Robert I OF NORMANDY (1008?-1035)

	Duke Robert I of Normandy		Robert the Magnificent as part of the Six Dukes of Normandy statue in the town square of Falaise.

Individual Events and Attributes

Additional Information

Marriage

	William I "the Conqueror" of England		Portrait of William the Conqueror, painted ca. 1620 by an unknown artist. National Portrait Gallery,		William I of England, Duke of Normandy in the Bayeux Tapestry		Château de Falaise in Falaise, Calvados, France, was the birthplace of William the Conqueror.

	English coin of William the Conqueror (1066–1087)		William I built the central White Tower in the Tower of London.		The chapel was built in the Norman style using Caen stone imported from France.

Individual Note

Robert the Magnificent[1] (22 June 1000 – 3 July 1035), also called Robert the Devil, 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 son of Richard II of Normandy and Judith, daughter of Conan I of Rennes. He was the father of William the Conqueror.

When his father died, his elder brother Richard succeeded, whilst he became Count of Hiémois. When Richard died a year later, there were great suspicions that Robert had Richard murdered, hence his other nickname, Robert le diable ('the devil'). He is sometimes identified with the legendary Robert the Devil.

Robert aided King Henry I of France against Henry's rebellious brother and mother, and for his help he was given the territory of the Vexin. He also intervened in the affairs of Flanders, supported his cousin Edward the Confessor, who was then in exile at Robert's court, and sponsored monastic reform in Normandy.

By his mistress, Herleva of Falaise, he was father of the future William I of England (1028-1087). He also had an illegitimate daughter, but the only chronicler to explicitly address the issue, Robert of Torigny, contradicts himself, once indicating that she had a distinct mother from William, elsewhere stating that they shared the same mother. This daughter, Adelaide of Normandy (1030-c. 1083), married three times: to Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu, Lambert II, Count of Lens, and Odo II of Champagne.

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, and died on the return journey at Nicaea on 2 July 1035. Some sources attribute his death to poison and date it to 1 or 3 July. His son William, aged about eight, succeeded him.

According to the historian William of Malmesbury, around 1086 William sent a mission to Constantinople and Nicaea, charging it with bringing his father's body back to be buried in Normandy. Permission was granted, but, having travelled as far as Apulia (Italy) on the return journey, the envoys learned that William himself had meanwhile died. They then decided to re-inter Robert's body in Italy.

NOTE:

1. His nickname refers to his love of finery.

SOURCE:

There are no references cited for this Wikipedia article.

BOOKS:

Lomer, Mary, "Robert of Normandy". A biographical novel cum adventure/romance. London: Headline, 1991⁴

Sources