Ralph de Gaël, Earl of East Anglia, Lord of Gaël and Montfort

Bef 1042 - 1101  (~ 59 years)

• Name	Ralph de Gaël
  Suffix	Earl of East Anglia, Lord of Gaël and Montfort
  Born	Bef 1042	Hereford, Herefordshire, England
  Gender	Male
  Died	ca 1101	Holy Land
  Notes	Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_de_Gael As the Earl of East Anglia and Lord of Gaël and Montfort, he was the leading figure in the Revolt of the Earls, the last serious revolt against William the Conqueror. Ralph was born before 1042, most probably about 1040 in Hereford. He inherited the great Breton barony of Gaël, 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 not known whether he obtained the Earldom immediately on his father?s death. In 1066 he fought on the Norman side at the Battle of Hastings. 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. He married, in 1075 at Exning, Cambridgeshire, Emma, only daughter of William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford and his first wife Alice or Adelise (or Adelissa), daughter of Roger I of Tosny. Their offspring were: 1. William de Gael, succeeded his father as Seigneur de Gael. He claimed Breteuil after the death of his uncle William de Breteuil, but died shortly thereafter, according to Orderic Vitalis. 2. Raoul II de Gael, seigneur of Gael and Montfort. By 1119, he had obtained the honour of Breteuil in Normandy (his uncle William de Breteuil died 1103 without any legitimate issue). The Complete Peerage claims that his descendants in the male line continued to hold his estates in Brittany, acquiring Laval and Vitré in the 15th century with the marriage of the heiress of Montmorency-Laval, but such a male-line descent hasn't been traced. He had only one child by his wife, Amice (Amicia) (d. c. 31 August 1168) was initially betrothed to Richard, illegitimate son of Henry I and his mistress Ansfrida, but her betrothed died on the White Ship disaster in November 1120. She was then married to the King's ward Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, second (twin) son of Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan. 3. Alain de Gael, who went with his parents on the First Crusade and died in the Holy Land. In 1075 William I's refusal to sanction this marriage between two powerful families caused a revolt in his absence. The leaders were 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. 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 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. At the time of his revolt, he was a land-holder in Whaddon, Cambridgeshire. This is according to the Domesday Book, which uses the name of Radulf[us] Waders. Ralph, formerly Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk (East Anglia) and his Countess Emma retired to her Breton lands. For the rest of his life he remained a great baron of Brittany, with no interests in England. In 1096, accompanied by his wife and under Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, he went on the First 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. It is believed Ralph died circa 1101.
  Person ID	I36131	Master File
  Last Modified	22 Sep 2016

  
  

  Family	Emma de Breteuil, Countess of Norfolk,   b. ca 1059, Breteuil, Normandy ,   d. Aft 1096, Holy Land  (Age ~ 38 years)
  Children	1. Raoul II de Montfort
  Last Modified	22 Sep 2016
  Family ID	F14901	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart