Wala of Corbie was the son of Bernard

Bernard, son of Charles Martel

Bernard or Bernhard was a son of Charles Martel by his mistress Ruodhaid. He is an obscure figure, rising out of the mists only to lead half of the Frankish army in his nephew Charlemagne's Lombard campaign. While Charlemagne led his contingent through the pass of Moncenisio, Bernard led his...

, son of Charles Martel

Charles Martel

Charles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...

, and one of the principal advisers of his cousin Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

, Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious

Louis the Pious

Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...

, and his son Lothair I

Lothair I

Lothair I or Lothar I was the Emperor of the Romans , co-ruling with his father until 840, and the King of Bavaria , Italy and Middle Francia...

. He succeeded his brother Adalard as abbot of Corbie

Corbie

Corbie is a commune of the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The small town is situated up river from Amiens, in the département of Somme and is the main town of the canton of Corbie. It lies in the valley of the River Somme, at the confluence of the River Ancre. The town...

 and Corvey in 826 or 827.

Wala, originally a comes

Comes

Comes , plural comites , is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus, especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" +...

(count) attached to the palace under Charlemagne (811), was forced to enter the monastery of Corbie in 814 as part of a purging of palace rivals and hangers-on by Louis the Pious. In 816 he and Adalard were given the responsibility of organising the government of the convent of Herford

Herford

Herford is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford.- Geographic location :...

, recently passed into Louis's hands at the Council of Aachen

Council of Aachen

A number of significant councils of the Roman Catholic Church were held at Aachen in the early Middle Ages.In the mixed council of 798, Charlemagne proclaimed a capitulary of eighty-one chapters, largely a repetition of earlier ecclesiastical legislation, that was accepted by the clergy and...

. In the 820s Wala become a strong opponent of royal/imperial control of church benefice

Benefice

A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...

s. He was back at court in 822 as a concillor (councillor). According to Paschasius Radbertus, Wala alleged on one occasion that the "army of clerics" (i.e. chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

s) resident at the Palace of Aachen

Palace of Aachen

The Palace of Aachen was a group of buildings with residential, political and religious purposes chosen by Charlemagne to be the centre of power of the Carolingian Empire. The palace was located at the north of the current city of Aachen, today in the German Land of North Rhine-Westphalia...

 (and perhaps itinerant with the emperor) served only for personal gain and did not form a legitimate ecclesiastical institution. In 831 Wala left Corbie; in 834 he was abbot of Bobbio

Bobbio Abbey

Bobbio Abbey is a monastery founded by Irish Saint Columbanus in 614, around which later grew up the town of Bobbio, in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Columbanus...

.