Robert
Curthose, the eldest son of William the
Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders,
was born in about 1053. At the age of 14 he became co-regent of Normandy
with his mother.
In 1061
it was arranged for Robert to Margaret, the sister and heiress of
Count Herbert II of Maine. However, the death of Margaret, brought
an end to this arrangement.
Robert
suggested in 1077 to his father that he should become the ruler of
Normandy and Maine. When the king refused,
Robert rebelled and attempted to seize Rouen. The rebellion failed
and Robert was forced to flee and established himself at Gerberoi.
William besieged him there in 1080 but his mother, Matilda
of Flanders, managed to persuade the two men to end their feud.
Robert
inherited Normandy after his father's
death in 1087. He also expected to become king of England but instead
his younger brother, William
Rufus,
took the throne. The following year some Normans, including
Odo of Bayeux, Robert
of Mortain and Richard
Fitz Gilbert, led a rebellion against the rule of William
Rufus
on Robert's behalf. However most Normans in England remained loyal
and William defeated the rebels.
Norman
chroniclers claim that Robert had squandered the whole of his father's
wealth. He asked his brother Henry
Beauclerk , for a loan and when he refused, he sold him
land in Normandy for £3,000.
In 1096
Robert joined the First Crusade and was one of those involved in capturing
Jerusalem in July 1099. When William
Rufus
died in 1100 he made a second bid to become king of England. He invaded
but decided to withdraw rather than risk battle.
Robert
was captured by King Henry
I at Tinchebrai in Normandy
in 1106 and was imprisoned in the Tower
of London. In 1128 he was transferred to a castle in Devizes
and during his last couple of years was held in Cardiff where he died
on 10th February, 1134. Robert Curthose is buried in Gloucester Cathedral.
The
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