Geoffrey Ridel

Who is Geoffrey Ridel?

Geoffrey Ridel was a landholder and royal justice during the reign of King Henry I of England.

Ridel is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book as holding land in Norfolk, and is probably also the same Geoffrey who held land in Derbyshire in Domesday. The mention in the Norfolk section of Domesday notes that Ridel had journeyed with William Bigod, brother of Roger Bigod, back from Apulia. Ridel and William's arrival in England can be dated to between 1075 and 1086. Ridel may have been born in southern Italy or Sicily, as a Ridel family was well known there in the 11th and 12th centuries. Another Geoffrey Ridel was a supporter of Robert Guiscard and was appointed Duke of Gaeta. Other possibilities for his origin include the county of Perche, where a Geoffrey Ridel was a witness to a charter of the Count of Perche around 1080.

Ridel married Geva, who is often stated to have been an illegitimate daughter of Hugh, Earl of Chester. However, there is no contemporary evidence stating that she was, and her illegitimacy is inferred from the fact that she did not inherit her father's lands. Ridel's lands were centered around Great Weldon in Northamptonshire, which had belonged to Robert de Buci in Domesday Book.