Wala was born as a son of a Saxon woman and Count Bernard who was a brother of Pepin the Third and a natural son of Charles Martel. Wala was the first cousin of Charlemagne and a half brother of Adalard the Younger, who served as abbot of Corbie until 826. Wala also had a full brother named Bernarius, and two sisters Gundrada and Theodrada, abbess of Notre-Dame de Soissons. In Wala’s early years, he had been brought up in the school of the Royal Palace with his brother Adalard the Younger. At Court, both Wala and his brother Adalard were known as being honest, honorable and zealous. As a youth, Wala incurred the temporary disapproval of his cousin Charles. In 792, it has been supposed that he was in some way involved with the conspiracy of Charles son’, Pepin the hunchback. As a result, he was banned from court and forced to live under the close watch of some of the loyal magnates. During this time, it is presumed that he married daughter of William, count of Toulouse, Rothlindis, and Wala became a brother in-law of Bernard of Barcelona. He was widowed before he became a monk in 814. In his early years, Wala regained royal favor. During Charlemagne’s rule, he rose to become the Emperor’s second-in-command. Charlemagne appears to have appointed his cousin Wala to oversee administration on Saxony, just as he had elevated his brother in law Gerold in Bavaria. During his rule Charlemagne appears to have relied confidently on his capable cousins, including Adalard, Bernarius and Wala.
According to Vita Walae, the Epitaphium Arsenii written by Paschasius Radbertus, Walla fully embraced the life as a monk. McKitterick
According to Radbertus, Wala was content with the ordinary clothes and shoes of the region, and he considered it unnecessary that a monk should dress more smartly than the conprovintiales amongst whom he lived. He also strived to be loved rather than feared.