See also
| Husband: | Ralph (c. 1023-1057) | |
| Wife: | Gytha (c. 980- ) | |
| Children: | Harold ( - ) | |
| Name: | Ralph | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Nickname: | The Timid | |
| Father: | Drogo + (1000-1035) | |
| Mother: | Goda of ENGLAND (1004-1047) | |
| Birth | 1023 (est) | |
| Occupation | Earl of Hereford | |
| Death | 1057 (age 33-34) | |
| Name: | Gytha | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Father: | Sweyn FORKBEARD (960-1014) | |
| Mother: | Sigrid + (965- ) | |
| Birth | 0980 (est) | |
| Name: | Harold | |
| Sex: | Male | |
Ralph the Timid, also known as Ralf of Mantes, was probably brought to England as part of the Confessor's entourage in 1041. He was created the Earl of Hereford in 1051/52[1] until his death in 1057. He was the son of Drogo of Mantes, Count of the Vexin, and Goda of England, daughter of King Ethelred the Unready of England and Emma of Normandy. Thus, he was a nephew of the English Saxon King Edward the Confessor, who placed him in command of the Earldom of Herefordshire. He himself married a woman named Gytha.
He placed Normans in positions of authority beneath him in Hereford and these men immediately began constructing castles, a new architectural feature in the English landscape.
When Godwin, 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 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 Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire as well.
In 1055, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd (and later all Wales), invaded Ralph's lands in Hereford along with the exiled Earl Ælfga-r. Arming all his men as Norman knights, they sallied forth from his seat at Hereford Castle and were soundly defeated on October 24, 1055. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn took Hereford and destroyed the new castle. 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-Saxon war form. His son Harold, became a ward of the royal court. Although a nephew of King Edward, Ralph would never have secured enough Witan votes to become a candidate for the monarchy.[2]
After the death of Ralph, Herefordshire was added to Harold Godwinson's Earldom of Wessex[3], possibly only to be held until Ralph's son Harold was old enough to rule it himself.[4]