Ralph "The Staller"

Bef 1011 - 1070  (> 57 years)

• Name	Ralph "The Staller"
  Birth	Bef 1011	of Brittany, France   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Death	Between 1068 and 1070  [3, 4]
  Alternate death	Bef Apr 1070  [1]
  Person ID	I10125	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of AP, Ancestor of AW, Ancestor of DDB, Ancestor of DGH, Ancestor of DK, Ancestor of EK, Ancestor of GFS, Ancestor of JMF, Ancestor of JTS, Ancestor of LD, Ancestor of LDN, Ancestor of LMW, Ancestor of TNH
  Last Modified	6 Jan 2018

  
  

  Children	+ 1. Ralph I de Gael,   b. Bef 1040   d. Aft 1096, Palestine (Age > 58 years)
  Family ID	F6423	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2024

  
  

• Notes

  Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk. "Ralph (the Staller), although said to have been an Englishman born in Norfolk, was more probably a Breton, or possibly of mixed English and Breton parentage. The date of his birth is uncertain, but he was probably b. before 1011. He is almost certainly identical with a Ralph the Englishman who (otherwise unknown) attested charters of Alan, Duke of Brittany, circa 1031 and in 1032. His first appearance in England seems to be in 1060, when he attests a charter of the Confessor as 'dapifer.' In 1061 he attests as 'minister,' and in 1062 as 'regis aulicus.' He also attests a charter of Abbot Aelfwig (1060-6) as 'steallere.' That Ralph was one of the royal Stallers is proved by the numerous passages in Domesday Book in which he is styled 'stalra' or 'stake.' The great survey proves that he held extensive estates in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Lincoln, and one estate in Cornwall, whether wholly by grant from the Crown, or partly by inheritance or by marriage to an English heiress, is uncertain. It is probable that he was also in possession, either by inheritance or marriage, of the barony of Gael in Brittany, from which his son took his name. It is possible, but unlikely, that he received his Earldom from the Confessor, in whose reign he made gifts from his lands in Norfolk to the Abbey of St. Riquier in Ponthieu. Ralph survived the Conquest, was taken into favour by the new King, and seems to have been appointed a joint commissioner with William, Bishop of London, and Ingelric (the Priest) apparently for a redemption of certain lands by Englishmen. He was cr. EARL OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK (or the East Angles), and was almost certainly the Earl Ralph to whom (jointly with Bishop Aethelmer of Elmham and the thegns of Norfolk and Suffolk) the Conqueror addressed a precept in the English language directing that Abbot Baldwin (of St. Edmundsbury) should deliver to the King the lands of his tenants slain fighting against the King. Probably he is also the Earl Ralph addressed, with the same bishop, in two royal notifications in the same language. He made grants with his wife to St. Benet of Hulme, at least one of these being after the Conquest. In Feb. or Mar. 1068 Ralph and his son were present at the Conqueror's court in England, and are referred to by the King as his friends in the charter confirming the Earl's gifts to St. Riquier. The name and parentage of his wife are unknown, but she was probably an Englishwoman and sister of a certain Godwin, who held land in Norfolk and was still in possession in 1069. Besides his son and successor Ralph, he seems to have had a son Hardwin, as a Hardwin brother of Earl Ralph is mentioned in Domesday Book under Suffolk. There is reason to believe that Ralph had either a sister or a daughter married to an Englishman, as an Alsi nepos of Earl Ralph is mentioned in Domesday Book under Suffolk. Ralph was still living in Feb. 1068, but probably died not later than 1069, and definitely before Apr. 1070." [Complete Peerage]

  
  

• Sources

  [S128] The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant ed. Vicary Gibbs, H. A. Doubleday, Duncan Warrand, Howard de Walden, Geoffrey H. White and R. S. Lea. 2nd edition. 14 volumes (1-13, but volume 12 spanned two books), London, The St. Catherine Press, 1910-1959. Volume 14, "Addenda & Corrigenda," ed. Peter W. Hammond, Gloucestershire, Sutton Publishing, 1998. [S991] Early Yorkshire Families ed. Charles Travis Clay and Diana E. Greenway. Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1973., date only. [S76] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004-ongoing. [S991] Early Yorkshire Families ed. Charles Travis Clay and Diana E. Greenway. Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1973.