Ralph the Staller (or Radulf Stalre or Ralph l'Écuyer / Ralph the Squire ( 1011 – 1069) was a noble and landowner in both

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

and post-

Conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He is said to have been born in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

of high born

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

and English parentage. He 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 Staller is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Eric Staller (born 1947), American artist who uses light and architecture *George Staller (1916–1992), American outfielder, scout and coach in Major League Baseball *Ilona Staller (b ...

, roughly equivalent to the continental constable, under King

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

. He is recorded as witnessing charters, for instance in 1053, as a staller, and in 1053-55 he attested a charter between Earl Leofric and Godgifu, 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. St Benet's Abbey, Norfolk

He survived partaking in the Conquest of 1066 and gained the favour of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, who made him Earl of East Anglia. He married and had several children, including his heir,

Ralph Guader Ralph de Gaël (otherwise Ralph de Guader, Ralph Wader or Radulf Waders or Ralf Waiet or Rodulfo de Waiet; before 1042c. 1100) was the Earl of East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk) and Lord of Gaël and Montfort-sur-Meu, Montfort (''Seigneur de Gaë ...

, who succeeded to his earldom and Hardouin (French) o
Hardwin
(in English). He is also believed to be related to Hereward the Wake who had connections with Petersbourgh Abbey and Abbot Brand. https://archive.org/stream/herewardwake00king/herewardwake00king_djvu.txt

References

Further reading