Ralph, the seventeenth abbot

He was succeeded by Ralph, surnamed de Gubiun, who while a secular priest was the bailiff, chaplain and keeper of the treasury for the bishop of Lincoln. So at the instigation of the bishop he was made a monk at the monastery of St Alban, though, after taking the habit, at the order of the abbot he remained for a time with the bishop of Lincoln. The bishop promised Ralph that, if he outlived the current abbot, he would make Ralph abbot in his place. For the bishops of Lincoln arranged everything in the church of St Alban just as they wished, though sometimes their arrangements were unjust and not to its advantage.

Ralph, an Englishman by birth, was first of all the wise overseer of the room of the archives on the orders of his abbot, and he contributed many volumes to this church. Then after a few years, on the order of his abbot, he joined the staff of Alexander, the bishop of Lincoln, and held the office of bailiff. He also listened to his profit to the teachings on Holy Scripture of Master Wodo, an Italian. As a result he became a lover of books and a keen collector with a large library of many volumes. Then, after the passage of a short period of time, Abbot Geoffrey died and Ralph, as the unanimous choice of all the brothers of this church, took on the governing of this church in the time of King Stephen. He was blessed by Bishop Alexander, warmly welcomed with love from all and helped in his various troubles, so that all the days of his life he vigorously protected this church from the violence of all her enemies, who in that wicked age were now daily increasing in number.

The buildings of the aforementioned abbot

He built lodgings for the abbot adjoining the church. These were made to last. He also built a very handy ‘necessary house’ for the demands of nature, covered with shingled oak.

Concerning a privilege obtained by the aforementioned abbot

Meanwhile on a journey to France Abbot Ralph found Pope Eugenius staying at Auxerre, and obtained from him a privilege for this church in the same wording as the privilege granted by Pope Celestine.