Robert I OF FLANDERS (1035?-1093)

Individual Events and Attributes

Marriage

Individual Note

Robert I of Flanders (1029/1032 – 13 October 1093 in Kassel), known as Robert the Frisian, was count of Flanders from 1071 to 1092.

He was the younger son of Baldwin V of Flanders and Adèle, a daughter of King Robert II of France.[1]

Robert was originally intended to secure the northern borders of Flanders by his marriage to Gertrude of Saxony, Dowager Countess of Holland. After the death of his brother Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders in 1070 rebelled against Baldwin's widow Richilde, Countess of Hainaut and her son Arnulf III, Count of Flanders.[2] Arnulf was killed in the Battle of Cassel (1071).[3] Richilde's younger son Baldwin II, Count of Hainaut took possession of Hainault and Robert became Count of Flanders.

Robert married Gertrude of Saxony, widow of Floris I, Count of Holland and daughter of Bernard II, Duke of Saxony and Eilika of Schweinfurt. They had five children:

Robert II, married Clementia of Burgundy

Adela (d. 1115), who first married king Canute IV of Denmark, and was the mother of Charles the Good, later count of Flanders. She then married Roger Borsa, duke of Apulia.

Gertrude, who married 1) Henry III, Count of Leuven and had 4 children.[1] 2) Thierry II, Duke of Lorraine, and was the mother of Thierry of Alsace, also later count of Flanders

Philip of Loo, whose illegitimate son William of Ypres was also a claimant to the county of Flanders

Ogiva, abbess of Messines

Robert's nephew Arnulf III (son of Baldwin VI of Flanders) succeeded his father in 1070 and was supported by his mother Richilde, Countess of Mons and Hainaut. However, Robert challenged Arnulf's succession to the throne of Flanders and began rallying support mainly in northern Flanders (where the bulk of Arnulf's forces were located). Arnulf's ranks contained individuals such as Count Eustace II of Boulogne, Count Eustace III of Boulogne, and Godfrey of Bouillon.

Moreover, Arnulf was supported by King Philip I of France since Philip's aunt, Adela, married Baldwin V of Flanders. A contingent of ten Norman knights led by William FitzOsborn were among the forces sent by Philip to aid Arnulf. Robert's forces attacked Arnulf's numerically superior army at Cassel before it could organize. Arnulf himself was killed along with William FitzOsborn while Richilde was captured by Robert's forces. However, Robert himself was captured by Eustace II. Ultimately, Richilde was exchanged for Robert's freedom.[4] As a result of the battle Robert became count of Flanders. Robert gained the friendship of King Philip I of France by offering him the hand in marriage of his stepdaughter, Bertha of Holland.

REFERENCES:

1 Genealogica Comitum Flandriæ Bertiniana MGH SS IX, p. 306. as mentioned in HAINAUT.htm Counts of Flanders

2 Émile Cammaerts, A history of Belgium from the Roman invasion to the present day, D. Appleton and company, 1921, p 63

3 France, John. Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade. Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0521589878.

4 France, John. Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade. Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0521589878. p. 55.²

Sources