Robert I (25 September 1216 – 8 February 1250), called the Good, was the first

Count of Artois The count of Artois (, ) was the ruler over the County of Artois from the 9th century until the abolition of the countship by the French Revolution, French revolutionaries in 1790. House of Artois *Odalric () *Altmar () *Adelelm (?–932) *''C ...

. He was the fifth (and second surviving) son of King

Louis VIII of France Louis VIII (5 September 1187 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As a prince, he invaded Kingdom of England, England on 21 May 1216 and was Excommunication in the Catholic Church, excommunicated by a ...

and Blanche of Castile.

Life

He received Artois as an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

, in accordance with the will of his father (died 1226) on attaining his majority in 1237 (aged twenty-one). In 1240

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...

, in conflict with

Emperor Frederick II Frederick II (, , , ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI of the Ho ...

, offered to crown Robert as emperor in opposition to Frederick, but the French count refused to pretend to such a title. Blason province fr Artois

Marriage

On 14 June 1237 Robert married Matilda, daughter of Henry II of Brabant and

Marie of Hohenstaufen Maria of Swabia (1199/1200 – 29 March 1235) was a member of the powerful Hohenstaufen dynasty of German kings. Family Maria of Hohenstaufen was born in Arezzo, Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an ...

.
They had two children: * Blanche (1248–1302) * Robert II (1250–1302), who succeeded to Artois.

Death

While participating in the

Seventh Crusade The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France. Also known as the Crusade of Louis IX to the Holy Land, it aimed to reclaim the Holy Land by attacking Egypt, the main seat of Muslim power in the Nea ...

, Robert died while leading a reckless attack on Al Mansurah, without the knowledge of his brother King Louis IX. After fording a river, he and a group of Knights Templars charged a Mamluk outpost, during which the Mamluk commander, Fakhr-ad-Din Yusuf, was killed. Emboldened by his success, Robert, the Templar knights, and a contingent of English troops charged into the town and became trapped in the narrow streets. According to

Jean de Joinville Jean de Joinville (, 1 May 1224 – 24 December 1317) was one of the great chroniclers of medieval France. He is most famous for writing the ''Life of Saint Louis'', a biography of Louis IX of France that chronicled the Seventh Crusade.' Biog ...

, Robert defended himself for some time in a house there, but was at last overpowered and killed.

References

Sources

* * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert 01, Count of Artois 1216 births 1250 deaths Heirs presumptive to the French throne 13th-century French nobility House of Artois Counts of Artois French military personnel killed in action Christians of the Sixth Crusade Christians of the Seventh Crusade Children of Louis VIII of France Sons of kings