Robert, Count of Mortain
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Robert, Count of Mortain (c. 1031–1095?), was a half-brother of William the Conqueror, and became a great landholder in England, Cornwall and Normandy.
He was the son of Herluin de Conteville and younger brother of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux.[1]
William Warlenc, a cousin of Duke William, was in about 1055 deprived of the county of Mortain, which was handed over to Robert.[2]
In 1066 he was present at the select council held at Lillebonne to discuss the invasion of England; he contributed 120 ships to the fleet. In 1069 he was left in England to protect Lindsey against the Danes, and at the same time his castle of Montacute in Somerset was besieged. When William I lay dying, Robert was present and pleaded the cause of his brother Odo with success. He joined with Odo in supporting Robert Curthose against William Rufus, and held the castle of Pevensey against the king from April to June 1088, but he soon yielded and was reconciled to Rufus.
William the Conqueror installed Robert as the Earl of Cornwall because he recognised the Cornish to be very close to their Celtic speaking brothers across the sea in Brittany and Robert was a Breton. This was a skillful appointment because William knew that this would be a relatively popular appointment and one which was less likely to cause him problems. Up until 1066, Cornwall had retained its own indigenous Cornish/Breton speaking Celtic Earls.
His possessions in England were larger than those of any other follower of William, and have been estimated at 793 manors. Of these, 623 in the south-west counties returned him £400 a year. He had 248 manors in Cornwall, 196 in Yorkshire, 99 in Northamptonshire, 75 in Devonshire, with a church and house in Exeter, 54 in Sussex and the borough of Pevensey, 49 in Dorset, 29 in Buckinghamshire, and one or more in ten other counties.
He married Matilda, daughter of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. By her left one son and three daughters:[1]
- William, Count of Mortain
- Agnes, first offered in marriage to William de Grantmesnil, but afterwards the wife of André de Vitry
- Denise, married in 1078 to Guy, 3rd Sire de La Val
- Emma, wife of William Count of Toulouse.
In 1082, Robert and his wife founded a collegiate church in their castle of Mortain, under the guidance of their chaplain Vitalis, abbot of Savigny. Robert died on December 8, 1095 and was buried in the Abbey of St. Grestain, France.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b Planché, J.R (1874). The Conqueror and His Companions. London: Tinsley Brothers. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ Douglas, David (May 1946). "The Earliest Norman Counts". The English Historical Review 61: 129–156. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- Robert Golding, "Robert of Mortain", Anglo-Norman Studies XXIII
| Titles of Nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: William Warlenc |
Count of Mortain 1055-1095 |
Succeeded by: William |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by: New Creation |
Earl of Cornwall 1066–1095 |
Succeeded by: William |
