Robert+Curthose

==
 * Robert Curthose**  ﻿(Also known as Robert of Normandy, Robert II or Robert III)
 * < **Title** ||= [|Duke of Normandy] ||
 * < **Reign** ||= 9 September 1087–1106 ||
 * < **Father** ||= King William I ([|William the Conqueror]) ||
 * < **Mother** ||= [|Matilda of Flanders] ||
 * < **Siblings** ||= William Rufus ([|King William II]); Henry ([|King Henry I]) ||
 * < **Born** ||= Born: c. 1050; Normandy, France ||
 * < **Died** ||= 3 February 1134; Cardiff Castle, Glamorgan, South Wales ||
 * < **Buried** ||= Gloucester Cathedral (previously the abbey church of St. Peter) ||

Robert '[|Curthose]', eldest son of King William I of England (William the Conqueror), was the Duke of Normandy (1087–1106) and played a leading role in the armed pilgrimage and successful capture of Jerusalem during the [|First Crusade] (1096–1099). However, his achievements in history are often marred by the quarrels and conflict he had with his family and his failure to secure the English throne.

Robert and William’s relationship was volatile from an early age, however, his rebellions allegedly began in 1077 after a particularly unpleasant chamber pot prank played by his dynamic younger brothers, William Rufus and Henry[1]. Their father intervened in the aftermath of the prank, yet he further enraged Robert by not punishing his two other sons for their actions. In retaliation Robert laid siege to his father’s castle in the capital of Normandy, continued to wreak havoc in William’s territory, and in 1079 when the Conqueror led an army to overpower his insolent son, Robert soundly defeated his forces [2]. Despite his erratic relationship with his eldest son, in his final moments on his deathbed, William the Conqueror delegated Normandy to Robert. However, he believed that the Kingdom was not Robert’s hereditary right and instead left England to William Rufus, his second son[3].
 * Early family conflict**

Robert held a leading role during the First Crusade and he was commended for his proficiency as a field commander. He gained great recognition from several instances where he exhibited immense bravery and military prowess[4], like the [|battle of Ascalon] in 1099 where he mortally wounded the Egyptian [|Vizier]’s [|standard-bearer], panicking his enemy and prompting the collapse of their defenses[5]. Nevertheless, during his control of Normandy Robert was criticized for being an indolent and ineffectual ruler[6], whose affable and accommodating nature did not make for successful governance[7].
 * Military success and Political Incompetence**

In 1100, Robert’s brother William Rufus (King William II) died and Henry, the Conqueror’s youngest son, immediately crowned himself King. Robert insisted that the Kingdom of England was rightfully his, however, during an altercation at Alton, in Hampshire, he was outmaneuvered by Henry, who convinced him to relinquish his claim to England for a sufficient yearly allowance and an assurance that he would not intervene in Normandy[8]. However, Robert’s youngest brother soon reneged on their deal and invaded the duchy. In 1106 Henry was victorious in his campaign to conquer the region and he captured and gaoled Robert for the remaining twenty-eight years of his life[9].
 * Failure to seize the English throne**

[1] Kenneth Panton, //Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy// (United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press Inc., 2011), 406 [2] Ibid., 407 <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[3] George Garnett, //Conquered England: kingship, succession, and tenure, 1066-1166// (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 174-175. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[4] William Aird, // Duke of Normandy: c. 1050-1134 // (London: Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2008), 102; Charles Wendell, //Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy// (New York: AMS Press, 1982), 122; Panton, //Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy,// 408; <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[5] J. France, //Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade// (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 360-365. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">[6] Aird, //Duke of Normandy,// 103; Orderic Vitalis, //Ecclesiastical History: Volume IV,// trans. Marjorie Chibnall and eds. C. Brooke, D. Greenway & M. Winterbottom (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1973), 114-115. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[7] William Malmesbury, //Gesta Regum Anglorum: The History of the English Kings, Volume 1//, trans. and ed. R. A. B Mynors, R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom (USA: Oxford University Press, 1998), 704-705. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[8] Richard Cavendish, “Robert of Normandy invades England: July 21st 1101”, //History Today// 51, no. 7 (July 2001): 54, http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/202815107?accountid=14723 <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[9] Aird, //Duke of Normandy,// 254-256.