Ralph of Domfront

Ralph of Domfront (or Radulph, Latin: Radulfus; died c. 1146) was the archbishop of Mamistra and second Latin patriarch of Antioch (as Ralph I) from 1135 until 1140. William of Tyre describes him as "a military man, very magnificent and generous, a great favourite of the common people and with those of knightly birth."

Born at the fortress of Domfront in southern Normandy, Ralph received his early education in the military arts. He eventually took holy orders and was consecrated archbishop of Mamistra. The records of this church are few and Ralph only appears as archbishop in two documents late in the pontificate of his predecessor at Antioch, Bernard of Valence, the first Latin patriarch. William of Tyre, who wrote a chronicle of the Latin East, was a child when he met Ralph, but he wrote a description of his appearance and character:

The lord Ralph was a tall, handsome man. He squinted a little, but not excessively. He was not very well-educated, but was a fluent speaker and a cheerful companion and had good manners. Because he was very generous he gained the favour of the knights and of the burgesses. He was not good at keeping agreements and promises which he had made, and would say first one thing and then another. His was a complex character, cunning, cautious and discerning. . . He was called arrogant and conceited and this was true.

Bernard died in the late summer of 1135. The reigning Princess of Antioch was Constance, a child of seven, and so the incumbent bishops of the principality gathered uncanonically in Antioch to choose Bernard's successor. While they were meeting, the people of Antioch chose Ralph, who happened to be in the city although he was not attending the council. Although William of Tyre presents Ralph's election as the spontaneous action of the people, it was probably orchestrated by Ralph and some of his Norman compatriots. The king's bailiff, Rainald Mazoir, and the party that favored a marriage between Constance and Raymond of Poitiers have often been suspected by historians. At this enthronement, Ralph took Bernard's pallium from the altar and put it on. He explicitly rejected the supremacy of the Pope, saying that both Rome and Antioch were "the see of Peter and Antioch was the firstborn."Pope Innocent II took no action against Ralph out of fear that the latter would choose to recognise the Antipope Anacletus II instead.

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