Ralph de Gael

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 (Seigneur de Gaël et Montfort). He was the leading figure in the Revolt of the Earls, the last serious revolt against William the Conqueror. Birth Ralph de Gaël was born as a noble before 1042, most probably about 1040. He was the high-born son of an Earl Ralph who was English, or born in England, and lived at the time of the Confessor. Some sources believe this to be Ralph the Staller, while others argue that he was the son of Earl Ralph Mantes of Hereford, and who briefly held the Earldom of East Anglia. Both English and French sources highlight that he had mixed ancestry, both English, and with a Breton parent, possibly his mother, that was 'Bryttisc' meaning 'British', a Breton. Other sources state that it was his father who was of Breton ancestry (although born in Norfolk), and that his mother was English. French sources state that he was a 'man of illustrious birth, descended from the Kings of the Bretons', including Warrior Saint King Judicaël, the castle of Gaël being the traditional seat of the Kings of Brittany. In the Domesday book, an English Alsi, is named as 'nephew of Earl Ralph', and a Godwin, English with Anglo-Saxon and possible Dutch connections, is named as Earl Ralph's uncle. Other sources cite a possible relation (possibly a cousin), to rebel Hereward the Wake, also stated to be of noble birth. His wedding feast and associations highlight connections to both Anglo-Saxon and Danish nobles, as well as his vast inherited lands in Brittany. Inheritances