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester and Ermentrude Clermont Countess Chester.

[his daughter] Geva Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester and Ermentrude Clermont Countess Chester. She married Geoffrey Ridel.

[his son] Hugh Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester and Ermentrude Clermont Countess Chester.

[his son] Fitzhugh Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester.

[his son] Unamed Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester.

[his son] Ottiwel Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester.

[his son] Robert Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester.

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The History of William Marshal, Earl of Chepstow and Pembroke, Regent of England. Book 1 of 2, Lines 1-10152.

The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.

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[his son] Robert Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester and Ermentrude Clermont Countess Chester.

[his daughter] Matilda Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester and Ermentrude Clermont Countess Chester.

[his father] Richard le Goz Viscount Avranches and [his mother] Emma Mortain Viscountess Avranches were married. She by marriage Viscountess Avranches.

[his daughter] Giofu Avranches was born to Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester.

Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester 1047-1101

Ancestors of Hugh of Avranches 1st Earl Chester 1047-1101