Succession crisis In 1087, the elder William died of wounds suffered from a riding accident during a siege of Mantes. At his death he reportedly wanted to disinherit his eldest son but was persuaded to instead divide the Norman dominions between his two eldest sons. To Robert he granted the
Duchy of Normandy and to William Rufus he granted the
Kingdom of England. The youngest son, Henry, was given money to buy land. Of the two elder sons Robert was considered to be much weaker and was generally preferred by the nobles who held lands on both sides of the
English Channel since they could more easily circumvent his authority. This agreement lasted less than a year, when barons joined with Robert to displace Rufus in the
Rebellion of 1088, beginning in the spring of that year. Although Robert initially accepted Rufus's claim in England, when given the opportunity by the leader of the conspiracy and his probable chief advisor,
Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, he began preparations. For this, Robert lacked sufficient funds, and approached his younger brother Henry for part of the money he had received in the inheritance. Henry refused, but Robert promptly offered the whole of the
Cotentin, as well as
Avranches and
Mont-Saint-Michel, in exchange for 3000
livres. Henry agreed. Meanwhile, William found out about his barons' plot to overthrow him, and went to besiege Odo at Rochester. Odo found out, and fled for
Pevensey to join the defence. The king followed the bishop towards Pevensey Castle and promptly began a siege there instead, abandoning the proposed action against Rochester. Although Robert did not himself join his allies in England, he sent a contingent of soldiers towards England so as to support them as he continued preparations, probably delayed by the need to control the channel. William sent his own fleet to contest the Norman landing as he invested Pevensey, at which point the English navy won a decisive victory. Robert's fleet had cost 3000 livres; all of the money gained from selling the Cotentin was now gone. After six weeks, Pevensey fell and Odo was captured, with William then having to besiege
Rochester defended by multiple great Norman magnates, such as
Robert of Belleme amongst the leaders. With still no aid from Robert, whose resources were now limited, the defenders were forced to surrender. Bishop Odo was exiled and lost all of his lands within England, alongside other conspirators, and Robert lost any opportunity he had to seize England for the next 12 years. Not all of the barons who participated in the revolt were punished so severely; many, such as
Roger Bigod and the
Grandmesnils, reconciled with Rufus and came to oppose Robert. The revolt failed in part because Robert never showed up to support the English rebels, leaving only the controversial Odo of Bayeux to lead the barons.
Rule in Normandy showing one of Robert's most important advisors,
Bishop Odo (wielding club at centre) The central authority of the Duke of Normandy weakened in the midst of William I's death, though not to a terminal extent. Local magnates including Ralph of Conches and
Robert of Bellême expelled the garrisons of the late king and established areas of dominion. Robert was affable, mild, and generous to his barons and the clergy. In 1088 alone, Robert endowed the Abbey of Saint-Étienne and
Fécamp Abbey. However, this, alongside the sudden weakness of ducal authority, and other expenditures, left Robert almost perpetually lacking in funds. Enemies of Henry at Robert's court had convinced the duke to arrest his younger brother and Robert of Bellême, on suspicion of reconciling with Rufus. Henry had, in fact, travelled across the channel to request the estates of the late Matilda of Flanders, which Rufus refused to surrender. Henry was released after six months. On the advice of Odo of Bayeux, Duke Robert quickly assembled an army in August of 1088 with which he marched to Le Mans and was welcomed by the citizens, with the purpose of securing his control over the southern frontier castles of the duchy. This army secured the castles of
Saint-Céneri and
Ballon, both formerly in revolt against Robert. The duke had Robert Quarrel, the lord of Ballon, blinded, and mutilated his enemies within Saint-Céneri. Robert of Bellême was imprisoned by the duke, and only freed due to the intervention of
Roger of Montgomery, his father. Roger requested peace, and successfully petitioned for his son to be released. The duke may have been motivated by Robert's prior dogged support for the invasion of England.
Instability and defections By 1089, Duke Robert faced another threat in the form of Rufus's wish to destabilize Normandy. In contrast to his elder brother, the English king possessed deep pockets and more expansive methods of raising wealth, with a large treasury available at Winchester. William bribed many of Robert's vassals away from him, starting with the garrison of Saint-Valery.
Stephen of Aumale, Gerard of Gournay,
Robert of Eu,
Walter Giffard, and
Ralph Mortemer were all coaxed towards William's side, leaving most of the Norman barons on the right bank of the Seine ready to break away from the duke. Lacking the same financial resources or ability to deliver reward, Robert was in a sense helpless against this change, but Helias of Saint-Saëns, the Lord of Saint-Saëns, stood firm in the duke's camp. Helias was, for his loyalty, given the hand of an illegitimate daughter of Robert's alongside the castles of Arques and Bures, making him one of the only counterbalances to William's intercessions in the region. The duke managed to form an alliance with
Philip, King of France against the magnates East of the Seine, and they launched a siege of Gerard of Gournay's castle at
La Ferté-Bernard. In exchange, Robert granted Philip the castle of
Gisors, along the
Epte, which marked the border of the
Vexin. The castle had belonged to the
Cathedral of Rouen and this grant angered
Archbishop William. Robert besieged and captured the
castle of Eu, and Aird considers him to have had a successful campaign against the rebels by September of 1089. A revolt broke out in Maine when the Manceau heard of Robert's illness in late 1089. Preoccupied with the barons east of the Seine, Robert met with
Fulk IV, Count of Anjou, and requested that he resolve the crisis. Fulk agreed if he was allowed to marry the daughter of
Simon de Montfort,
Bertrade, despite having been married thrice. Bertrade was in the care of her uncle, William of Évreux, and to secure the marriage, Robert had to grant William the lands of
Ralph Asshead, and grant a series of castles to his nephew, William of Breteuil. Fulk successfully suppressed the revolt in Maine for a year. In November 1090,
a revolt broke out in Rouen led by the Pilatenses, a faction of the city opposed to Robert's rule and led by Conan, the son of Gilbert Pilatus. As supposedly the wealthiest citizen of
Rouen, Conan was supported by William Rufus in his revolt, and Robert had to hastily summon his vassals to assist him in crushing the riot. Henry, Robert's brother, was convinced to forget the duke's prior wrongs against him and come to his aid. Though he led his men bravely, Duke Robert's vassals convinced him to flee the city for his own safety, while Henry and Gilbert of L'Aigle crushed the revolt and captured many of its leaders. Conan was personally executed by Henry. But Robert's success here did not prevent failures elsewhere. In the same month, a
private war broke out between Ralph of Conches and William of Évreux, and Ralph appealed to the duke for aid. Robert, under significant pressure, was not forthcoming, and Ralph then requested support from William of England. William quickly directed his
satellites in Normandy to support Ralph, thus expanding the king's influence in the duchy. At the same time, in Maine, the Norman garrisons were expunged and Maine was claimed by Hugh of Este, a relative of
Hugh IV. Only
Hoël, Bishop of Le Mans stayed loyal to Robert and his resistance saw support for Hugh ultimately deteriorate. Hugh would ultimately sell the comital title to
Helias of La Flèche.
Cooperation and renewed conflict In early 1091, either January or February, King William launched an invasion of Normandy with a large fleet, establishing his base at
Eu. Robert's barons abandoned him against Rufus, retreating to their castles. Robert ultimately required the aid of
Philip of France once again, and the two marched against the city of Eu. However, before major fighting could begin, negotiations instead took place at Rouen. Robert surrendered the
Abbey of Fécamp, the counties of Eu and
Aumale, the territories of Gerard of Gournay and Ralph of Conches, and the castles of Cherbourg and Mont-Saint-Michel. All the barons who had been punished by either brother were to receive amnesty and their estates back. in
Normandy, site of the 1091 siege|left This was threatening for Henry, who still ruled in the
Cotentin. After the riot at Rouen, Henry had been forced from Rouen by the duke and sent home, with their relationship once again on the decline. The prince immediately began preparations for war, but as the armies of Curthose and Rufus invaded, his baronial support network melted away. After the bulk of Henry's capacity for resistance had already been eliminated, he held out at the castle of
Mont-Saint-Michel for two weeks, at which point Henry negotiated a surrender. Meanwhile, the brothers envisaged a stricter enforcement of ducal authority, summoning an assembly on 18 July for that purpose. A few weeks later, either in early August or late July, Robert and William crossed over into England, after helping William assert his lordship over
Malcolm, King of Scotland, Robert returned to Normandy in December of 1091. Even after this point, the power of the duke did not stay for long. Henry returned in 1092 and seized
Domfront, which he used as a base to begin successfully recovering the Cotentin. With the short reconciliation between Henry and his brothers over, the alliance between William and Robert came next. William had neglected his promise to aid Robert in 1092 and 1093, to the point that the duke's patience ran out, and in 1093, he ended their alliance. Robert accused Rufus of perjury, provoking the king into launching an invasion around Midlent of 1094. After a failed negotiation, the dispute was put in the hands of the barons, who unilaterally agreed that the origin of the conflict was in Rufus's own failures to honor his agreement. The king did not accept their condemnation, and withdrew from the conference. After bribing multiple barons to his side, William captured the castle of
Bures-en-Bray, held by Helias. But Robert launched a simultaneous campaign of much more success, seizing the significant castles of
Argentan and
Le Homme, each with large garrisons, alongside his overlord
Philip of France, and capturing
William Peverel. William retreated to England to raise greater forces, and successfully bribed Philip to abandon his Norman ally, but Robert maintained his campaign without French aid. When the king summoned Prince Henry to his side, Henry was unable to make it past Robert's forces. William sent ships to retrieve Henry with which Henry travelled to England for an audience with the king upon his return. Rufus stayed in Normandy until 29 December, at which point he sailed to
Dover, England, with nothing to show for his campaign. William's war against Robert continued into 1095. == First Crusade (1096–1099) ==