Ralph de Guader
Ralph de Guader, Earl of Norfolk Seigneur de Gael et Montfort (c.
1042-c.
1096), Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, Lord of Gael.
Birth
He was probably born before 1040, as not later than 1060 he attested, in company with other Bretons, a notification at Angers as Ralph son of Ralph the Englishman, most probably in
1042 in
Hereford.
Inheritances
He inherited the great Breton barony of
Gael, which comprised more than forty parishes. In England, whether by inheritance or by grant from the Crown, he held large estates in Norfolk, as well as property in Suffolk, Essex, Hertford, and possibly other counties. In some of these estates he certainly succeeded his father, but it is doubtful whether he obtained the Earldom immediately on his father's death.
Up to 1074
*In
1065 he was with
Conan II, Duke of Brittany when he besieged
Thiwallon, Lord of
Dol, in the castle of
Combour.
*In
1066 he fought on the Norman side at the
Battle of Hastings.
*In February or March
1068 he was present at
William the Conqueror's court with his father.
*In
1069 he routed a force of
Norsemen which had invaded
Norfolk and occupied
Norwich. It may been in recognition of this exploit (or of services rendered at Hastings) that the Conqueror created him
Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, or the East Angles, the Earldom being also styled, from its capital, of Norwich.
*It is presumably this Ralph who, on
13 April 1069 was with the King at
Winchester and witnessed, as Earl Ralph, a diploma in favour of
St.Denis of Paris and in the same year witnessed, as Earl Ralph, a grant in favour of the
Bishop of Essex.
*
1074- It is possible that Ralph defended
Dol when the Conqueror besieged it unsuccessfully in
1074.
Ralph built a church in
Norwich, in the new town, and give it to his chaplains; but there is not record of religious benefactions by him in Brittany.
Marriage and revolt
Main article-Revolt of the EarlsHe married, before
1080,
Emma, daughter of
William Fitzosbern, 1st Earl of Hereford and
Adelissa de Tosny.
In
1075 the king's refusal to sanction this marriage caused a revolt in his absence by Ralph, his new brother-in-law
Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford and
Waltheof, 1st Earl of Northumberland. The revolt was plagued by disaster. Waltheof lost heart and confessed the conspiracy to
Lanfranc, who urged Earl Roger to return to his allegiance, and finally excommunicated him and his adherents - Waltheof was later executed by William. Ralph encountered a much superior force under the warrior bishops
Odo of Bayeux and
Geoffrey de Montbray (the latter ordered that all rebels should have their right foot cut off!) near
Cambridge and retreated hurriedly to
Norwich, hotly pursued by the royal army. Leaving his wife to defend
Norwich Castle, he sailed for
Denmark in search of help, and eventually returned to England with a fleet of 200 ships under
Cnut and
Hakon, which failed to do anything effective.
Meanwhile the Countess held out in Norwich until she obtained terms for herself and her followers, who were deprived of their lands, but were allowed forty days to leave the realm. Thereupon the Countess retired to her estate in Brittany, where she was rejoined by her husband. Ralph was deprived of all his lands and of his Earldom.
Baron of Britanny
For the rest of his life he remained a great baron of Brittany, with no interests in England. In
1076, having plotted against
Duke Hoel of Brittany, he was besieged at
Dol, and the Conqueror came to Hoel's aid; but Ralph finally made his peace.
In
1089 he attested the judgment in a dispute between the monks of
Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine and the chaplains of the
Duke of Brittany. He also attested a
charter of
Alan IV, Duke of Brittany, in favour of
St.Georges at
Rennes (
1084-
1096). The Conqueror being dead, Ralph appears in Normandy c.
1093 as a witness in the record of a suit between the abbots of
Lonlay and
St.Florent. There is, however, no record of religious benefactions by him in Brittany.
Crusade
In
1096, accompanied by his wife and under
Robert Curthose, he went on
Crusade. He was one of the
Breton leaders who took part in the
siege of Nicaea, after which he joined
Bohemund I of Antioch's division of the army.
Both Ralph and his wife Emma died on the road to
Palestine in the course of the Crusade.
*
Ralph the Staller
