Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester

Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester (c. 1040/1050 – 5 June 1118), also known as Robert of Meulan, Count of Meulan, was a powerful Norman nobleman, one of the companions of William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England, and was revered as one of the wisest men of his age. Chroniclers spoke highly of his eloquence, his learning, and three kings of England valued his counsel. He was granted considerable lands in the Midlands by William and Henry I and made the Earl of Leicester.[1]

Biography

Robert was born between 1040–1050, the eldest son of Roger de Beaumont (1015–1094) by his wife Adeline of Meulan (died 1081), a daughter of Waleran III, Count de Meulan, and was an older brother of Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick (c. 1050–1119)

Robert de Beaumont was one of only a small number of men known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, as well as being a cousin of William,[1] and was leader of the infantry on the right wing of the Norman army, as evidenced in the following near contemporary account by William of Poitiers:

'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".[2]

His service earned him the grant of more than 91 English manors confiscated from the defeated English, as listed in the Domesday Book of 1086.

When his mother died in 1081, Robert inherited the title of Count of Meulan in Normandy, and the title Viscount Ivry and Lord of Norton. He paid homage to King Philip I of France for these estates and sat as a French Peer in the Parliament held at Poissy.

He and his brother Henry were members of the Royal hunting party in the New Forest 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 Earl of Leicester in 1107.

On the death of William Rufus, William, Count of Évreux and Ralph de Conches made an incursion into Robert's Norman 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, he was excommunicated by Pope Paschal II 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, revoke this excommunication. Anselm's (somewhat presumptuous) act was ultimately ratified by Paschal.

According to Henry of Huntingdon, Robert died of shame after "a certain earl carried off the lady he had espoused, either by some intrigue or by force and stratagem."[3] He was the last surviving Norman nobleman to have fought in the Battle of Hastings.[4]

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 (1053-1101) a younger son of the French king and Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois (1050-1120). After his death Elizabeth remarried in 1118 to William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey. He had the following progeny:

  1. Waleran IV de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, 1st Earl of Worcester (b. 1104), eldest twin and heir.
  2. Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester & Earl of Hereford (b. 1104), twin
  3. Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford (born c. 1106)
  1. Emma de Beaumont (born 1102)
  2. Adeline de Beaumont, married twice:
    1. Hugh IV of Montfort-sur-Risle;
    2. Richard de Granville of Bideford (died 1147)
  3. Aubree de Beaumont, married Hugh II of Châteauneuf-Thimerais.
  4. Agnes de Beaumont, a nun
  5. Maud de Beaumont, married William Lovel (born c. 1102)
  6. Isabel de Beaumont, a mistress of King Henry I. Married twice:
    1. Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke;
    2. Hervé de Montmorency, Constable of Ireland

Television

Robert De Beaumont is portrayed by Jotham Annan in the 3 part BBC drama-documentary presented by Dan Snow, 1066: A Year to Conquer England.

Sources
  • Edward T. Beaumont, J.P. The Beaumonts in History. A.D. 850-1850. Oxford.
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References
  1. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 2287. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  2. Wm. of Poitiers, per Douglas (1959), p.227
  3. J. R. Planché, The Conqueror and His Companions, Vol. I (Tinsley Bros., London, 1874) p. 212
  4. Edward T. Beaumont, J.P. The Beaumonts in History. A.D. 850-1850. Oxford.
Preceded by
New creation		 Earl of Leicester
1107–1118		 Succeeded by
Robert de Beaumont
Preceded by
Hugh de Meulan		 Count of Meulan
1081–1118		 Succeeded by
Waleran de Beaumont
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