Ralph the Staller or Ralf the Englishman (died 1069/70) was a noble and landowner in both

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

and post-

Conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He first appears in charters from Brittany, where he was described as Ralph / Ralf the Englishman, and it was in Brittany that his son Ralph de Gaël held a large hereditary lordship. The exact nature of his connections to England and Brittany are uncertain. Although he was clearly present in England before 1066 his name Ralph (Radulphus, Ralf, Rauf, Raoul etc.) was continental, and not English. The

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

contrasts him with his unnamed wife (whom it describes as a Breton), saying that he was born in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, while both the Norman writer

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...

and the chronicle of the abbey of Saint-Riquier in France (where he made a grant) describe Ralph the staller as a Breton. Modern historians such as Ann Williams have suggested that his father came to England with Emma of Normandy when she married Aethelred II in 1002. She suggest that his mother was English, thus accounting for relatives with Anglo-Saxon names, mentioned in

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

. Ralph was part of the court of Edward the Confessor, and is sometimes referred to as "squire", a generic title for important members of the royal court at the time, he is also designated as seneschal and courtier. He held the military post of staller, roughly equivalent to the continental constable, under King

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

. He is recorded as witnessing charters, for instance in 1053, as a staller, and from 1053 to 1055, he attested a charter between Earl Leofric and Godiva, endowing a monastery at Stowe, St Mary in Lincolnshire. Ralph was a patron to the in county Ponthieu, and also a patron to the Abbey of St Benet de Holme in Norfolk. He survived partaking in the Conquest of 1066 and gained the favour of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, who made him

Earl of East Anglia The Earls of East Anglia were governors of East Anglia during the 11th century. The post was established by Cnut in 1017 and disappeared following Ralph Guader's participation in the failed Revolt of the Earls in 1075. Ealdormen of East Anglia U ...

. He married and had several children, including his heir, Ralph Guader, who succeeded to his earldom and Hardouin (French) or Hardwin (in English). He is also believed to be related to

Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Old English pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/ , modern English pronunciation / ) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resistance to the Norman Conquest of E ...

who had connections with Peterborough Abbey in Norfolk and Abbot Brand.

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