Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester

Hugh d'Avranches

The cognizance of Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester
Born c. 1047[1][2]
Died 27 July 1101[2]
Resting place Chester Abbey
Other names le Gros (the Fat)[1][2]
Lupus (Wolf)[2]
Ethnicity Norman French
Title Earl of Chester
Term 1071–1101
Successor Richard d'Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester
Spouse Ermentrude of Claremont[1][2]
Children Richard d'Avranches
Matilda d'Avranches
(See here for further issue)

Hugh d'Avranches (born c. 1047 - died 27 July 1101), also known as le Gros (the fat)[1] and Lupus (Wolf)[2] was the first Earl of Chester[1] and one of the great magnates of early Norman England.

Contents

Early career

Hugh was the son of Richard le Goz, Viscount of Avranches and Emma de Conteville,[1][2] and inherited from his father a large estate, not just in the Avranchin but scattered throughout western Normandy.

Hugh became an important councillor of William, Duke of Normandy. He contributed sixty ships to the invasion of England, but did not fight at Hastings,[1] instead being one of those trusted to stay behind and govern Normandy.

Earl of Chester

After William became king of England, Hugh was given the command of Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire, but in 1071 he was promoted to become the first Earl of Chester,[1][3][4] with palatine powers in view of Cheshire's situation on the Welsh border where he was to function as the main bulwark against the Welsh.[2] Tutbury with its surrounding lands was passed to Henry de Ferrers.[5]

In 1082, Hugh would succeed to the title of Vicomte d'Avranches.[1] Hugh would also found the Abbey of St. Sever in Normandy and St. Werburg at Chester,[1][2] as well as endow that of Whitby, Yorkshire.

Hugh remained loyal to King William II during the rebellion of 1088, and would serve as one of the principal councillors of King Henry I.[2]

Wales

Hugh spent much of his time fighting with his neighbours in Wales. Together with his cousin Robert of Rhuddlan he subdued a good part of northern Wales. Initially Robert of Rhuddlan held north-east Wales as a vassal of Hugh. However in 1081 Gruffydd ap Cynan King of Kingdom of Gwynedd was captured by treachery at a meeting near Corwen. Gruffydd was imprisoned by Earl Hugh in his castle at Chester, but it was Robert who took over his kingdom, holding it directly from the king. When Robert was killed by a Welsh raiding party in 1088 Hugh took over these lands, becoming ruler of most of North Wales, but he lost Anglesey and much of the rest of Gwynedd in the Welsh revolt of 1094, led by Gruffydd ap Cynan, who had escaped from captivity.

Norwegian invasion

In the summer of 1098 Hugh joined with Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury in an attempt to recover his losses in Gwynedd. Gruffydd ap Cynan retreated to Anglesey, but then was forced to flee to Ireland when a fleet he had hired from the Danish settlement in Ireland changed sides. The situation was changed by the arrival of a Norwegian fleet under the command of King Magnus III of Norway, also known as Magnus Barefoot, who attacked the Norman forces near the eastern end of the Menai Straits. Earl Hugh of Shrewsbury was killed by an arrow said to have been shot by Magnus himself. The Normans were obliged to evacuate Anglesey, and the following year Gruffydd returned from Ireland to take possession again. Hugh apparently made an agreement with him and did not again try to recover these lands.

Marriage and succession

Hugh due to his gluttony became so fat that he could hardly walk, earning him the nickname of le Gros (the Fat). He would also earn the nickname Lupus (Wolf) for his savage ferocity against the Welsh.[2]

Hugh d'Avranches is credited as siring children to many mistresses.[2] He married Ermentrude of Claremont, by whom he had a son, Richard, and a daughter, Matilda d'Avranches.[1] Other children accredited to Hugh and Ermentrude include Maud d'Avranches, Robert FitzHugh I, Hugh (Lupus) d'Avranches II, Helga de Kevelioc, and Geva d'Avranches.[2]

Allegedly illigetimate children include Robert d'Avranches, Otuel d'Avranches, and Giofu d'Avranches.[1][2]

On 23 July 1101, Hugh became a monk and died four days later, being buried in the cemetery of St. Werberg. His body was later moved by earl Ranulp le Meschin and reburied in the Chapter House.[2] He was succeeded as Earl of Chester by his son Richard, who married Matilda of Blois, a grand-daughter of William the Conqueror. Both Richard and Matilda died in the White Ship disaster (1120), and Hugh was then succeeded by his nephew Ranulph le Meschin, Earl of Chester.

Preceded by
Created		 Earl of Chester
1070–1101		 Succeeded by
Richard d'Avranches

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Peerage - Hugh d'Avranches
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Earl of Chester Hugh (le Gros) d'Avranches (see General notes for information from Burkes Peerage)
  3. ^ Cunliffe, Barry W. (2001). The Penguin atlas of British & Irish history. Penguin. p. 72. ISBN 9780141009155. http://books.google.com/books?id=o4IZAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2010. 
  4. ^ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Micropaedia. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1995. p. 180. ISBN 9780852296059. http://books.google.com/books?id=iI1WAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2010. 
  5. ^ C. P. Lewis, ‘Avranches, Hugh d', first earl of Chester (d. 1101)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 28 Oct 2007