General Notes

Sir Ralph de Stafford, KG, b. 24 Sep 1301, d. 31 Aug 1372, KG 23 Apr 1349, Earl of Stafford.  By his 1st wife, Katharine de Hastang, he had Margaret Stafford, who married her cousin John de Stafford, Knight, of Bramshall, co. Stafford.  [Magna Charta Sureties]

Note: Ralph's 1301 birth date does not agree with Ancestral Roots, nor line 136 in MCS.  They have 1299.

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Ralph de Stafford, 2nd Lord (Baron) Stafford and 1st Earl of Stafford, so created 5 March 1350/1, KG (1348), KB (Jan 1326/7), JP (Staffs March 1331/2); campaigned against Scots 1336, 1337 and 1343 and French at Battles of Sluys 1340 and Crecy 1346 and Siege of Calais 1346-7, also 1355-60; Steward of the Household Feb 1340/1, Seneschal of Aquitaine or Gascony Feb 1344/5-March 1345/6 and Aquitaine Oct 1346-March 1346/7; married 1st probably c1326-27 Katharine, daughter of Sir John Hastang, of Chebsey, Staffs; married 2nd by 6 July 1336 Margaret, Baroness Audley in her own right, daughter of Hugh Audley, 1st and last Earl of Gloucester of the 1337 creation and 1st Lord (Baron) Audley of the 1317 creation, and died 31 Aug 1372.  [Burke's Peerage]

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Ralph de Stafford, 2nd baron, summoned to parliament from 14 January, 1337, to 25 November, 1350. This nobleman attaining majority in the 17th Edward II [1324], and then doing his homage, had livery of his father's lands, and the next ensuing year, being made a knight by bathing and other sacred ceremonies, had robes, &c., as a banneret, allowed him out of the king's wardrobe for the solemnity; after which he soon became a personage of celebrity in the wars of King Edward III. His lordship was first engaged in Scotland for some years, and he then embarked for Brittany, where he was made prisoner at the siege of Nantes. In the 19th Edward III [1346], he was sent into Gascony with Henry of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, and while that nobleman assaulted Bergerath by land, Lord Stafford commanded the force which attacked it by sea. the next year he was constituted seneschal of Aquitaine, when John, son and heir of Philip, King of France, coming to besiege Aguillon, where his lordship then resided, he stoutly defended that place against the whole power of the French, until King Edward came to his relief, and forced the enemy to raise the siege. After this, joining his troops with the army of King Edward, he had a principal command in the van of the English at the glorious battle of Cressy. On the termination of this great conflict, his lordship being sent with Sir Reginald Cobham and three heralds to view the slain, reported the number to be 11 great princes, 80 banneret, 1,200 knights, and more than 30,000 common soldiers. He was afterwards, when Calais surrendered, appointed, together with Sir Walter Manny, and the Earl of Warwick, to take possession of that place for the king; and subsequently his lordship was one of the ambassadors deputed to the cardinals of Naples and Claremont, to treat of peace between King Edward and Philip de Valois, then assuming the title of King of France. The next year he had license to make castles of his manor houses at Stafford and Nadeley; as also a grant from the king of £573, for his expenses in foreign service. About this time his lordship was elected a knight of the Garter, being one of the original members of that noble order. In the 24th Edward III [1351], he was in commission with the bishop of Durham, and the Lords Percy and Nevill, to treat with the nobles of Scotland, at York, for a firm and final peace between the two realms; for all which eminent services he was created, 5 March, 1351, Earl of Stafford, and constituted lieutenant and captain-general of the Duchy of Aquitaine. His lordship m. Margaret, only dau. and heiress of Hugh de Audley, Baron Audley, and in right of his wife, Earl of Gloucester, by which alliance he acquired a considerable inheritance, and the Barony of Audeley is presumed to have merged in that of Stafford. He had issue, Ralph, who m. Maud, dau. of Henry, Earl of Derby, Duke of Lancaster, but d.v.p., s.p.; Hugh, his successor; Beatrice, m. 1st, Maurice, son and heir of Maurice, Earl of Desmond, 2ndly, Thomas, Lord Ros, of Hamlake, and 3rdly, Sir Richard Burley, Knt.; Joane, m. to John, son and heir of John Cherlton, Lord Powis; Elizabeth, m. to Fulke le Strange; and Margaret, m. to Sir John Stafford, Knt. His lordship d. 31 August, 1372, was buried at Tunbridge, and was s. by his only surviving son, Hugh de Stafford. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 499, Stafford, Barons Stafford, Earls of Stafford, &c.]