Robert the Magnificent, was the Duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death.
Owing to uncertainty over the numbering of the Dukes of Normandy he is usually
called Robert I, but sometimes Robert II with his ancestor Rollo as Robert I. He
was the father of William the Conqueror who became in 1066 King of England and
founded the House of Normandy. Life
He was the son of Richard II of Normandy and Judith, daughter of Conan I, Duke of
Brittany. He was also grandson of Richard I of Normandy, great-grandson of
William I of Normandy and great-great grandson of Rollo, the Viking who
founded Normandy. Before he died, Richard II had decided his elder son
Richard III would succeed him while his second son Robert would became Count of
Hiémois. In August 1026 their father, Richard II, died and Richard III became
duke, but very soon afterwards Robert rebelled against his brother, was
subsequently defeated and forced to swear fealty to his older brother
Richard. = Early reign=
When Richard III died a year later there were suspicions that Robert had
something to do with his death. Although nothing could be proved, Robert had the
most to gain. The civil war Robert I had brought against his brother Richard III
was still causing instability in the duchy. Private wars raged between
neighboring barons. This resulted in a new aristocracy arising in Normandy
during Robert’s reign. It was also during this time that many of the lesser
nobility left Normandy to seek their fortunes in southern Italy and
elsewhere. Soon after assuming the dukedom, possibly in revenge for
supporting his brother against him, Robert I assembled an army against his
uncle, Robert, Archbishop of Rouen and Count of Évreux. A temporary truce
allowed his uncle to leave Normandy in exile but this resulted in an edict
excommunicating all of Normandy, which was only lifted when Archbishop Robert
was allowed to return and his countship was restored. Robert also attacked
another powerful churchman, his cousin Hugo III d'Ivry, Bishop of Bayeux,
banishing him from Normandy for an extended period of time. Robert also
seized a number of church properties belonging to the Abbey of Fecamp.
= Outside of Normandy= Despite his domestic troubles Robert
decided to intervene in the civil war in Flanders between Baldwin V, Count of
Flanders and his father Baldwin IV whom the younger Baldwin had driven out of
Flanders. Baldwin V, supported by king Robert II of France, his father-in-law,
was persuaded to make peace with his father in 1030 when Duke Robert promised
the elder Baldwin his considerable military support. Robert gave shelter to
Henry I of France against his mother, Queen Constance, who favored her younger
son Robert to succeed to the French throne after his father Robert II. For
his help Henry I rewarded Robert with the French Vexin. In the early 1030s
Alan III, Duke of Brittany began expanding his influence from the area of
Rennes and appeared to have designs on the area surrounding Mont Saint-Michel
After sacking Dol and repelling Alan's attempts to raid Avranches, Robert
mounted a major campaign against his cousin Alan III. However, Alan appealed
to their uncle, Archbishop Robert of Rouen, who then brokered a peace between
Duke Robert and his vassal Alan III. His cousins, the Athelings Edward and
Alfred, sons of his aunt Emma of Normandy and Athelred, King of England
had been living at the Norman Court and at one point Robert, on their behalf,
attempted to mount an invasion of England but was prevented in doing so,
it was said, by unfavorable winds, that scattered and sank much of the fleet.
Robert made a safe landing in Guernsey. Gesta Normannorum Ducum stated that King
Cnut sent envoys to Duke Robert offering to settle half the Kingdom of England on
Edward and Alfred. After postponing the naval invasion he chose to also postpone
the decision until after he returned from Jerusalem.
= The Church and his pilgrimage= Robert's attitude towards the Church had
changed noticeably certainly since his reinstating his uncle's position as
Archbishop of Rouen. In his attempt to reconcile his differences with the
Church he restored property that he or his vassals had confiscated, and by 1034
had returned all the properties he had earlier taken from the abbey of Fecamp.
After making his illegitimate son William his heir, he set out on
pilgrimage to Jerusalem. According to the Gesta Normannorum Ducum he travelled
by way of Constantinople, reached Jerusalem, fell seriously ill and died
on the return journey at Nicaea on 2 July 1035. His son William, aged about
eight, succeeded him. According to the historian William of
Malmesbury, decades later his son William sent a mission to Constantinople
and Nicaea, charging it with bringing his father's body back to Normandy for
burial. Permission was granted, but, having travelled as far as Apulia on the
return journey, the envoys learned that William himself had meanwhile died. They
then decided to re-inter Robert's body in Italy.
Issue By his mistress, Herleva of Falaise, he
was father of: William the Conqueror.
By Herleva or possibly another concubine, he was the father of:
Adelaide of Normandy, who married firstly, Enguerrand II, Count of
Ponthieu. She married secondly, Lambert II, Count of Lens, and thirdly, Odo II
of Champagne. References
Notes