Ralph the Timid

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Ralph the Timid was the earl of Hereford from before 1050 until his death in 1057. He was the son of Drogo of Mantes, count of the Vexin, and Goda, daughter of King Ethelred the Unready of England and Emma of Normandy. Thus, he was a nephew of the English king Edward the Confessor, who probably placed him in command of the earldom of Herefordshire, within the vast holdings of Godwin, earl of Wessex. He himself married a woman named Gytha.

He placed Normans in positions of authority beneath him in his county and these immediately began constructing castles, a new architectural feature in the English landscape. When Godwin returned from exile in 1052, there was almost war between the English and the Normans, but it was prevented and many Normans had to flee the country. Edward 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 for certain in his own right and held the counties of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire as well. In 1055, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, king of Gwynedd (and later all Wales), invaded Ralph's lands and Ralph called up his fyrd (the militia). Arming all his men as Norman knights, they sallied forth from his Hereford castle and were soundly defeated on October 24, 1055. Gruffyd took Hereford and destroyed the new castle. Ralph was disgraced and he died on 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-Saxon war form.

Source

Hynde, Thomas (ed). The Domesday Book: England's History Then and Now. (1995)

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