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Hugh de Kevelioc coat of arms

Hugh de Kevelioc, Earl of Chester (1147 – 30 June 1181) was the son of Ranulf de Gernon 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).

He is thought by some to have taken his name from Kevelioc in Monmouth as his birthplace, but others think that instead he was born in, and took 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.

In 1169 he married Bertrade D'Evreux, daughter of Simon III de Montfort. She was the cousin of King Henry, who gave her away in marriage. Their children were:

1. Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester
2. 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
5. Hawise of Chester (1180-1242), married Robert II de Quincy
6. A daughter, name unknown, who was briefly married to Llywelyn Fawr

He also had an illegitimate daughter, Amice of Chester, who married Ralph de Mainwaring.

Hugh of Kevelioc died 30 June 1181 at Leek, Staffordshire, England.

Sources

• Chronicle of the Abbey of St. Werburg at Chester (Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society)
• Chester, 3rd Earl, Hugh de Kevelioc, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography