DUKE ROBERT "THE ABSENT" de NORMANDIE
in his father's footsteps
"Bishop Marinus, servant of the servants of God, sends to his dearest son in Christ, Duke Robert of Normandy, greetings and benediction...
...your family has desired to subject the land to the laws and to remove the vices that have taken root under the House of Godwin, and you are willing to preserve the rights of the churches inviolate. We second this desire that - for the enlargement of the bounds of the church, the restraint of vice, the correction of morals, the introduction of virtues, and the advancement of the Christian religion - you shall enter England, and obtain both an abundant reward from God, and a glorious name for the ages."
- Papal Bull from Pope Marinus I to Duke Robert, empowering the invasion of England (Vatican Collection)
Robert eagerly took the Pope's blessing. The army he would raise was smaller than his father's - only amounting to around 7,000 men at its height - but the "mad" King Ecgfrith had squandered his forces by alienating his nobles and angering his neighbors.
The revolt ended almost immediately, but it had drained Ecgfrith's armies to almost nothing - and he would soon have war with both Scotland and one of the Welsh kings.
King Ecgfrith's advisors saw little hope for a war in England, and instead advocated a swift invasion of Normandy with the 3,000 men still standing from an internal campaign. Seizing Evreux and the ships within might make Robert pause in his invasion - at least long enough to secure the islands. To put it to the superstitious king, they had to word it differently:
"It is known that the perfidious Duke Robert descends from the invading William, known as the Bastard, who previously did attempt to invade and unrightfully conquer this land... William died there
, in Normandy, and not in England. So must Robert his son die."
- Purported letter from a duke to King Ecgfrith, although the authenticity is disputed (Oxford Collection)
The tired English army put up a valiant fight but was quickly routed, and Robert's 4,000 proceeded to land in the towns of Sutton and Pevensey in south-east England.
The Norman advance was slow, but unstoppable. Robert's generals seemed unbeatable, writing back to him about the English confusion on the field and disunity in court. They told stories of abandoned castles and defenseless cities, gloating over their enemy's foolishness (they had not yet heard that the Scottish and Welsh invasions had begun, which was the true reason for the lack of English forces in the south).
They also wrote of the capture of several English princes, including a favorite nephew of Gunhild. It was too much for the old duchess to handle. A little more than a month later she passed away from grief, ending the long and tumultous marriage of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman powers.
Robert sat comfortably in Ecgfrith's capital (with a girl at his side, some rumors said), and did not even return to Normandy when he received word of her passing.
Not all rumors are true.
Instead, he went to Aragon, finally free to woo a new - younger - bride. No longer pinned down by the constraints of his advisors, Robert chose a girl with no major alliance but
"...a charm which renders such considerations of little value...". He would regret this when the Kingdom of Brittany intervened in the war, bringing in 7,000 Breton soldiers.
Robert returned with new Duchess Elionor pregnant, and his forces fighting for their lives in Wiltfordshire.
Legend says that Robert returned and singlehandedly captured the key commanders of the English force, giving his battered forces a chance to retreat from the island. This is unlikely, and letters written by him would suggest he was with the relief fleet near Hastings at the time.
"...It is true that my forces have suffered defeat in the field, but we still hold many defensible positions up to the Thames and Severn rivers, and more men flock to our banner every day. I plan to lead these men to secure the Breton territories, and forcing his nobles to swear against reinforcing his armies. When my men are ready, we will return to Cornwall and then link up with our forces already in England. Our purpose is still just, and still achievable..."
- Letter from Robert to Pope Marinus (Vatican Collection)
The plan.
Robert's optimism was unstoppable - or at least he tried to seem so, worried that the new holy war in the distant Levant would be an excuse to draw away support for his invasion.
Also, he had a son. But Robert probably didn't care much.
Robert even kept his war up as the Frankish lands splintered after King Hugues III's death.
That's right, it's time to start the bordergore boat.
(After inheriting the Kingdom of Aragon, Hugues had intended for his realm to be split between his two sons. Hugues the younger would take the northern Frankish realms and the younger Guilhem would have the Iberian holdings.
Unfortunately, the French electors did not agree with this split, rallying behind Duke Thibualt de Blois. Hugues and Guilhem rallied their supporters, but a tentative peace mediated by the pope (who wanted to keep Frankish knights in the Crusades, instead of in internecine squabbles) was signed in 1125 before any fighting took place. Hugues gained the south, where most of his loyalists had land, and styled it the Kingdom of Aquitaine. Thibault held the north, styled the Kingdom of France (although both used the title King of the Franks occasionally), leaving Hugues III's realm split into three.
Duke Robert had given his support to Duke Thibault, if only to avoid conflict with his neighbors. He cared little about the struggle with the southern Franks, as they could not disrupt his campaign.)
Dying, however, would. In 1126, the 72 year old duke breathed his last breath and was laid to rest in his castle in Harfleur, facing England as he had requested on his deathbed. The crown passed to his bastard son Boudewijn, while the trueborn (but younger) Sylvester was given the county of Maine and the younger children got minor inheritances.
Robert had hoped that Boudewijn would continue his fight, but with the pious duke dead and the Holy Land awaiting, the pope declared the second Norman invasion of England ended.
Next time: Another bastard at the helm...