RIDDELLS OF NORMANDY AND ARDNAMURCHAN.
51
married has been a matter of question by sacred historians. I have found
good proof that he was twice married, but the name of his first wife does
not appear.
He had, however, two sons by this wife, of whom hereafter.
He married secondly, Sibilla, sister of William Maudit, Lord of Hanslap,
and ancestor of the Earls of Warwick, by whom he left two sons and a
daughter, of whom more hereafter. He was inquired after by the pope,
and the answer was, "He has a gospel excuse for his absence." When
the pope asked what that was, he was answered, "He has married a wife
and therefore cannot come." From the foregoing, supplemented by the
statement made at his confirmation, namely, that he had not since his
admission to holy orders been married or cohabited with any woman, says
a sacred writer, "seems to imply that he had been formerly married."
Jordan Ridel" (1), fourth son of Matilda¹º (1) and Richard Basset, as-
sumed the surname of Ridel, and became possessed of lands of Nogent and
Aurillac, in Champagne, in France. This is the first time the name Jor-
dan occurs in the family.
Hugh Ridel" (2), only son of Rignald¹º (1), was his father's successor,
and having no male issue his daughter became heir to his own estate and
that of Wittering.
TWELFTH GENERATION.
Margaret Ridel¹² (1), a daughter of Hugh" (2), inherited the estates
of her father, and became the wife of Hugh Ridel, of whom hereafter.
-
Galfridus Ridel¹2 (6), eldest son of Galfridus" (5), obtained the prin-
cipality of Blaye, upon his father's entering the church, and was one of
the most celebrated of the troubadour poets. His history illustrates in a
most striking manner the age of chivalry in which he lived. He was the
favorite minstrel of Geoffrey de Plantagenet Bretagne, and during his res-
idence at the court of England, where he lived in great honor and splen-
dor, caressed for his talents and loved for the gentleness of his disposition,
he heard continually the praises of the Countess of Tripoli, whose fame,
in consequence of her munificent hospitality to the Crusaders, who, when
returning from the plains of Asia, wayworn, sick, and disabled, were re-
lieved and entertained by her, had spread throughout Christendom,
which praise of her beauty and benevolence, constantly repeated by the
returned Crusaders, in their enthusiasm of gratitude, fired the heart of
Ridel (sometimes spelled "Rudel") the poet to such an extent that, with-
out having seen her, and unable to bear the torments of absence longer, he
undertook a pilgrimage to visit the unknown lady. He quitted the Eng-
lish court against the entreaties and expostulations of his prince, and sailed
for the Levant. He became seriously ill on the voyage, and lived but a few
hours after the vessel reached the harbor of Tripoli. When the countess
-
Suffolk; her mother's name was Henswitha. She was first married to Toubert, a
nobleman of the East Angles, and afterwards to Egfrid, King of Northumberland,
and, persevering with both husbands to live in a state of virginity, she was as-
sisted in building the monastery by her brother Adolphus, at that time King of the
East Angles. She died June 23, 679, and was buried in a wooden coffin, in the
common cemetery with the nuns, by her orders. The See of Ely was created by
King Henry I, in 1109 A. D. The bishops of Ely were Counts Palatine, but their
rights as such were nearly all destroyed by Act of Parliament, in the reign of Henry
VIII. The arms of Ely are, "Gules, three open crowns, two and one; or, bishop's
mitre on top of the shield."
