Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester

Hugh de Kevelioc
The coat of arms of Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester
Born	1147 Kevelioc, Monmouth
Died	30 June 1181
Title	Earl of Chester
Term	1153–1181
Predecessor	Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester
Successor	Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester
Spouse(s)	Bertrade de Montfort of Evreux
Children	Ranulf Maud of Chester Beatrix of Chester Mabel of Chester Agnes of Chester Hawise of Chester
Parent(s)	Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester Maud of Gloucester

Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester (1147 – 30 June 1181) was the son of Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester and Maud of Gloucester, daughter of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (otherwise known as Robert de Caen, the illegitimate son of Henry I of England, making her Henry's granddaughter).

Early life

He is thought to have been born in Kevelioc in Monmouth. But he may have taken the name of the cwmwd of Cyfeiliog (in modern Powys) in the southern part of the Kingdom of Powys, Wales.

He was underage when his father's death in 1153 made him heir to his family's estates on both sides of the Channel. He joined the baronial Revolt of 1173–1174 against King Henry II of England, and was influential in convincing the Bretons to revolt. After being captured and imprisoned after the Battle of Alnwick, he finally got his estates restored in 1177, and served in King Henry's Irish campaigns.

Marriage

In 1169 he married Bertrade de Montfort of Evreux, daughter of Simon III de Montfort, who in turn was the son of Amaury III of Montfort. She was the cousin of King Henry, who gave her away in marriage. Their children were:^[1][2]

1. Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester
2. Matilda de Blondeville, aka Matilda (Maud) of Chester (1171–1233), married David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon
3. Mabel of Chester, married William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel
4. Agnes of Chester (died 2 November 1247), married William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby; ancestors of Joseph Priestley
5. Hawise of Chester (1180–1242), married Robert II de Quincy
6. Beatrix of Chester, married Lord William Belward of Malpas

Hugh also had another daughter, Amice of Chester, who married Ralph de Mainwaring and was the ancestress of that family. There is no record of Amice's mother or whether she was Hugh's wife or mistress. The question of Amice's legitimacy has been subject to a longstanding dispute.^[3]

One letter from the Pope suggests that Llywelyn Fawr may have been married to an unnamed sister of Earl Ranulph of Chester in about 1192, but there appears to be no confirmation of this.^[4] If this was the case it could have been either Mabel or Hawise, or perhaps Amice, and the marriage would have had to have been annulled before any subsequent marriages.

Death and succession

Hugh of Kevelioc died 30 June 1181 at Leek, Staffordshire, England. He was succeeded by his son, Ranulf.

References

1. The Annales Londonienses record that Ranulphus comes Cestriæ had four sisters primogenita...Matilda...secunda...Mabillia...tertia...Agnes...quarta...Hawisia.
   Charles Cawley, England, earls created 1067-1122
2. Ormerod's History of Cheshire, Vol. 1, pp.47, 526; Vol. 2, pp.15, 44, 328/9, 331-333, 347, 350; Vol. 3, pp.162, 169, 188/9, 201, 205 states that William Belward lived in the time of King Stephen, 1135-1154, and married Beatrix, daughter of Hugh de Bohun, alias Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester.
   
3. Tracts written in the controversy respecting the legitimacy of Amicia, daughter of Hugh Cyveliok, Earl of Chester, A.D. 1673-1679 (Volume 78) - Leycester, Peter, Sir, 1614-1678
4. Lloyd, John. E. A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest. Longmans, Green & Co. (1911) pp. 616-7

• Chronicle of the Abbey of St. Werburg at Chester (Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society)
• Chester, 5th Earl, Hugh de Kevelioc, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography