[citation needed] Ralph was the middle son of Robert, Archbishop of Rouen and his wife Herlevea,[2] making him part of the ducal house of Normandy in 11th-century France.
[9] In 1040, assassins acting upon his orders murdered Gilbert, count of Brionne and the chief tutor of young duke William, while he was riding near Eschafour.
[10] Ralph then campaigned against Thurstan le Goz who, along with the French king Henry I, had occupied Falaise.
[10] While Ralph remained a key member of Duke William's inner circle,[11] he made large donations to Jumièges Abbey.
[12] Ralph Asshead's former lands were among those demanded by his nephew William, count of Évreux, in exchange for consenting to the marriage of his virgin niece and ward Bertrade to the repeatedly divorced Fulk the Rude of Anjou.