Robert II, Count of Flanders

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Robert II
Seal of Robert II
Count of Flanders
Reign1093 - 1111
PredecessorRobert I
SuccessorBaldwin VII
Bornc. 1065
Died5 October 1111 (aged c. 46)
Meaux, Kingdom of France
SpouseClementia of Burgundy
IssueBaldwin VII of Flanders
HouseHouse of Flanders
FatherRobert I of Flanders
MotherGertrude of Saxony

Robert II, Count of Flanders (c. 1065 – 5 October 1111) was Count of Flanders from 1093 to 1111. He became known as Robert of Jerusalem (Robertus Hierosolimitanus) or Robert the Crusader after his exploits in the First Crusade.

Early life

Robert was the eldest son of

Robert I of Flanders (also known as Robert the Frisian) and Gertrude of Saxony.[1][2] His father, hoping to place the cadet branch (or "Baldwinite" branch) of Flanders over the county, began to associate him with his rule around 1086.[3] From 1085 to 1091 he was regent of the county while his father was away on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.[4]

First Crusade

After becoming count in 1093, Robert joined the

Byzantine emperor Alexius I Komnenus and promise to return to the Byzantine Empire
any land they might capture. Robert, whose father had already served Alexius during his pilgrimage in the 1080s, had no problem swearing this oath, but some of the other leaders did and there was some delay in leaving the city.

The routes of the First Crusade leaders, with Robert's in yellow

Robert then participated in the

Hugh of Vermandois
, arrived and broke the encirclement; the two armies joined, with Robert and Raymond forming the centre. The Turks were defeated and the crusaders continued their march.

At the end of 1097 the crusaders arrived at

Duqaq, ruler of Damascus. Antioch was eventually betrayed to Bohemund by an Armenian guard, and Robert was among the first to enter the city, but only a few days later they were themselves besieged by Kerbogha. atabeg of Mosul. On 28 June 1098, the crusaders marched out to meet him in battle.[6]
Robert and Hugh of Vermandois led the first of six divisions. Kerbogha was defeated and the Muslim-held citadel finally surrendered to the crusaders. Robert, along with Bohemond, Raymond, and Godfrey, occupied the citadel, but Bohemund soon claimed the city for himself. Raymond also claimed it, but Robert supported Bohemund in this dispute.

The dispute delayed the crusade even further. Raymond left Antioch to attack

Fatimid army under al-Afdal Shahanshah which was coming to relieve Jerusalem. Robert formed part of the centre wing in the ensuing Battle of Ascalon, which resulted in a crusader victory. However, Godfrey and Raymond quarrelled over possession of Ascalon, and even Robert could not support Godfrey in this dispute; the city remained uncaptured, although the victory allowed for the establishment of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
.

At the end of August, Robert returned home with Robert Curthose and Raymond. On the way back they captured Latakia, which was returned to the Byzantine emperor, as promised years before. Raymond remained there but both Roberts continued home by way of Constantinople, after declining Alexius' request to stay there in his service. Robert brought back with him a precious relic, the arm of Saint George, a gift from Alexius. The relic was placed in the church of Anchin Abbey in Flanders.[7] After he returned, Robert built the monastery of St. Andrew in Sevenkerke (now Zevenkerke, near Bruges.[8] Because of his crusade and the spoils he brought home, he was nicknamed Robert of Jerusalem.

Later life

19th-century portrait by Henri Decaisne

During his absence,

Baldwin III of Hainaut and an army from Holland. Robert stopped them outside of Douai
and a new peace was signed, in which the emperor recognized Robert's claim to Douai and Cambrai.

In 1103 he made an alliance with

Theobald IV of Blois led a revolt of the French barons. Robert led an army against Meaux. During the battle he fell off his horse and was trampled to death[9]
on 5 October 1111.

Family

He married

Baldwin VII of Flanders
.

References

  1. ^ a b Runciman 1951, p. 166.
  2. ^ Paul 2012, p. 40.
  3. ^ a b Nicholas 2013, p. 58.
  4. ^ Kostick 2008, p. 257.
  5. ^ Runciman 1951, p. 186.
  6. ^ Runciman 1951, p. 244-246.
  7. ^ Riley-Smith 2002, p. 151.
  8. ^ Frankopan 2012, p. 257.
  9. ^ Nicholas 1999, p. 118.
  10. ^ Bouchard 1987, p. 146.

Sources

  • Bouchard, Constance Brittain (1987). Sword, Miter, and Cloister:Nobility and Church in Burgundy, 980-1198. Cornell University Press.
  • Frankopan, Peter (2012). The First Crusade: The Call from the East. Harvard University Press.
  • Kostick, Conor (2008). The Social Structure of the First Crusade. Brill.
  • Nicholas, Karen S. (1999). "Countesses as Rulers in Flanders". In Evergates, Theodore (ed.). Aristocratic Women in Medieval France. University of Pennsylvania Press.
    ISBN 978-0812200614
    .
  • Nicholas, David M (2013). Medieval Flanders. Routledge.
  • Paul, Nicholas L. (2012). To Follow in Their Footsteps: The Crusades and Family Memory in the High Middle Ages. Cornell University Press.
    ISBN 978-0801465543
    .
  • Runciman, Steven (1951). A History of the Crusades: The First Crusade. Vol. I. Cambridge University Press.
  • Riley-Smith, Jonathan (2002). The First Crusaders, 1095-1131. Cambridge University Press.
Preceded by Count of Flanders
1093–1111 		Succeeded by
Baldwin VII
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