Sir Ralph BASSET of Sapcote
- Born: Abt 1310, Sapcote, Hinckley, Leicestershire, England
General Notes:
The Complete Peerage does not have this Ralph in its ancestry. They claim that the Ralph, b. 1329, married as his 1st wife, abt 1346, Sybil Astley, daughter of Giles Astley, who d. 1316. At best you would have a 17 year old boy marrying a 30+ (most likely 35-40) year old woman; not very likely at all. Therefore I envision two generations where CP has one. I believe that this Ralph m. (long before 1346, which is when CP says the marriage took place) Sybil Astley and had the Ralph who was a minor in 1349.
Of course Ralph could have been born as early as 1310, married Sybil for the 1st time at age 36 (1346) and married again at 51 (1361) and had children. I think that genealogy, even the well respected sources, are too full of really old men having children. It seems to be the rule rather than the exception. The average life expectancy in the middle ages was in the mid to lower 40's which was considered old age. While men can have children in their 80's, I think it is the exception rather than the rule for men after the age of 50 having children.
Marriage Information:
Ralph married Sibyl DE ASTLEY, daughter of Sir Giles DE ASTLEY and Alice DE WOLVEY. (Sibyl DE ASTLEY was born about 1310 in Astley, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England and died before 1360.)
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