Robert Curthose Research Articles

The Haskins Society Journal 31 ed. by Laura L. Gathagan, William North and Charles C. Rozier

Reviewed by: The Haskins Society Journal 31 ed. by Laura L. Gathagan, William North and Charles C. Rozier Lindsay Diggelmann Gathagan, Laura L., William North, and Charles C. Rozier, eds, The Haskins Society Journal 31 (Studies in Medieval History), Woodbridge, The Boydell Press, 2020; hardback; pp. 233; 6 b/w, 3 line illustrations; R.R.P. £50.00; ISBN 9781783275731. Volume 31 of The Haskins Society Journal presents essays from the organization’s 2018 conference, along with other contributions in related fields. The Journal honours the American scholar Charles Homer Haskins and is dedicated to those aspects of the history of the central Middle Ages in which he was prominent. Its ambit is somewhat wider than that of the comparable series Anglo-Norman Studies (see my review of the latest volume elsewhere in this issue of Parergon) but nonetheless takes Norman affairs as its central focus, in line with Haskins’s own interests. Four essays deal with the Crusades. Alheydis Plassmann revisits the much-debated question of Normannitas (Norman identity). By comparing the careers of the most prominent Norman First Crusade leaders from the north (Robert Curthose) and the south (Bohemond of Taranto) Plassmann proposes that contemporaries saw very little that was specifically ‘Norman’ in their character or achievements. While useful, this conclusion does not stray too far from the view of those such as John France who have written on the topic previously. Katherine Allen Smith observes how early crusade narratives are ‘replete with references to Babylon’ (p. 50) in opposition to Jerusalem. This, in Smith’s persuasive view, is a shorthand for a series of powerful dichotomies: Islam and Christianity; pride and humility; sin and righteousness; Augustine’s earthly and heavenly cities. Clerical authors who had been trained in scripture and theology brought this mindset to bear when describing the geopolitical rivalries of their own day. Andrew Buck’s study of women and power in the crusader principality of Antioch draws on recent debates that seek to remove the framework of exceptionalism from accounts of women’s political influence and economic agency in the Middle Ages. Examining both the ruling families and the wider nobility, Buck asserts that ‘the exercise of rulership in the principality was not simply a masculine space’ (p. 117). Theodore Evergates reflects on the creation and reception of the Memoirs of Geoffroy de Villehardouin, marshal of Champagne and later of ‘Romania’, a key figure in the Latin Empire of Constantinople after 1204. The Memoirs provide one of the standard accounts of the Fourth Crusade and the sack of the eastern Christian capital by western forces. Other contributions delve into Anglo-Norman dynastic affairs and their historiography. Alexandra Locking reminds us that the celebrated marriage of Henry I and Matilda of Scotland, so crucial to uniting the Norman and Saxon royal lines, nearly did not happen. Archbishop Anselm initially objected to the match, as Matilda had taken the veil as a child, before relenting. Locking examines the contemporary debate over this controversy and the way Matilda’s reputation was later transformed to position her as a powerful royal figure. Mark Blincoe traces the shifting dynastic identity in Henry II’s charters before and [End Page 238] after he became king in 1154. Having been recognized as Stephen’s heir in 1153, Henry acknowledged this at first, but soon ignored the reality of Stephen as his predecessor in official documents, emphasizing instead continuity with the reign of his grandfather Henry I, who had died in 1135. This much is well known, but Blincoe makes the cogent point that the strategy forced Henry to implicitly deny the legitimacy of earlier claims to power in England or Normandy by his mother, the Empress Matilda, and father, Geoffrey of Anjou. On the basis of the vernacular history known as the Chronique de Normandie, Alex Hurlow argues for the continued importance of Norman identity into the thirteenth century, even if more regional in nature and in competition with the growing power of the centralizing French monarchy. Three further essays discuss social and legal issues ‘from below’. Stuart Pracy examines evidence from witness lists for manumissions in late Saxon and early Norman England to suggest that opportunities for social mobility by...

The earliest known list of excommunicates from ducal Normandy

Of the many additions made by the canons of Rouen cathedral to the Anglo-Saxon manuscript known today as the Benedictional of Archbishop Robert, the shortest is a list of 17 persons who are recorded as having been either ‘summoned’ (vocandi) or ‘excommunicated’ (excommunicandi). Although known to scholars for almost two centuries, the list has never been analysed to any great extent, despite the fact that it not only contains the earliest Norman register of excommunicates in existence, but is also apparently unique within the history of the Anglo-Norman realm. This article examines the list in detail for the first time, and addresses some of the most fundamental questions concerning the rationale behind its creation, its place within the history of excommunication in ducal Normandy, and the identity of the people it names. It will also be argued that the first (and largest) part of the list, the entirety of which is traditionally dated to the reign of Robert Curthose (1087–1106), was most likely compiled during the reign of his father, William the Conqueror (1035–87).

An Inheritance of Violence: Patrimony, Vassal Service, and Conquest in the Charroi de Nîmes

In the epic imaginary of the twelfth-century chanson de geste the Charroi de Nîmes, the political bond between a lord and his vassal reproduces the expectations, tensions, and aggressions of the relationship between aristocratic fathers and sons. The displacement of this negative affect is the ultimate cause of one of the Charroi’s more conventional aspects, its depiction of a religiously sanctioned conquest of a rich city in Muslim Spain. My reading of the text is framed by the variable and nuanced history of eleventh- and twelfth-century inheritance practices, and also by critical readings of certain historiographic narratives, such as Georges Duby’s famous essay on feudal ‘youth’ and biographical accounts of the contentious relationship between William the Conqueror and his son Robert Curthose. Freud’s and Lacan’s analyses of Oedipal conflict and the threat of castration as fantasies governing the relations between male generations also illustrate these textual tensions between medieval rulers and their subjects.

Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy (c.1050-1134), by William M. Aird * Adela of Blois: Countess and Lord (c.1067-1137), by Kimberley LoPrete

Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy (c.1050-1134), by William M. Aird * Adela of Blois: Countess and Lord (c.1067-1137), by Kimberley LoPrete

Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, c.1050–1134 – By William M. Aird

Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, c.1050–1134 – By William M. Aird

The Rouen riot and Conan’s leap

The Rouen urban riot was less a bid for communal independence than the outcome of a power struggle between the sons of William the Conqueror. The rebels, led by a wealthy merchant, Conan, were allied to king William II of England, who was trying to wrest Normandy from his elder brother, duke Robert Curthose. Henry, the third brother, rendered decisive aid to Curthose and led the aristocratic faction that defeated William II’s allies in Rouen and seized Conan. Taking him atop the tower of Rouen, Henry ignored Conan’s pleas for mercy and pushed him to his death. Although historians often cite this episode as evidence of Henry’s cruelty, most contemporaries saw it as a proper punishment of a traitorous upstart. The contrast between Henry’s courage and Curthose’s timidity could well explain why the duke turned against Henry shortly afterwards and then went on Crusade.

Orderic Vitalis and Rober of Bellême

The Norman monastic chronicler Orderic Vitalis's treatment of Robert of Bellême, the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman magnate and overmighty subject of the English kings, William II and Henry I, is discussed and compared with evidence from other sources. A contrast is drawn between Orderic's eagerness to portray Robert as a villain and his apparent acceptance of the misdemeanors of Henry I, who is presented favourably because of the period of relative peace following Henry's deposition in 1106 of his brother, the Norman duke, Robert Curthose. Orderic downplays the work of Henry's predecessors, Robert Curthose and William II, and in Robert of Bellême creates a counterweight to his picture of the just king Henry I. His negative assessment of all Robert's actions therefore needs to be adjusted and it is suggested that other modern interpretations based on his work may need similar re-examination and revision.

A Neglected English Charter of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy

A Neglected English Charter of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy

A Historiographical Survey: Norman and Plantagenet Kings since World War II

If the sacred back was not always safe from family and associates in the Anglo-Saxon period, still less was it proffered in the Norman and Angevin periods. William I endured the rebellion of one son, William II an accidental death while hunting; Henry I suppressed a baronial rebellion in favor of his feckless brother Robert Curthose; Stephen's reign was characterized by lawlessness and rebellion on behalf of Empress Matilda. Henry II found his whole family actively at war against him, Richard I met his death in a political quarrel in Aquitaine, John was constrained by a rebellion of many barons to issue Magna Carta, Henry III faced constant baronial opposition to his policies, Edward I was compelled to face magnate disquiet from 1297 to 1300, Edward II was deposed (and betrayed by his wife). Edward III alone of the kings discussed in this portion of my article reigned withal quietly (after 1341) and successfully (in terms of familial and baronial opposition, at least until 1376). This is not a happy picture, but it is one that reminds us that family relations were vital to successful kingship and that a king must, if successful, be a canny politician. Unlike Rosenthal, I have chosen to limit my discussion of royal biography for the period 1066–1377 to pointing out the sources that have appeared in print since 1945 and to book-length royal biographies; no longer is it true (in the words of Sidney Painter written in 1949 that prefaced his study ofThe Reign of King John) that, “when I started to write this volume, there was no adequate account of the reign of a medieval English king.

“Backers and Stabbers”: Problems of Loyalty in Robert Curthose's Entourage

Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William I Duke of Normandy and King of England, received many blows of ill fortune during his long life (1051-1134). Most damaging to his image was his inability to emulate his father by conquering England after the great king's death in 1087, and again, after William Rufus's death in 1100. He attempted twice to restore the unity of the two lands, and twice he failed. Moreover, Robert's reign in Normandy was characterized by baronial feuds, civil war, lawlessness, and decentralization of authority, and his policies appeared “weak and blundering”. He enjoyed one glittering period of distinction: during the First Crusade (c. 1096-1100) he proved himself a brave and spirited participant. But upon his return to Normandy, insufficient baronial support and territorial control led in 1106 to his final degradation—the loss of his patrimony, the duchy of Normandy, and his permanent imprisonment at the hands of his younger brother, Henry I. Henry owed his victory, in large measure, to the fact that by 1106 most of Curthose's earlier companions had deserted him.These almost unmitigated failures affected the loyalty of Curthose's companions in adverse ways. As will be shown, factors that frequently influenced political alliances in the Anglo-Norman world—long association, genuine fondness, a need to be on the winning side, and outside pressures—were, in Curthose's entourage, overshadowed by the desire for new acquisitions and the security of landed possessions. Because the duke was unable to safeguard and advance these primary interests, his power base was insecure and his retinue was characterized by shifting membership and short-term loyalty.

William of Jumièges, Robert Curthose and the Norman succession

William of Jumièges, Robert Curthose and the Norman succession

REVIEWS

Book reviews in this Article: The Tradition of the Roman Empire. By C. H. St. L. Russell. A Short World History. By E. M. Wilmot‐Buxton. Chronos; a Handbook of Comparative Chronology. By R. J. Hart. Schools of Gaul: a Study of Pagan and Christian Education in the last Century of the Western Empire. By Theodore Haarhoff Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy. By Charles Wendell David. Documents illustrative of the Social and Economic History of the Danelaw. Edited by Professor F. M. Stenton. Final Concords of the County of Lincoln, a.d. 1244‐1272. Vol. II. Edited by Canon C. W. Foster. An Irish Astronomical Tract, based in part on a Mediœval Latin Version of a Work by Messahalah. By Maura Power. Studies in the History and Method of Science. Edited by Charles Singer. Selections from the Paston Letters. Edited by A. D. Greenwood. Belgium: from the Roman Invasion to the Present Day. By Emile Cammaerts. Belgium: The Making of a Nation. By H. Van der Linden. Translated by Sybil Jane. A Short History of Belgium. By Leon Van der Essen Holland and Belgium: Their Common History and their Relations. By P. Geyl Atlas de Geographie Historique de la Belgique. By L. Van der Essen, in collaboration with F. L. Ganshof, J. Maury, and P. Nothomb The Teaching and Cultivation of the French Language in England during Tudor and Stuart Times, with an Introductory Chapter on the Preceding Period. By Kathleen Lambley The Founding of New England. By J. T. Adams The Development of the Leeward Islands under the Restoration The Early English Cotton Industry. By G. W. Daniels The History of the Post Office in British North America, 1639‐1870. By William Smith A Shorter History of England and Greater Britain. By A. L. Cross, Ph.D. Men and Thought in Modern History. By Ernest Scott Studies in History and Politics. 1920. Clarendon Press. 12s. 6d.; Political Prophecies. Modern History in Oxford, 1841‐1918. By Professor C. H. Firth. Macmillan's Historical Atlas of Modern Europe. Edited by F. J. C. Hearnshaw.

Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy

Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy