Robert of Mortain

  General Notes:

Born: Between 1035 and 1040
Marriage: Mathilde of Montgomery before 1052
Died: 1091 about age 56
General Notes:
Robert var halvbror til Wilhelm Erobreren (født ca. 1028), konge av England, på morsiden. Biskop Odo av Bayeux var hans helbror.Han var sin fars annen sønn og fikk 1048-49 grevskapet Mortain i stiftet Avranches.I 1066 var han tilstede ved koncilet i Lillebonne for å drøfte invasjonen i England. Han bidro med 120 skib til Englands flåte og kjempet i Senlac. Robert reddet Wilhelm Erobrerens liv i slaget ved Hastings og fikk av ham mange borger forskjellige steder i England. I 1069 ble han igjen i England for å beskytte Lindsey mot danskene. Samtidig ble hans borg Luthgaresburg (Montacute) i Somerset beleiret.Han hadde veldige landeiendommer i England. Sammen med sin hustru, Mathilde, grunnla han en kollegiekirke i sitt slott i Mortain. Han nevnes også som stifter av Grestain Abbey ved Honfleur ved Seine-bredden, men stifteren var utvilsomt hans far. Robert ga betydelige gods til Grestain, dette gjorde også hans sønn Wilhelm.Hertug Robert "le Diable" hadde gitt grevskapet Mortain til Wilhelm Warlengus, sønnesønn til Richard I. En uforsiktig uttalelse om ham syntes å røbe utroskap og ha måtte gå i landflyktighet. Derved fikk Robert grevskapet.Han ble begravet i Grestain, likeså hans hustru og foreldre._____________________________________Robert, Count of Mortain (d. 1095) was a half-brother of William the Conqueror, and became a great landholder in both England and Normandy.He was the son of William the Conqueror's mother Herleva, and Herluin, viscount of Conteville. Odo, Bishop of Bayeux was his older full brother. He was probably born around 1040, but perhaps a few years earlier.Around 1055 Duke William was consolidating his hold on the duchy, and having disposessed the count of Mortain, gave the county to Robert. Mortain was a frontier territory, bordering on Brittany and Maine, and Robert contributed to the defense of the duchy by constructing castles at the town of Mortain, and at St. Hilaire-du-Harcouet, le Tilleul, and Tinchebrai.During the next decade Robert was a close counselor of his half-brother, appearing frequently at his court, including the councils at which the invasion of England was planned. He surely fought at the Battle of Hastings itself, though he chronicles of the time are not specific, and more importantly he contributed a significant part of the invasion fleet.After the conquest, Robert obtained a large holding in England, including the strategic Rape of Pevensey in Sussex, and other lands guarding London, including Berkhamsted, Lambeth and Bermondsey. In 1072 he was entrusted with Cornwall after the previous ruler returned home to Brittany, though probably he never formally became earl. Nevertheless he was the second greatest lay magnate in England.Robert seems to have been uninterested in English politics -- some say he lacked the cleverness for it -- and he spent most of the remainder of the Conqueror's reign in Normandy. He stayed loyal to William to the end, even when his brother Odo of Bayeux rebelled and was imprisoned. At the dying duke's bedside he successfully argued for Odo's release.Odo seems to have pushed him into action, for Robert took part in the Rebellion of 1088 which attempted to replace William Rufus with Robert Curthose. After Pevensey surrendered and the rebellion failed, Rufus pardoned Robert, while Odo was exiled to Normandy. Their differing treatment may reflect contemporary assessment of Robert's lack of initiative.He married Matilda, daughter of Roger of Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, and was succeeded by their son William, Count of Mortain.
Research Notes:
His year of birth is also recorded as ca 1031.
Noted events in his life were:
• Acceded: Count of Mortain, 1049.
Robert married Mathilde of Montgomery, daughter of Roger II of Montgomery and Mabel of Bellème, before 1052. (Mathilde of Montgomery was born circa 1035.)

Robert married Mathilde of Montgomery, daughter of Roger II of Montgomery and Mabel of Belleme, before 1052. (Mathilde of Montgomery was born about 1035.)