Born at Andainville,[3] he was a professor of philosophy and rhetoric before becoming a Benedictine monk at Rebais (diocese of Meaux).

The discipline at this new foundation was lax, and Walter fled the house several times to avoid this responsibility.

[4] A story told of him was that he once took the road to Touraine and hid himself on an island in the Loire, before being led back to the abbey.

He founded, in 1094, at Berteaucourt-les-Dames near Amiens, a monastery for women, with the assistance of Godelinda and Elvige (also spelled Godelende and Héleguide).

[6][7] "The last case of canonization by a metropolitan is said to have been that of St. Gaultier, or Gaucher, abbat [sic] of Pontoise, by the Archbishop of Rouen, A.D. 1153.