Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan ( – 5 June 1118), also known as Robert of Meulan, was a powerful

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

nobleman, one of the very few proven

Companions of William the Conqueror William the Conqueror had men of diverse standing and origins under his command at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. With these and other men he went on in the five succeeding years to conduct the Harrying of the North and complete the Norman conqu ...

during the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

of England in 1066, and was revered as one of the wisest men of his age. Chroniclers spoke highly of his eloquence and his learning, and three kings of England valued his counsel. He was granted immense land-holdings in England (mainly in the Midlands) by William the Conqueror and by

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

and was created

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creatio ...

Biography

Robert was born between 1040 and 1050, the eldest son of

Roger de Beaumont Roger de Beaumont (c. 1015 – 29 November 1094), feudal lord (French: ''seigneur'') of Beaumont-le-Roger and of Pont-Audemer in Normandy, was a powerful Norman nobleman and close advisor to William the Conqueror. − Origins Roger wa ...

(1015–1094) by his wife Adeline of Meulan (died 1081), the daughter of Waleran III, Count de Meulan and Adelais. He was one of the 15 proven

specifically referred to in surviving documents as having fought at the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...

in 1066 under

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

Duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western Kingdom of France, France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple, Charles III in ...

, who was his cousin. He served as leader of the infantry on the right wing of the Norman army, as evidenced in the following near contemporary account by

William of Poitiers William of Poitiers ( 10201090) (LA: Guillelmus Pictaviensis; FR: Guillaume de Poitiers) was a Frankish priest of Norman origin and chaplain of Duke William of Normandy (William the Conqueror), for whom he chronicled the Norman Conquest of Engla ...

'A certain Norman, Robert, son of Roger of Beaumont, being nephew and heir to Henry, Count of Meulan, through Henry's sister Adeline, found himself that day in battle for the first time. He was as yet but a young man and he performed feats of valour worthy of perpetual remembrance. At the head of a troop which he commanded on the right wing he attacked with the utmost bravery and success".

His service earned him the grant of more than 91 English manors confiscated from the defeated English, as listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086. When his mother died in 1081, Robert inherited the title of

Count of Meulan The county of Meulan, in Normandy, France, appeared as an entity within the region of the Vexin when the otherwise unknown Count Waleran established an independent power base on a fortified island in the River Seine, around the year 1020. Waleran' ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, and the title Viscount Ivry and Lord of Norton. He paid

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

to King

Philip I of France Philip I (23 May 1052 – 29 July 1108), called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to 1108. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low i ...

for these estates and sat as a French Peer in the Parliament held at

Poissy Poissy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Pisciacais'' in French. Poissy is one of ...

. Robert and his brother Henry were members of the Royal hunting party in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

in Hampshire when King William II ''Rufus'' (1087–1100) was shot dead accidentally by an arrow on 2 August 1100. He pledged allegiance to William II's brother, King Henry I (1100–1135), who created him

in 1107. On the death of William Rufus,

William, Count of Évreux William, Count of Évreux (died 16 April 1118) was a powerful member of the Norman aristocracy during the period following the Norman conquest of England. He is one of the few documented to have been with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Ha ...

and Ralph de Conches made an incursion into Robert's

estates, on the pretence they had suffered injury through some advice that Robert had given to the king; their raid was successful and they collected a vast booty. During the English phase of the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...

, he was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...

on 26 March 1105 for advising King Henry to continue selecting the bishops of his realm in opposition to the canons of the church. Sometime in 1106, Henry succeeded in having Anselm, the exiled

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, revoke this excommunication. Anselm's (somewhat presumptuous) act was ultimately ratified by Paschal. According to

Henry of Huntingdon Henry of Huntingdon ( la, Henricus Huntindoniensis; 1088 – AD 1157), the son of a canon in the diocese of Lincoln, was a 12th-century English historian and the author of ''Historia Anglorum'' (Medieval Latin for "History of the English"), ...

, Robert died of shame after "a certain earl carried off the lady he had espoused, either by some intrigue or by force and stratagem."
J. R. Planché, ''The Conqueror and His Companions'', Vol. I (Tinsley Bros., London, 1874) p. 212 He was the last surviving Norman nobleman to have fought in the Battle of Hastings.Edward T. Beaumont, J.P. ''The Beaumonts in History''. A.D. 850-1850. Oxford. Robert de Beaumont was buried at the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Préaux in Normandy.

Family

In 1096, he married Elizabeth (or Isabel) de Vermandois, daughter of

Hugh Magnus Hugh Magnus (french: Hugues le Grand) (1007 – 17 September 1025) was co-King of France under his father, Robert II, from 1017 until his death in 1025. He was a member of the House of Capet, a son of Robert II by his third wife, Constance ...

(1053–1101) and

Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois Adelaide of Vermandois (died 23 Sep 1120) was '' suo jure'' Countess of Vermandois and Valois from 1080 to 1120. Adelaide was the daughter of Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois and Adele of Valois. By 1080, Adelaide married Hugh, son of the Cape ...

(1050–1120). After his death Elizabeth remarried in 1118 to William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey. He had the following progeny: # Waleran IV de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, 1st Earl of Worcester (b. 1104), eldest twin and heir. # Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester & Earl of Hereford (b. 1104), twin #

Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford (born 1106) was Earl of Bedford from 1137 to 1141. The grant of the earldom was by Stephen of England; this was the first of his numerous creations. Hugh was known as Hugh the Pauper or Hugh the Poor. The exis ...

(born ) # Emma de Beaumont (born 1102) # Adeline de Beaumont, married Hugh de Montfort-sur-Risle;, then

Richard de Granville of Bideford Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

(died 1147) # Aubree de Beaumont, married Hugh II of Châteauneuf-Thimerais # Agnes de Beaumont, a nun # Maud de Beaumont, married William Lovel # Isabel de Beaumont, a mistress of King

, married

Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare (6 January 1148), was created Earl of Pembroke in 1138.He was called 'Strongbow' but his son Richard is much more readily associated with that nickname. Life Born at Tonbridge, Gilbert de Clare was a son of Gilber ...

, and then Hervé de Montmorency, Constable of Ireland

In popular culture

Television

Robert De Beaumont is portrayed by Jotham Annan in the 3 part

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Biography

Family

In popular culture

Television

Notes

Sources

References

External links