Ralph the Timid (also known as
Ralf of Mantes) was the
Earl of HerefordThe title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. See also Duke of Hereford, Viscount Hereford. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.-Earls of Hereford, First Creation :*Swegen Godwinson...
from 1052 until his death in 1057. He was the son of
Drogo of MantesDrogo of Mantes was the count of Valois and the Vexin in the early eleventh century from 1027 to his death. His capital was Mantes, thus his byname. He married Goda, daughter of King Ethelred the Unready of England and Queen Emma of Normandy and the sister of King Edward the Confessor. Their...
, Count of the
VexinThe Vexin is a former region in France, divided since the 10th century between Norman Vexin and French Vexin ....
, and
GodaGöda, in Sorbian Hodźij, is a municipality in the east of Saxony, Germany. It belongs to the district of Bautzen and lies west of the eponymous city.- Villages :Several villages belong to the municipality:...
, daughter of King
Ethelred the UnreadyÆthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II, , was a king of the English . He was a son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. His reign was much troubled by Danish Viking raiders. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered and was not personally suspected of participation...
of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and
Emma of NormandyEmma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of the Kingdom of England twice, by successive marriages: first as the second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then as a second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
. Thus, he was a nephew of the
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
SaxonAnglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading Germanic tribes in the south and east of Great Britain from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, to the Norman conquest of 1066...
King
Edward the ConfessorEdward the confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last English kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066 Edward the confessor ...
, who placed him in command of the Earldom of
HerefordshireHerefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. It also forms a unitary district known as the County of Herefordshire. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the southeast, and...
. He himself married a woman named Gytha.
He placed
NormansThe Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
in positions of authority beneath him in Hereford and these men immediately began constructing
castleA castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress, in that it describes a residence of a monarch or...
s, a new architectural feature in the English landscape.
When
Godwin, Earl of WessexGodwin of Wessex , also known as Goodwin, was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Canute the Great and his successors. Canute made him the first Earl of Wessex...
, returned from exile in 1052, there was almost war between the English Saxons and the Normans, but it was prevented and many Normans had to flee the country.
Ralph the Timid (also known as
Ralf of Mantes) was the
Earl of HerefordThe title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. See also Duke of Hereford, Viscount Hereford. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.-Earls of Hereford, First Creation :*Swegen Godwinson...
from 1052 until his death in 1057. He was the son of
Drogo of MantesDrogo of Mantes was the count of Valois and the Vexin in the early eleventh century from 1027 to his death. His capital was Mantes, thus his byname. He married Goda, daughter of King Ethelred the Unready of England and Queen Emma of Normandy and the sister of King Edward the Confessor. Their...
, Count of the
VexinThe Vexin is a former region in France, divided since the 10th century between Norman Vexin and French Vexin ....
, and
GodaGöda, in Sorbian Hodźij, is a municipality in the east of Saxony, Germany. It belongs to the district of Bautzen and lies west of the eponymous city.- Villages :Several villages belong to the municipality:...
, daughter of King
Ethelred the UnreadyÆthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II, , was a king of the English . He was a son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. His reign was much troubled by Danish Viking raiders. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered and was not personally suspected of participation...
of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and
Emma of NormandyEmma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of the Kingdom of England twice, by successive marriages: first as the second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then as a second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
. Thus, he was a nephew of the
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
SaxonAnglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading Germanic tribes in the south and east of Great Britain from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, to the Norman conquest of 1066...
King
Edward the ConfessorEdward the confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last English kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066 Edward the confessor ...
, who placed him in command of the Earldom of
HerefordshireHerefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. It also forms a unitary district known as the County of Herefordshire. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the southeast, and...
. He himself married a woman named Gytha.
He placed
NormansThe Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
in positions of authority beneath him in Hereford and these men immediately began constructing
castleA castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress, in that it describes a residence of a monarch or...
s, a new architectural feature in the English landscape.
When
Godwin, Earl of WessexGodwin of Wessex , also known as Goodwin, was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Canute the Great and his successors. Canute made him the first Earl of Wessex...
, returned from exile in 1052, there was almost war between the English Saxons and the Normans, but it was prevented and many Normans had to flee the country.
Edward the ConfessorEdward the confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last English kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066 Edward the confessor ...
intervened on Ralph's behalf, for he loved him dearly. Godwin made peace with his underling Ralph, but died on September 14, 1053. In that year, Ralph became Earl in his own right and held the counties of
GloucestershireGloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
and
OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
as well.
In 1055,
Gruffydd ap LlywelynGruffydd ap Llywelyn was the ruler of all Wales from 1055 until his death, one of very few able to make this boast...
, King of Gwynedd (and later all
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
), invaded Ralph's lands in Hereford along with the exiled Earl
ÆlfgārÆlfgar was son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, possibly by his well-known wife Godgifu , although more probably by an earlier marriage. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the latter's death in 1057....
. Arming all his men as Norman knights, they sallied forth from his seat at
Hereford CastleHereford Castle was a castle in the cathedral city of Hereford in Herefordshire, England.- Pre Norman Castle :It stood on a site to the south and east of the modern city overlooking the River Wye...
and were soundly defeated on October 24, 1055. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn took
HerefordHereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and destroyed the new
castleA castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress, in that it describes a residence of a monarch or...
. Ralph was disgraced and he died two years later in 1057, never having recovered from the shock of loss or the ignominy of his defeat: he was ever after called
the Timid, less for actual cowardice as for his trust in armoured cavalry over the traditional
Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading Germanic tribes in the south and east of Great Britain from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, to the Norman conquest of 1066...
war form.
After the death of Ralph, Herefordshire was added to
Harold GodwinsonHarold Godwinson or Harold II was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England before the Norman Conquest. Harold reigned from 5 January 1066, until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October of that same year, fighting the Norman invaders, led by William the Conqueror...
's
Earldom of WessexThe title Earl of Wessex has been created twice in British history, once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom...
.