THE ANCIENT NORTHMEN, RIDDELL ANCESTRY.
37
and Roger Ridel, in possession of estates in Normandy, in the thirteenth
century; and also two great branches in France, classed among its mag-
nates there, and allied by marriage with many distinguished families, de-
nominated "Riddells of Baijerae," which terminated in heirs female.
In the absence of records, many of which were destroyed during the
Norman wars, it is impossible to discover the dates when lands were be-
stowed upon the Ridels in the various provinces in France; but we know
they held the earldoms of Angoulesme, Piragord, and Agen, as early as
885; the latter, as will hereafter appear, having been acquired by the
marriage of Walgrinus Ridel with Rosalinda. The son and successor of
Walgrinus rebuilt the walls of the city of Angoulesme as a defence.
against the Normans. A family of Ridels also inherited the baronies of
Montausier and Blaye, in the province of Guinne; another family were
barons of Bergerac in Piragord; another branch held the barony of Rilley in
Touraine; another became possessed of lands in Nogent and Aurillac, in
Champagne in France. At what time the Ridels of France acquired the
lands called Ryedale, I cannot tell; but it was evidently about the date
of the conquest of Apulia, say 1050, for Galfridus Ridel had assisted the
Normans in the reduction of this province, and was endowed with valu-
able lands there as a reward for his valor, and also granted the coat-of-
arms which has the motto, "de Apulia," and in the hand of the woman
supporting the shield are three ears of rye, hence, I suppose Ryedale was
the seat of Galfridus and his successors as long as they held this property;
and as this same cadet of the family assisted his countrymen as followers
of William the Conqueror, in the conquest of England, and was well re-
warded with valuable grants of land in that country when William was
crowned king, it may be presumed, with plausibility, that Ryedale in
Yorkshire constituted a part of those lands bestowed by the Conqueror,
and were named for the seat of this branch of the family in France. The
records in the Lyon Office of Scotland, however, state that the Galfridus
who came with the Conqueror, had a command in the Norman army, and
that he belonged to the family styled "Riddels of Anjou." His name on
the roll of Battle Abbey is Sieur Ridel.
The history of the Norman Ridels in England is of a meagre and some-
what obscure character. From what proof we have at hand, they seem to
have held high and prosperous positions under the Norman kings, and were
in unbroken communication with their kinspeople in France; indeed, it
seems evident that Monsieur de Ridel, who followed the Conqueror to
England, returned soon after to look after his property in Normandy, and
sent over his sons to settle on the lands granted him in England. One
of this family formed an alliance with the noble house of Bassett by mar-
riage; and another wedded Geva, the beautiful and accomplished daughter
of the Earl of Chester, one of whose descendants, Maud, or Matilda, was
the wife of David, Earl of Huntingdon, and became the maternal ances-
trix of Robert Bruce, King of Scotland. It is not known how many
generations of the Ridels continued the residence in England; but the
same family held landed estates in Normandy, England, and Scotland at
the same time, as will be seen hereafter in the genealogy. Those were
times of constant fluctuation, and lands were sometimes quickly gained
and as soon lost, by the changes resulting from the Norman wars.
Branches of the Norman stock of Ridel settled early in Italy and Ger-
many, where their descendants have continued ever since, evidently mul-
tiplying with every generation, while several of the branch families of
