Other Events and Attributes:

• House: House of Normandy
• Nickname: The Magnificent
• FSID: LRCQ-X3Y
• Appointments / Titles: 1026; Count of Évreux (Hiémois)
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1027 and 1035, Normandy, France; Duke of Normandie

Notes:

Robert I, Duke of Normandy
For Robert I’s ancestor who took the baptismal name
“Robert”, see Rollo .
Robert the Magnificent (French : le Magni-
Family tree
fique )[lower-alpha 1] (22 June 1000 – 1–3 July 1035), was the
Duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death in 1035.
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.
1 Life
Robert 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
become Count of Hiémois .[1] 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.[2]
1.1 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.[3]
The civil war Robert I had brought against his brother
Richard III was still causing instability in the duchy.[3]
Private wars raged between neighbouring barons. This
resulted in a new aristocracy arising in Normandy during
Robert’s reign.[3] It was also during this time that many of
the lesser nobility left Normandy to seek their fortunes in
southern Italy and elsewhere.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] Robert also seized a number of church properties
belonging to the Abbey of Fecamp.[6]
1.2 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.[7] 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.[7] 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.[8] For his help Henry I
rewarded Robert with the French Vexin.[8] 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[9]
After sacking Dol and repelling Alan’s attempts to raid
Avranches, Robert mounted a major campaign against
his cousin Alan III.[9] However, Alan appealed to their
uncle, Archbishop Robert of Rouen, who then brokered
a peace between Duke Robert and his vassal Alan III.[9]
His cousins, the Athelings Edward and Alfred , sons of his
aunt Emma of Normandy and Athelred, King of England
1
2 4 REFERENCES
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,[10] 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.[11]
1.3 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.[12] 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.[13]
After making his illegitimate son William his heir, he
set out on pilgrimage to Jerusalem .[14] According to
the Gesta Normannorum Ducum he travelled by way of
Constantinople , reached Jerusalem, fell seriously ill and
died[lower-alpha 2] on the return journey at Nicaea on 2 July
1035.[14] His son William, aged about eight, succeeded
him.[15]
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.[16] Permission
was granted, but, having travelled as far as Apulia (Italy)
on the return journey, the envoys learned that William
himself had meanwhile died.[16] They then decided to reinter
Robert’s body in Italy.[16]
2 Issue
By his mistress, Herleva of Falaise,[17] he was father of:
 William the Conqueror (c. 1028–1087).[18]
By Herleva or possibly another concubine,[lower-alpha 3][19]
he was the father of:
 Adelaide of Normandy , who married firstly,
Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu .[20] She married
secondly, Lambert II, Count of Lens , and thirdly,
Odo II of Champagne .[21]
3 Notes
[1] He was also, although erroneously, said to have been
called 'Robert the Devil' (French: le Diable). Robert I was
never known by the nickname 'the devil' in his lifetime.
'Robert the Devil' was a fictional character who was confused
with Robert I, Duke of Normandy sometime near
the end of the Middle Ages. See: François Neveux, A
Brief History of the Normans, trans. Howard Curtis (Constable
& Robinson, Ltd. London, 2008), p. 97 & n. 5.
[2] It was reported by William of Malmesbury (Gesta regum
Anglorum, Vol. i, pp. 211-12) and Wace (pt. iii, II, 3212–
14) that Robert died of poisoning. William of Malmsebury
pointed to a Ralplh Mowin as the instigator. See:
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges,
Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth
M.C. Van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1992), pp. 84–5, n. 2. However it was common in Normandy
during the eleventh century to attribute any sudden
and unexplained death to poisoning. See: David C.
Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of California
Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 411
[3] The question of who her mother was seems to remain unsettled.
Elisabeth Van Houts ['Les femmes dans l'histoire
du duché de Normandie', Tabularia « Études », n° 2, 2002,
(10 July 2002), p. 23, n. 22] makes the argument that
Robert of Torigny in the GND II, p. 272 (one of three
mentions in this volume of her being William’s sister) calls
her in this instance William’s 'uterine' sister' (soror uterina)
and is of the opinion this is a mistake similar to one
he made regarding Richard II, Duke of Normandy and his
paternal half-brother William, Count of Eu (calling them
'uterine' brothers). Based on this she concludes Adelaide
was a daughter of Duke Robert by a different concubine.
Kathleen Thompson ["Being the Ducal Sister: The Role
of Adelaide of Aumale”, Normandy and Its Neighbors,
Brepols, (2011) p. 63] cites the same passage in GND as
did Elisabeth Van Houts, specifically GND II, 270–2, but
gives a different opinion. She noted that Robert de Torigni
stated here she was the uterine sister of Duke William “so
we might perhaps conclude that she shared both mother
and father with the Conqueror.” But as Torigni wrote a
century after Adelaide’s birth and in that same sentence
in the GND made a genealogical error, she concludes that
the identity of Adelaide’s mother remains an open question.
4 References
[1] The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumieges,
Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Vol. II, Books VVIII,
ed. Elisabeth M.C. Van Houts (Clarendon Press,
Oxford, 1995), pp. 40–1
[2] David Crouch, The Normans, The History of a Dynasty
(Hambledon Continuum, London, New York, 2002), p.
46
[3] David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of
California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 32
[4] David Crouch, The Normans, The History of a Dynasty
(Hambledon Continuum, London, New York, 2002), p.
48
3
[5] François Neveux. A Brief History of The Normans (Constable
& Robbinson, Ltd, London, 2008), p. 100
[6] David Crouch, The Normans, The History of a Dynasty
(Hambledon Continuum, London, New York, 2002), p.
49
[7] David Crouch, The Normans, The History of a Dynasty
(Hambledon Continuum, London, New York, 2002), pp.
49–50
[8] Elisabeth M C Van Houts, The Normans in Europe
(Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York,
2000), p. 185
[9] David Crouch, The Normans, The History of a Dynasty
(Hambledon Continuum, London, New York, 2002), p.
50
[10] Christopher Harper-Bill; Elisabeth Van Houts, A Companion
to the Anglo-Norman World (Boydell Press, Woodbridge,
UK, 2003), p. 31
[11] The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges,
Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth
M.C. Van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1992), pp. 78–80
[12] François Neveux. A Brief History of The Normans (Constable
& Robbinson, Ltd, London, 2008), p. 102
[13] François Neveux. A Brief History of The Normans (Constable
& Robbinson, Ltd, London, 2008), p. 103
[14] The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges,
Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth
M.C. Van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1992), pp. 80-5
[15] François Neveux, A Brief History of the Normans, trans.
Howard Curtis (Constable & Robinson, Ltd. London,
2008), p. 110
[16] William M. Aird, Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy:
C. 1050–1134 (Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK, 2008),
p. 159 n. 38
[17] The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges,
Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth
M.C. Van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1992), p. lxxv
[18] David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of
California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 15,
passim
[19] David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of
California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), pp.
380–1 noting she may or may not be Herleva’s daughter
but probably is
[20] George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage of England
Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom,
Extant Extinct or Dormant, Vol. I, ed. Vicary Gibbs
(The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., London, 1910), p. 351
[21] David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of
California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 380
4 5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
5.1 Text
 Robert I, Duke of Normandy Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_I%2C_Duke_of_Normandy?oldid=769821280 Contributors:
Ktsquare, Stan Shebs, John K, Adam Bishop, Tpbradbury, Itai, Mksmith, Wetman, Dimadick, Donarreiskoffer, Henrygb, Everyking, Klemen
Kocjancic, Rich Farmbrough, Furius, Imars, Falastur, A2Kafir, Grutness, Wtmitchell, VivaEmilyDavies, Gene Nygaard, FeanorStar7,
PatGallacher, Mississippienne, LadyofHats, Cuchullain, Porcher, Scafloc, RebelScum, Kmorozov, YurikBot, RussBot, Kauffner, Chaser,
Tvarnoe~enwiki, Allens, SmackBot, Vald, Eskimbot, Srnec, GoodDay, Tamfang, Interfector, Downwards, Clicketyclack, Andrew Dalby,
Grblomerth, Hawkestone, Carpenoctem, WeggeBot, Thijs!bot, Andyjsmith, Tmutant, Maed, Tehem, AntiVandalBot, Txomin, Bearpatch,
Parsecboy, Xn4, Mclay1, Momoboy, JoergenB, MartinBot, Agricolae, Vortimer, Kansas Bear, VolkovBot, Arigato1, FinnWiki, Amcfadgen,
Martarius, Sun Creator, RogDel, Surtsicna, Addbot, Halle23, Favonian, The Quill, Lightbot, Luissilveira, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Rubinbot,
LilHelpa, Xqbot, Sketchmoose, RibotBOT, FrescoBot, Serols, TobeBot, Chnou, Brianann MacAmhlaidh, Weijiya, DASHBot, EmausBot,
John of Reading, ZéroBot, Eyadhamid, L1A1 FAL, NYMets2000, ClueBot NG, Rich Smith, Frietjes, Widr, Mwyandt, Iamthecheese44,
Dainomite, Rory-the-roman, David.moreno72, Makecat-bot, Lugia2453, Baracs, Knedwelb, Mehransabeti, Ânes-pur-sàng, KasparBot and
Anonymous: 47
5.2 Images
 File:Cronological_tree_william_I.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Cronological_tree_william_I.svg
License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
 File:Flag_of_Basse-Normandie.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Flag_of_Basse-Normandie.svg
License: GFDL Contributors: own work + alt='Haute-Normandie flag.svg' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Haute-Normandie_flag.svg/
30px-Haute-Normandie_flag.svg.png' width='30' height='18' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/
Haute-Normandie_flag.svg/45px-Haute-Normandie_flag.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/
Haute-Normandie_flag.svg/60px-Haute-Normandie_flag.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='500' data-file-height='300' /> Original artist:
Zorlot
 File:P_vip.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/69/P_vip.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
5.3 Content license
 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Robert I, Duke of Normandy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert I

Duke of Normandy
Reign 1027–1035
Predecessor Richard III
Successor William II
Born 22 June 1000
Normandy, France
Died 3 July 1035 (aged 35)
Nicaea
Issue William the Conqueror
Adelaide of Normandy
House House of Normandy
Father Richard II, Duke of Normandy
Mother Judith of Brittany

Family tree
Robert the Magnificent (French: le Magnifique)[a] (22 June 1000 – 1–3 July 1035), was the Duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death in 1035.

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.

Contents

[hide]
1 Life
1.1 Early reign
1.2 Outside of Normandy
1.3 The Church and his pilgrimage
2 Issue
3 Notes
4 References
Life

Robert 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 become 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 neighbouring 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[b] 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.[16] Permission was granted, but, having travelled as far as Apulia (Italy) on the return journey, the envoys learned that William himself had meanwhile died.[16] They then decided to re-inter Robert's body in Italy.[16]

Issue

By his mistress, Herleva of Falaise,[17] he was father of:

William the Conqueror (c. 1028–1087).[18]
By Herleva or possibly another concubine,[c][19] he was the father of:

Adelaide of Normandy, who married firstly, Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu.[20] She married secondly, Lambert II, Count of Lens, and thirdly, Odo II of Champagne.[21]
Notes

He was also, although erroneously, said to have been called 'Robert the Devil' (French: le Diable). Robert I was never known by the nickname 'the devil' in his lifetime. 'Robert the Devil' was a fictional character who was confused with Robert I, Duke of Normandy sometime near the end of the Middle Ages. See: François Neveux, A Brief History of the Normans, trans. Howard Curtis (Constable & Robinson, Ltd. London, 2008), p. 97 & n. 5.
It was reported by William of Malmesbury (Gesta regum Anglorum, Vol. i, pp. 211-12) and Wace (pt. iii, II, 3212–14) that Robert died of poisoning. William of Malmsebury pointed to a Ralplh Mowin as the instigator. See: The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth M.C. Van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1992), pp. 84–5, n. 2. However it was common in Normandy during the eleventh century to attribute any sudden and unexplained death to poisoning. See: David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 411
The question of who her mother was seems to remain unsettled. Elisabeth Van Houts ['Les femmes dans l'histoire du duché de Normandie', Tabularia « Études », n° 2, 2002, (10 July 2002), p. 23, n. 22] makes the argument that Robert of Torigny in the GND II, p. 272 (one of three mentions in this volume of her being William's sister) calls her in this instance William's 'uterine' sister' (soror uterina) and is of the opinion this is a mistake similar to one he made regarding Richard II, Duke of Normandy and his paternal half-brother William, Count of Eu (calling them 'uterine' brothers). Based on this she concludes Adelaide was a daughter of Duke Robert by a different concubine. Kathleen Thompson ["Being the Ducal Sister: The Role of Adelaide of Aumale", Normandy and Its Neighbors, Brepols, (2011) p. 63] cites the same passage in GND as did Elisabeth Van Houts, specifically GND II, 270–2, but gives a different opinion. She noted that Robert de Torigni stated here she was the uterine sister of Duke William "so we might perhaps conclude that she shared both mother and father with the Conqueror." But as Torigni wrote a century after Adelaide's birth and in that same sentence in the GND made a genealogical error, she concludes that the identity of Adelaide's mother remains an open question.

Family/Spouse: de Falaise, Herleva. Herleva (daughter of de Falaise, Fulbert and de Falaise, Doda) was born on 9 Jun 1003 in Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 23 Apr 1078 in Fatouville, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried after 23 Apr 1078 in Grestain, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. de Normandie, Adélaïde was born on 14 Oct 1026 in Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 3 Aug 1090 in Gournay, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried after 3 Aug 1090 in Aumale, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France.
2. Beauclerc, King of England William was born in 1028 in Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; was christened in 1066 in Westminster, London, England; died on 15 Sep 1087 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried on 15 Sep 1087 in Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Nickname: The Good
• FSID: KDQW-JTJ
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1 Jan 996 and 28 Aug 1026, Normandy, France; 3rd Duke of Normandie

Notes:

Richard II, Duke of Normandy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard II "the Good"
Richard the Good as part of the "Six Dukes of Normandy" statue in the town square of Falaise.
Duke of Normandy
Reign 996–1026
Predecessor Richard I
Successor Richard III
Born 23 August 963
Normandy
Died 28 August 1026 (aged 63)
Normandy
Spouse Judith of Brittany
(unsure if married) Poppa of Envermeu
Issue Richard III of Normandy
Robert I of Normandy
and more.
House House of Normandy
Father Richard I, Duke of Normandy
Mother Gunnora, Duchess of Normandy
Richard II (23 August 963 – 28 August 1026), called the Good (French: Le Bon), was the eldest son and heir of Richard I the Fearless and Gunnora. He was a Norman nobleman of the House of Normandy.

Contents

[hide]
1 Life
2 Marriages and children
3 Genealogy
4 Notes
5 References
Life

Richard succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 996. During his minority, the first five years of his reign, his regent was Count Rodulf of Ivry, his uncle, who wielded the power and put down a peasant insurrection at the beginning of Richard's reign.

Richard had deep religious interests and found he had much in common with Robert II of France, who he helped militarily against the duchy of Burgundy. He forged a marriage alliance with Brittany by marrying his sister Hawise to Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany and by his own marriage to Geoffrey's sister, Judith of Brittany.

In 1000-1001, Richard repelled an English attack on the Cotentin Peninsula that was led by Ethelred II of England. Ethelred had given orders that Richard be captured, bound and brought to England. But the English had not been prepared for the rapid response of the Norman cavalry and were utterly defeated.

Richard attempted to improve relations with England through his sister Emma of Normandy's marriage to King Ethelred. This marriage was significant in that it later gave his grandson, William the Conqueror, the basis of his claim to the throne of England. The improved relations proved to be beneficial to Ethelred when in 1013 Sweyn Forkbeard invaded England. Emma with her two sons Edward and Alfred fled to Normandy followed shortly thereafter by her husband king Ethelred. Soon after the death of Ethelred, Cnut, King of England forced Emma to marry him while Richard was forced to recognize the new regime as his sister was again Queen. Richard had contacts with Scandinavian Vikings throughout his reign. He employed Viking mercenaries and concluded a treaty with Sweyn Forkbeard who was en route to England.

Richard II commissioned his clerk and confessor, Dudo of Saint-Quentin, to portray his ducal ancestors as morally upright Christian leaders who built Normandy despite the treachery of their overlords and neighboring principalities. It was clearly a work of propaganda designed to legitimize the Norman settlement, and while it contains numerous historically unreliable legends, as respects the reigns of his father and grandfather, Richard I and William I it is basically reliable.

In 1025 and 1026 Richard confirmed gifts of his great-grandfather Rollo to Saint-Ouen at Rouen. His other numerous grants to monastic houses tends to indicate the areas over which Richard had ducal control, namely Caen, the Éverecin, the Cotentin, the Pays de Caux and Rouen.

Richard II died 28 Aug 1026. his eldest son, Richard becoming the new Duke.

Richard II (right), with the Abbot of Mont Saint-Michel (middle) and Lothair of France (left)
Marriages and children

He married firstly, c.1000, Judith (982–1017), daughter of Conan I of Brittany, by whom he had the following issue:

Richard (c. 1002/4), duke of Normandy
Alice of Normandy (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, buried at Fécamp Abbey
Eleanor (c. 1011/3), married to Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders
Matilda (c. 1013/5), nun at Fecamp, d. 1033. She died young and unmarried.[16]
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

Richard married de Bretagne, Lady Judith in 1000 in Normandy, France. Judith (daughter of of Berenger, Sir Conan I and d'Anjou, Lady Ermangarde) was born on 21 Mar 982 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; was christened after 22 Mar 982 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; died on 16 Jun 1017 in Bernay, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried on 16 Jun 1017 in Bernay, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Duchess of Normandy
• Appointments / Titles: Princess of Brittany
• FSID: LDS9-GGV
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1000 and 1017, Normandy, France; Duchess of Normandy

Notes:

Judith of Brittany
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Judith of Brittany

Sarcophage de Judith de Bretagne.jpg
Leaden sarcophagus of Judith of Brittany a.k.a. Judith de Conan (982–1017). The sarcophagus was made in the 11th century and found in the 19th century in the foundations of the church of the abbey Notre-Dame in Bernay. The skeleton in the sarcophagus was that of an important woman of small body height with a congenital deformation of the haunch. Deformations of this kind were common among women of Brittany, sometimes, but not always, making it impossible for them to give birth to children.

Spouse(s) Richard II, Duke of Normandy
Noble family House of Rennes
Father Conan I, Duke of Brittany
Mother Ermengarde of Anjou
Born 982
Died 1017
Buried Abbey of Bernay
Judith of Brittany also called Judith of Rennes (982–1017) Duchess of Normandy from c. 1000 until her death.

Life

Judith, born in 982, was the daughter of Conan I, Duke of Brittany and Ermengarde-Gerberga of Anjou. She was the mother of Robert I, Duke of Normandy and paternal grandmother of William the Conqueror.

She was a part of an important double marriage alliance between Normandy and Brittany first recorded by William of Jumièges. In 996 her brother Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany married Hawise of Normandy, daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy while in c. 1000 Judith married Richard II, Duke of Normandy, Hawise's brother. The duchess Judith died on 28 August 1017 and was buried in the abbey of Bernay, which she had founded in 1013.

Family

Judith married Richard II, Duke of Normandy c. 1000. They had six children:

Richard (c. 1002/4), duke of Normandy.
Alice of Normandy (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. She died young and unmarried.

From Life Sketch:

Judith de Bretagne ([982] -16 Jun 1017) . Guillaume of Jumièges records the marriage of " the leader of Richard " and " ... the sister of the count of the Britons ... goiffredus Judith " at " the threshold of the Archangel Michael " [130] . Orderic Vitalis records that " the Britons Richard Gunnorides ... Geoffrey, earl of his wife, sister, and Judith " founded " in honor of the Holy Virgin and of Mary cœnobium with Bernaïcum " [131] . An agreement between the abbots of Jumieges and Bougeuil concerning an exchange of land in Poitou, by charter dated [13 Apr / May 4] 1012, is subscribed by " the prince of the great son of Richard ... Richard ... Judith ... " [132] . The Chronicle of Saint-Etienne Caen records the death in 1017 of " Judita countess " [133] . M (Mont Saint-Michel [1000]) as his first wife, Richard 2 "Le Bon / l'Irascible" Comte de Normandie , son of Richard 1 "Sans-Peur" Comte [de France] & his second wife Gunnora (-28 Dec 1027).
[130] William Gemmetencis history (Du Chesne, 1619), The Book of 5, 13, p. 255.
[131] Le Prevost, A. (1845) Orderici Vitalis historiae Ecclesiasticæ (Paris) ( "Orderic Vitalis (Prévost)"), Vol. 2, Book 3, 1, p. 10.
[132] Vernier, JJ (Ed.) (1916) Charles de l'abbaye de Jumièges, Tome 1 c 825-1169 (Rouen, Paris), 7, p. 16.
[133] Giles, IA (ed.) (1845) Scriptores rerum achievements of William the Conqueror (London) The history of a short suve Chronica of the monastery of St. Stephen in Caen book of his Annals , p. 165.
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BRITTANY.htm#_ftn130 [Latin translated to English]

Buried:
Bernay Abbley

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: House of Normandy
• Nickname: The Fearless
• FSID: 9HTX-2CD
• Occupation: Peerage of Normandy
• Appointments / Titles: Between 17 Dec 942 and 20 Nov 996, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; Count of Rouen
• Appointments / Titles: Between 943 and 996, Normandy, France; 3rd Duke of Normandie

Notes:

Richard I of Normandy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard I "the Fearless"
Richard FitzWilliam
Count of Rouen
Reign 17 December 942 – 20 November 996
Predecessor William Longsword
Successor Richard II
Born 28 August 933
Fécamp Normandy, France
Died 20 November 996 (aged 63)
Fécamp Normandy, France
Spouse Emma of Paris
Gunnor
Issue Richard II of Normandy
Robert II (Archbishop of Rouen)
Mauger, Count of Corbeil
Robert Danus
Willam?
Emma of Normandy
Maud of Normandy
Hawise of Normandy
Geoffrey, Count of Eu (illegitimate)
William, Count of Eu (illegitimate)
Beatrice of Normandy (illegitimate)
Robert (illegitimate)
Papia (illegitimate)
House House of Normandy
Father William I Longsword
Mother Sprota
Richard I (28 August 933 – 20 November 996), also known as Richard the Fearless (French, Richard Sans-Peur)(Old Norse,"Jarl Richart) was the Count of Rouen or Jarl of Rouen from 942 to 996. Dudo of Saint-Quentin, whom Richard commissioned to write the "De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum" (Latin, "On the Customs and Deeds of the First Dukes of Normandy"), called him a Dux. However, this use of the word may have been in the context of Richard's renowned leadership in war, and not as a reference to a title of nobility. Richard either introduced feudalism into Normandy or he greatly expanded it. By the end of his reign, most important Norman landholders held their lands in feudal tenure.

Contents

[hide]
1 Birth
2 Life
2.1 Relationships with France, England and the Church
3 Marriages
4 Illegitimate children
4.1 Possible children
5 Death
6 Depictions in fiction
7 Genealogy
8 Notes
9 References
10 External links
Birth

Richard was born to William Longsword, princeps (chieftain or ruler) of Normandy, and Sprota. His mother was a Breton concubine captured in war and bound to William by a more danico marriage. He was also the grandson of the famous Rollo. William was told of the birth of a son after the battle with Riouf and other Viking rebels, but his existence was kept secret until a few years later when William Longsword first met his son Richard. After kissing the boy and declaring him his heir, William sent Richard to be raised in Bayeux. Richard was about ten years old when his father was killed on 17 December 942. After William was killed, Sprota became the wife of Esperleng, a wealthy miller. Rodulf of Ivry was their son and Richard's half-brother.

Life

With the death of Richard's father in 942, King Louis IV of France installed the boy, Richard, in his father's office. Under the influence of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders the King took him into Frankish territory:32–4 and placing him in the custody of the count of Ponthieu before the King reneged and seized the lands of the Duchy of Normandy. He then split up the Duchy, giving its lands in lower Normandy to Hugh the Great. Louis IV thereafter kept Richard in close confinement at Lâon, but the youth escaped from imprisonment:36–7 with assistance of Osmond de Centville, Bernard de Senlis (who had been a companion of Rollo of Normandy), Ivo de Bellèsme, and Bernard the Dane (ancestor to the families of Harcourt and Beaumont).[a]

In 946, at the age of 14, Richard allied himself with the Norman and Viking leaders in France and with men sent by King Harold of Denmark. A battle was fought after which Louis IV was captured. Hostages were taken and held until King Louis recognised Richard as Duke, returning Normandy to him.:37–41 Richard agreed to "commend" himself to Hugh, the Count of Paris, Hugh resolved to form a permanent alliance with Richard and promised his daughter Emma, who was just a child, as a bride, the marriage would take place in 960.:41–2

Louis IV working with Arnulf I, Count of Flanders persuaded Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor to attack Richard and Hugh. The combined armies of Otto, Arnulf and Louis IV were driven from the gates of Rouen, fleeing to Amiens and being decisively defeated in 947.:41–2 A period of peace ensued, Louis IV dying in 954, 13 year old Lothair becoming King. The middle aged Hugh appointed Richard as guardian of his 15-year-old son, Hugh Capet in 955.:44

In 962, Theobald I, Count of Blois, attempted a renewed invasion of Rouen, Richard's stronghold, but his troops were summarily routed by Normans under Richard's command, and forced to retreat before ever having crossed the Seine river. Lothair, the king of the West Franks, was fearful that Richard's retaliation could destabilize a large part of West Francia so he stepped in to prevent any further war between the two.[16] In 987 Hugh Capet became King of the Franks.

For the last 30 years until his death in 996 in Fécamp, Richard concentrated on Normandy itself, and participated less in Frankish politics and its petty wars. In lieu of building up the Norman Empire by expansion, he stabilized the realm and reunited the Normans, forging the reclaimed Duchy of his father and grandfather into West Francia's most cohesive and formidable principality.[17]

Richard was succeeded in November 996 by his 33-year-old son, Richard II, Duke of Normandy.

Relationships with France, England and the Church

Richard used marriage to build strong alliances. His marriage to Emma of Paris connected him directly to the House of Capet. His second wife, Gunnora, from a rival Viking group in the Cotentin, formed an alliance to that group, while her sisters formed the core group that were to provide loyal followers to him and his successors.[18]

His daughters forged valuable marriage alliances with powerful neighboring counts as well as to the king of England.[18] Emma marrying firstly Æthelred the Unready and after his death in 1016, the invader, Cnut the Great. Her children included three English kings, Edward the Confessor, Alfred Aetheling and with Cnut, Harthacnut so completing a major link between the Duke of Normandy and the Crown of England that would add validity to the claim by the future William the Conqueror to the throne of England.

Richard also built on his relationship with the church, undertaking acts of piety,[19]:lv restoring their lands and ensuring the great monasteries flourished in Normandy. His further reign was marked by an extended period of peace and tranquility.[18][20]

Marriages

Richard & his children
His first marriage in 960 was to Emma, daughter of Hugh "The Great" of France,[21] and Hedwig von Sachsen.[21] They were betrothed when both were very young. She died after 19 March 968, with no issue.

According to Robert of Torigni, not long after Emma's death, Duke Richard went out hunting and stopped at the house of a local forester. He became enamored with the forester's wife, Seinfreda, but she was a virtuous woman and suggested he court her unmarried sister, Gunnor, instead. Gunnor became his mistress and her family rose to prominence. Her brother, Herefast de Crepon, may have been involved in a controversial heresy trial. Gunnor was, like Richard, of Viking descent, being a Dane by blood. Richard finally married her to legitimize their children:[b]

Richard II "the Good", Duke of Normandy
Robert, Archbishop of Rouen, Count of Evreux
Mauger, Count of Corbeil
Emma of Normandy, wife of two kings of England
Maud of Normandy, wife of Odo II of Blois, Count of Blois, Champagne and Chartres
Hawise of Normandy m. Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany
Papia of Normandy
Orielda (963-1031) wife of Fulk Seigneur de Guernanville, Dean of Evreax [22][23]
Illegitimate children

Richard was known to have had several other mistresses and had children with many of them. Known children are:

Geoffrey, Count of Eu[24]
William, Count of Eu (ca. 972-26 January 1057/58),[24] m. Lasceline de Turqueville (d. 26 January 1057/58).
Beatrice of Normandy, Abbess of Montvilliers d.1034 m. Ebles of Turenne (d.1030 (divorced)
Possible children

Muriella, married Tancred de Hauteville[25][26]
Fressenda or Fredesenda (ca. 995-ca. 1057), second wife of Tancred de Hauteville.[26][27]
Guimara (Wimarc(a)) (b. circa 986), Wife of Ansfred (Ansfroi) II "le Dane" le Goz, vicomte d'Exmes et de Falaise, Mother of Robert FitzWimarc, Death:Abbey of Montivilliers, Seine-Inferieure, Normandy[28]
Death

Richard died of natural causes in Fecamp, France, on 20 November 996.[29]

Depictions in fiction

The Little Duke, a Victorian Juvenile novel by Charlotte Mary Yonge is a fictionalized account of Richard's boyhood and early struggles.

Richard married de Crepon, Gunnora in 964 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France. Gunnora (daughter of de Crepon, Herfast) was born on 26 Nov 936 in La Bataille, Deux-Sèvres, Poitou-Charentes, France; died on 29 Sep 1031 in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried in 1031 in Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Duchess
• Appointments / Titles: Duchess of Normandy
• Alternate Birth: 936, Fécamp, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France

Notes:

Gunnora
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gunnora

Duchess consort of Normandy
Tenure 989–996
Born c.  936.[a]
Rouen, Haute-Normandy, France
Died 5 Jan 1031 (not verified)
Normandy, France
Spouse Richard I, Duke of Normandy
Issue Richard II
Robert II, Archbishop of Rouen, Count of Evreux
Mauger, Count of Corbeil
Emma, Queen consort of England
Hawise, Duchess consort of Brittany
Maud, Countess of Blois
House House of Normandy (by marriage)
Gunnora (or Gunnor) (circa 936 – 5 Jan 1031) was a Duchess of Normandy and the wife of Richard I of Normandy.

Life
The names of Gunnora's parents are unknown, but Robert of Torigni wrote that her father was a forester from the Pays de Caux and according to Dudo of Saint-Quentin she was of noble Danish origin. Gunnora was probably born c.  950. Her family held sway in western Normandy and Gunnora herself was said to be very wealthy. Her marriage to Richard I was of great political importance, both to her husband[b] and her progeny. Her brother, Herfast de Crepon, was progenitor of a great Norman family. Her sisters and nieces[c] married some of the most important nobles in Normandy.

Robert of Torigni recounts a story of how Richard met Gunnora. She was living with her sister Seinfreda, the wife of a local forester, when Richard, hunting nearby, heard of the beauty of the forester's wife. He is said to have ordered Seinfreda to come to his bed, but the lady substituted her unmarried sister, Gunnora. Richard, it is said, was pleased that by this subterfuge he had been saved from committing adultery and together they had three sons and three daughters.[d] Unlike other territorial rulers, the Normans recognized marriage by cohabitation or more danico. But when Richard was prevented from nominating their son Robert to be Archbishop of Rouen, the two were married, "according to the Christian custom", making their children legitimate in the eyes of the church.

Gunnora attested ducal charters up into the 1020s, was skilled in languages and was said to have had an excellent memory. She was one of the most important sources of information on Norman history for Dudo of St. Quentin. As Richard's widow she is mentioned accompanying her sons on numerous occasions. That her husband depended on her is shown in the couple's charters where she is variously regent of Normandy, a mediator and judge, and in the typical role of a medieval aristocratic mother, an arbitrator between her husband and their oldest son Richard II.

Gunnora was a founder and supporter of Coutances Cathedral and laid its first stone. In one of her own charters after Richard's death she gave two alods to the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, namely Britavilla and Domjean, given to her by her husband in dower, which she gave for the soul of her husband, and the weal of her own soul and that of her sons "count Richard, archbishop Robert, and others..." She also attested a charter, c. 1024–26, to that same abbey by her son, Richard II, shown as Gonnor matris comitis (mother of the count). Gunnora, both as wife and countess,[e] was able to use her influence to see her kin favored, and several of the most prominent Anglo-Norman families on both sides of the English Channel are descended from her, her sisters and nieces. Gunnora died c. 1031.

Family
Richard and Gunnora were parents to several children:

Richard II "the Good", Duke of Normandy
Robert, Archbishop of Rouen, Count of Evreux, died 1037
Mauger, Count of Corbeil
Emma of Normandy (c. 985–1052), married first to Æthelred, King of England and secondly Cnut the Great, King of England.
Hawise of Normandy, wife of Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany
Maud of Normandy, wife of Odo II of Blois, Count of Blois, Champagne and Chartres
Notes
Jump up ^ According to "Burke's Peerage,#102173"
Jump up ^ Richard's marriage to Gunnora seems to have been a deliberate political move to consolidate his position by allying himself with a powerful rival family in the Cotentin. See: D. Crouch, The Normans (2007), pp. 26 & 42;A companion to the Anglo-Norman world, eds. C. Harper-Bill; E. van Houts (2007), p. 27.
Jump up ^ Her sisters, Senfrie, Aveline and Wevie as well as their daughters are discussed in detail in G.H. White, 'The Sisters and Nieces of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy, The Genealogist, New Series, vol. 37 (1920-21), pp. 57-65 & 128-132. Also see: Elisabeth van Houts, 'Robert of Torigni as Genealogist', Studies in Medieval History Presented to R. Allen Brown, ed. Christopher Harper-Bill, Christopher J. Holdsworth, Janet L. Nelson (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 1989), pp. 215-233; K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, 'Aspects of Torigny's Genealogy Revisited', Nottingham Medieval Studies, Vol. 37 (1993), pp. 21-28.
Jump up ^ Geoffrey H. White is among those historians who question the authenticity of this story. See: G.H. White, 'The Sisters and Nieces of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy, The Genealogist, New Series, vol. 37 (1920-21), p. 58.
Jump up ^ At the time Gunnora lived, there were no dukes or duchesses of Normandy. Her husband Richard I, used the title of count of Rouen, to which Richard added the style of "count and consul", and after 960, marquis (count over other counts). Gunnora would have never used the title of duchess, her title was countess and she is so styled in an original deed to the abbey of St. Ouen, Rouen (1057–17) given by her son Richard II. For the present, despite being historically incorrect, duchess remains her title of convenience. See: Bates, Normandy before 1066 (Longman, 1982), pp. 148–50; Douglas, 'The Earliest Norman Counts', The English Historical Review, Vol. 61, No. 240 (May, 1946), pp. 130–31; David Crouch, The Normans: The History of a Dynasty (London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), pp. 18-19 and Dudo of Saint-Quentin; Eric Christiansen, History of the Normans (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1998). p. xxiv.

From Life Sketch:

According to Robert of Torigni, not long after Emma's death, Duke Richard went out hunting and stopped at the house of a local forester. He became enamored with the forester's wife, Seinfreda, but she was a virtuous woman and suggested he court her unmarried sister, Gunnor, instead. Gunnor became his mistress and her family rose to prominence. Her brother, Herefast de Crepon, may have been involved in a controversial heresy trial. Gunnor was, like Richard, of Viking descent, being a Dane by blood. Richard finally married her to legitimize their children:[b]
Richard II "the Good", Duke of Normandy
Robert, Archbishop of Rouen, Count of Evreux
Mauger, Count of Corbeil
Emma of Normandy, wife of two kings of England
Maud of Normandy, wife of Odo II of Blois, Count of Blois, Champagne and Chartres
Hawise of Normandy m. Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany
Papia of Normandy
William, Count of Eu
Orielda (963-1031) wife of Fulk Seigneur de Guernanville, Dean of Evreax

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Count of Rennes
• Appointments / Titles: Duke of Crepon
• FSID: KZ9H-3LQ
• Appointments / Titles: 990, Bretagne, France; Duke of Bretagne
• Military: 27 Jun 992; died fighting his brother-in-law Fulk Nerra, Count of Anjou at the Battle of Conquereuil

Notes:

Conan I, nicknamed Le Tort, was the Duke of Brittany from 990 to his death. He was the son of Judicael Berengar and Gerberga, and succeeded his father as Count of Rennes in 970.
He assumed the title of Duke of Brittany in the spring of 990 following his attack on Nantes and the subsequent death of Count Alan. As duke his rule succeeded the Regency that governed Brittany during the life of Drogo and the fractured rule of Brittany after Drogo's death by his brothers Hoël and Guerech . The fractured rule over Brittany resulted in a short vacancy in the title Duke of Brittany; Conan I had to ally himself with the Count of Blois in order to defeat Judicael Berengar before he could assume the title of Duke.
In a charter dated 28 July 990, Conan gave the lands of Villamée, Lillele and Passille to Mont Saint-Michel, all of which later became part of the seigneury of Fougères.
Conan married Ermengarde-Gerberga of Anjou, in 973, daughter of Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou and Adele of Vermandois.
Conan's alliance with the Count of Blois had helped him defeat Judicael Berengar, he later needed to "rid himself of influence from Blois, [which he accomplished by signing] a pact with Richard I of Normandy; [this pact] established firm Breton-Norman links for the first time." Richard I had married the daughter of Hugh I the Great, and after this marriage had re-asserted his father's claim as Overlord of the Breton duchy. Conan I's pact with him strengthened that assertion but the historical documentation for that Overlordship claim remains doubtful because it largely appears only in the less than authoritative writings of Dudo of Saint-Quentin.
Conan died fighting against Geoffrey I and his brother-in-law Fulk Nerra, Count of Anjou at the Battle of Conquereuil on 27 June 992. Conan is buried at Mont Saint-Michel Abb
Per Wikitree.com--Conan de Bretagne (abt. 0950 - 0992).

He assumed the title of Duke of Brittany in the spring of 990 following his attack on Nantes and the subsequent death of Count Alan. As duke his rule succeeded the Regency that governed Brittany during the life of Drogo and the fractured rule of Brittany after Drogo's death by his brothers Hoël and Guerech . The fractured rule over Brittany resulted in a short vacancy in the title Duke of Brittany; Conan I had to ally himself with the Count of Blois in order to defeat Judicael Berengar before he could assume the title of Duke.

Mont Saint-Michel, endowed by Conan I, and his final resting place
In a charter dated 28 July 990, Conan gave the lands of Villamée, Lillele and Passille to Mont Saint-Michel, all of which later became part of the seigneury of Fougères.

Conan married Ermengarde-Gerberga of Anjou,[a] in 973, daughter of Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou and Adele of Vermandois.

Conan's alliance with the Count of Blois had helped him defeat Judicael Berengar. However the alliance with Blois became troublesome and he later needed to "rid himself of influence from Blois, [which he accomplished by signing] a pact with Richard I of Normandy; [this pact] established firm Breton-Norman links for the first time." Richard I had married the daughter of Hugh I the Great, and after this marriage had re-asserted his father's claim as Overlord of the Breton duchy. Conan I's pact with Normandy strengthened that assertion but the historical documentation for that Overlordship claim remains doubtful because it largely appears only in the less than authoritative writings of Dudo of Saint-Quentin. [b]

Conan died fighting his brother-in-law Fulk Nerra, Count of Anjou at the Battle of Conquereuil on 27 June 992. Conan is buried at Mont Saint-Michel Abbey. [8

Conan married d'Anjou, Lady Ermangarde in 973 in Bretagne, France. Ermangarde (daughter of d'Anjou, Sir Geoffroy and de Vermandois, Countess Adelaide, daughter of d'Anjou, Sir Geoffroy) was born in 956 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France; died on 27 Jun 1002 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France; was buried after 27 Jun 1002 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LHWS-BFW
• Birth: 11 Nov 956, Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France
• Appointments / Titles: 973; Countess of Rennes
• Appointments / Titles: 990; Duchess of Bretagne
• Burial: 1024, Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France
• Death: 1024, Bretagne, France

Notes:

Ermengarde of Anjou may refer to:

Ermengarde-Gerberga of Anjou, Duchess of Brittany, daughter of Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou, wife first of Conan I of Rennes; secondly of William II of Angoulême
Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess of Burgundy (1018–1076), daughter of Count Fulk III, wife of Geoffrey, Count of Gâtinais and Robert I, Duke of Burgundy
Ermengarde de Bourbon-Dampierre (fl. 1070), Countess of Anjou, third wife of Fulk IV, Count of Anjou
Ermengarde of Anjou (d. 1146) (1068–1146), Duchess of Aquitaine and Brittany, daughter of Count Fulk IV, wife of William IX, Duke of Aquitaine and Alan IV, Duke of Brittany
Ermengarde, Countess of Maine (1096-1126), Countess of Anjou, first wife of Fulk V

Ermengarde-Gerberga was born c. 956, the daughter of Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou and Adele of Meaux. She married Conan I of Rennes, Count of Rennes, in 973. Her husband Conan of Rennes opposed her father and brother Fulk even though the marriage was apparently designed to form a political alliance between Anjou and Brittany. Even after Conan had been killed by Fulk at the battle of Battle of Conquereuil in 992, and during the period 992-994 when Ermengarde was Regent for their son Geoffrey, she remained loyal to her brother Fulk III, Count of Anjou. In 992, following the interests of her brother, and functioning as Regent, she accepted Capetian over-lordship for Rennes while rejecting that of Odo I, Count of Blois.
About 1000 her brother Fulk III arranged his widowed sister to marry, secondly, William II of Angoulême, one of his close allies. Per http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com

Other Events and Attributes:

• Nickname: Longsword
• Occupation: Peerage of Normandy

Notes:

William I Longsword
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William I "Longsword"
William longsword statue in falaise.JPG
Statue of William Longsword, part of the "Six Dukes of Normandy" series in Falaise
Count of Rouen
Reign 927–942
Predecessor Rollo
Successor Richard I
Born c. 893
Bayeux or Rouen
Died 17 December 942
Picquigny on the Somme
Burial Rouen Cathedral
Spouse Luitgarde of Vermandois
Issue Richard I of Normandy
House House of Normandy
Father Rollo
Mother Poppa
William Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Old Norse: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót), (c. 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.

He is sometimes anachronistically dubbed "Duke of Normandy", even though the title duke (dux) did not come into common usage until the 11th century. Longsword was known at the time by the title Count (Latin comes) of Rouen. Flodoard—always detailed about titles—consistently referred to both Rollo and his son William as principes (chieftains) of the Norse.

Contents

[hide]
1 Birth
2 Life
3 Family
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links
Birth

William Longsword was born "overseas"[a] to the Viking Rollo (while he was still a pagan) and his Christian wife Poppa of Bayeux. Dudo of Saint-Quentin in his panegyric of the Norman dukes describes Poppa as the daughter of a Count Beranger, the dominant prince of that region. In the 11th century Annales Rouennaises (Annals of Rouen), she is called the daughter of Guy, Count of Senlis, otherwise unknown to history.[b] Despite the uncertainty of her parentage she was undoubtedly a member of the Frankish aristocracy. According to the Longsword's planctus, he was baptized a Christian probably at the same time as his father, which Orderic Vitalis stated was in 912, by Franco, Archbishop of Rouen.

Life

Longsword succeeded Rollo (who would continue to live for about another 5 years) in 927 and, early in his reign, faced a rebellion from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised and too soft.[16] According to Orderic Vitalis, the leader was Riouf of Evreux,[16][17][18] who was besieging Longsword in Rouen. Sallying forth, Longsword won a decisive battle, proving his authority to be Duke.[19]:25-6 At the time of this 933 rebellion Longsword sent his pregnant wife by custom, Sprota, to Fécamp where their son Richard was born.[20]

In 933 Longsword recognized Raoul as King of Western Francia, who was struggling to assert his authority in Northern France. In turn Raoul gave him lordship over much of the lands of the Bretons including Avranches, the Cotentin Peninsula and the Channel Islands.[21][22][23]:lii The Bretons did not agree to these changes and resistance to the Normans was led by Alan Wrybeard, Duke of Brittany and Count Berenger of Rennes but ended shortly with great slaughter and Breton castles being razed to the ground.[19]:24 Alan fleeing to England and Beranger seeking reconciliation.[24]

In 935, Longsword married Luitgarde, daughter of Count Herbert II of Vermandois whose dowry gave him the lands of Longueville, Coudres and Illiers l'Eveque.[18] Longsword also contracted a marriage between his sister Adela (Gerloc was her Norse name) and William, Count of Poitou with the approval of Hugh the Great.[25] In addition to supporting King Raoul, he was now a loyal ally of his father-in-law, Herbert II, both of whom his father Rollo had opposed.[26] In January 936 King Raoul died and the 16 year old Louis IV, who was living in exile in England, was persuaded by a promise of loyalty by Longsword, to return and became King. The Bretons returned to recover the lands taken by the Normans, resulting in fighting in the expanded Norman lands.[23]:lii

The funerary monument of William Longsword in the cathedral of Rouen, France. The monument is from the 14th century.
The new King was not capable of controlling his Barons and after Longsword's brother in law, Herluin II, Count of Montreuil, was attacked by Flanders, Longsword went to their assistance in 939,[19]:28-9 Arnulf I, Count of Flanders retaliated by attacking Normandy. Arnulf captured the castle of Montreuil-sur-Mer expelling Herluin. Herluin and Longsword cooperated to retake the castle.[27][28] Longsword was excommunicated for his actions in attacking and destroying several estates belonging to Arnulf.[29]

Longsword pledged his loyalty to King Louis IV when they met in 940 and, in return, he was confirmed in lands that had been given to his father, Rollo.[30] [23]:liii In 941 a peace treaty was signed between the Bretons and Normans, brokered in Rouen by King Louis IV which limited the Norman expansion into Breton lands.[23]:liii The following year, on 17 December 942 at Picquigny on an island on the Somme, Longsword was ambushed and killed by followers of Arnulf while at a peace conference to settle their differences.[18][28] Longsword's son, Richard becoming the next Duke of Normandy.

Family

Longsword had no children with his wife Luitgarde.[31] He fathered his son, Richard the Fearless, with Sprota [c] who was a Breton captive and his concubine.[32] Richard, then aged 10, succeeded him as Duke of Normandy in December 942.[31]

Notes

Neveux and other authorities believe this may have been in England, as Rollo left Neustria for several years, probably for England. See: Neveux, P. 62; Complainte sur l'assassinat de Guillaume Longue-Ėpée, duc de Normandie, poème inédit du Xe siècle, Gaston Paris; Jules Lair, Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes (1870), Volume 31, Issue 31, p. 397; Complainte de la mort de Guillaume Longue Ėpėe; and Prentout, Etude critique sur Dudon de Saint-Quentin, 178-9 [ns].
See Commentary: The origin of Poppa at: Stewart Baldwin, The Henry Project: "Poppa" for more detailed discussion and opinions.
Sprota married Esperling, a rich miller in the Pont-de-l’Arche-Louviers region. By her, he had a son, Count Rodulf of Ivry, who was one of the most trusted advisers of his half-brother, Richard I of Normandy. See Searle, p. 108 and The Normans in Europe, p. 57

William married N.N., Sprota. Sprota was born in UNKNOWN in France; died in 985 in France; was buried in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Breton captive and concubine

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LVXY-YMZ

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Count of Rennes
• Appointments / Titles: Duke of Bretagne
• Alternate Birth: Between 6 Jan 914 and 5 Jan 915, Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France

Notes:

Judicaël de Bayeux, comte de Rennes

Also Known As: "Judicael", "Juhel", "de Bayeux", "Juhel Berenger"
Birth:(date & pace unknown); Death: Died 970

Immediate Family:
Son of Pascweten de Rennes, II and Judith Name Berenger, Heirss Of Rennes
Husband of Ermengarde Gerberga De Anjou; Ermengard d'Anjou; REPEAT Wettin/Ringleheim and Gerberge de Nantes
Father of Conan I De Rennes De Bretagne; Martin I de Vitre, Seigneur de Vitre; Enoguen de Rennes; Meen I, seigneur de Fougères and Conan I le Fort, duc de Bretagne
Occupation:Count of Rennes ca. 944 - ca. 979, Count of Rennes, Comte de Rennes

Judicael Berengar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Judicael (or Juhel, Judhel, Judhael), thus called in Breton sources, alias Berengar (or Berengarius) his name in Frankish sources, and sometimes known as Judicael Berengar, with both names being used together, was a Count of Rennes in the 10th century.

There are conflicting accounts of his parentage, one popular solution making him the son and successor of a count Berengar (sometimes identified with Berengar of Rennes, sometimes with that man's supposed maternal grandson of the same name[1]) by a daughter of Gurvand, Duke of Brittany. However, an 11th-century collection of Angevin genealogies describes him as the son of Pascweten, son of Alan I, King of Brittany.

He is first documented as a Count in the year 944. He witnessed charters of Alan II, Duke of Brittany, and on the latter's death apparently fell under the control of Wicohen, Archbishop of Dol. Later sources report the rescue of Judicael and his (unnamed) wife by his son Conan I. He appears to have been dead by 979, when his son was at the court of Odo I, Count of Blois.

Judicael married Berenger, Countess Gerberge. Gerberge was born in UNKNOWN in France; died in DECEASED in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Between 6 Jan 958 and 5 Jan 988; Comte d'Anjou

Geoffroy married de Vermandois, Countess Adelaide. Adelaide was born on 12 Dec 934 in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France; died on 13 Apr 982 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Countess of Anjou
• Appointments / Titles: Countess of Chalon
• FSID: G821-FYK
• Death: 12 Mar 976, Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France
• Birth: 1018, Vermandois (Historical), Picardie, France