Robert I, Duke of Normandy

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Robert "The Magnificent"
Robert the Magnificent as part of the Six Dukes of Normandy statue in the town square of Falaise.
Duke of Normandy
Reign	1028-1035
Predecessor	Richard III
Successor	William II
Born	(June 22,1000) Normandy, France
Died	3 July 1035 (aged 35) Nicaea

Robert the Magnificent^[1] (June 22, 1000 – 3 July 1035), also called Robert the Devil and Robert I or II, was the Duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death. 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 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.

Contents 1 Ancestors 2 See also 3 Notes 4 References

[edit] Ancestors

French nobility
Preceded by Richard III	Duke of Normandy 1027 - 1035	Succeeded by William II

v • d • e Dukes of Normandy Norman Dukes Rollo · William I · Richard I · Richard II · Richard III · Robert I · William II · Robert II · Henry I · William III · Matilda · Stephen · Geoffrey · Henry II · Richard IV · John I French Dukes John II · Charles I · Charles II · Louis (Claiment) English Dukes Henry III · Edward I · Edward II · Edward III · Richard V · Henry IV  · Edward IV · Edward V · Richard VI · Henry VII · Henry VIII · Edward VI · Jane · Mary I · Elizabeth I · James I · Charles III · Charles IV · James II · William IV with Mary II · William IV British Dukes Anne · George I · George II · George III · George IV · William V · Victoria · Edward VII · George V · Edward VIII · George VI · Elizabeth II

[edit] See also

Family tree

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

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