Richard II OF NORMANDY (970-1026)

	Richard the Good as part of the "Six Dukes of Normandy" statue in the town square of Falaise.		Richard II (right), with the Abbot of Mont Saint Michel (middle) and Lothair of France (left).

Individual Events and Attributes

Marriage

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

Individual Note

Richard II (born 23 August 970, in Normandy, France – 28 August 1026, in Normandy), called the Good (French: Le Bon), was the eldest son and heir of Richard I the Fearless and Gunnora.[1]

Richard succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 996 but the first five years of his reign were spent with Count Ralph of Ivry wielding power and putting down a peasant insurrection.[2]

When he took power he strengthened his alliance with the Capetians by helping Robert II of France against the duchy of Burgundy. He formed a new alliance with Brittany by marrying his sister Hawise to Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany and by his own marriage to Geoffrey's sister, Judith.

He also repelled an English attack on the Cotentin Peninsula that was led by Ethelred II of England. He pursued a reform of the Norman monasteries.

Marriages

Richard attempted to improve relations with England through his sister Emma of Normandy's marriage to King Ethelred, but she was strongly disliked by the English. However, this connection later gave his grandson, William the Conqueror, part of his claim to the throne of England.

He married firstly (996) Judith (982-1017), daughter of Conan I of Brittany, by whom he had the following issue:

Richard (c. 1002/4), duke of Normandy

Alice (c. 1003/5), married Renaud I, Count of Burgundy

Robert (c. 1005/7), duke of Normandy

William (c. 1007/9), monk at Fécamp, d. 1025

Eleanor (c. 1011/3), married to Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders

Matilda (c. 1013/5), nun at Fecamp, d. 1033

Secondly he married Poppa of Envermeu, by whom he had the following issue:

Mauger (c. 1019), Archbishop of Rouen

William (c. 1020/5), count of Arques

Other marriages / children

Traditionally, Richard had a third wife named Astrid (Estritha), daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of England, Denmark, and Norway, and Sigrid the Haughty. This is extremely unlikely, however, given the political situation.

An illegitimate daughter of Richard I, sometimes called "Papia", is also at times given as a daughter of Richard II. Tancred of Hauteville's two wives Muriella and Fredensenda are likewise given as daughters of "Duke Richard of Normandy", referring to either Richard I or Richard II.

NOTES:

1 Burke, John Bernard (1852). The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with Their Descendants, Sovereigns and Subjects. BiblioBazaar (2009). pp. ii–iii, Section V. ISBN 1115404474. http://books.google.com/books?id=oJoH-3-xlnIC&lpg=RA1-PA59&vq=richard%20II&pg=RA1-PR2#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-11-08.

2 Francois Neveux. A Brief History of The Romans. Constable and Robinson. 2008; p. 74³

Sources