Richard II, The Good, Duke of Normandy

Richard II, The Good, Duke of Normandy was born 963 in Normandy. He was the son of Richard I, The Fearless of Normandy and Gunnor of Crepon. He acceded to the dukedom in 996.

He married about 1000, Judith De Bretagne (Judith of Brittany) in Mont Saint-Michel, daughtre of Conan I, "le Tort", Duke of Brittany. According to Oderic Vitalis, she founded the abbey of Bernay, Eure in 1025, but the date is inconsistent with the her date of death and Richard's second marriage.

He had children:

1. Richard III of Normandy, Duke of Normandy
2. Robert II the Devil, Duke of Normandy
3. William (Nicholas) monk at Fechamp b. about 1007/9
4.Alice(Adelaide or Judith) b. about 1003/5 married Renaud I, Count of Burgundy
5. Eleanor of Normandy married Baldwin IV, count of Flanders b. about 1011/13
6. Matilda b. about 1013/15 a nun at Fecamp


He married about 1017 Estrith (Margaret) of Denmark. Daughter of Svend I, King of Denmark. Adam of Bremen this marriage and says that after Richard repudiated her, she married Wolf, Duke of Anglia. She later married Ulf Thrugilson, Jarl. She may have had a daughter Popia by Richard.


He married about 1024 Papia of Envermeu, daughter of -----. Gullaume de Jumieges says she was Richard's second wife, as does Oderic Vitalis and The Chronicon Fontanellense. She is named in a charter granting property to the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel given by Richard.

He had children:
1. Mauger of Rouen, Archbishop of Rouen
2. William of Arques, Count of Arques
3. Papia

Ademar names Richard as son of "Richardus Rotomagensis"

Guillaume de Jumièges names (in order) "Richard, Robert, Mauger" as three of the five sons of Duke Richard and Gunnora

Robert of Torigny names "Ricardum…qui ei successit et Robertum postea archiepiscopum Rothomagensium et Malgerium comitem Curbuliensem, aliosque duos" as the sons of "Ricardi primi ducis Normanniæ" and Gunnora


Some sources give him another son named Godrey Gilbert,Count of Eu, the father of Gilbert De Clare. He was supposedly the son of Gunnor of Crepon or an illegitimate son.

He tried to improve relations with England through his sister's marriage to King Ethelred, But she was disliked by the English. This connection later gave his grandson William the Conqueror patrt of his claim to the English throne.

Richard II, Duke of Normandy died 28 August 1027 in Normandy.
Sources:
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMANDY.htm#GuillaumeIdied942

Royal & Noble Genealogical Data On the Web
http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/genealogy/royal/

http://www.castlewales.com/clares.html

Royal ancestors of Magna charta barons: including ancestry of John Talbot ...‎ - Page 68
by Carr Pritchett Collins - Nobility - 1959

Dictionary of national biography: Index and epitome‎ - Page 241
by Sir Leslie Stephen, Sidney Lee - Great Britain - 1906

Robert II The Devil of Normandy

Robert II "the Devil" of Normandy was born about 1008 in Normandy.

He was the son of Richard II of Normandy and Judith De Bretagne. Some sources call him Robert The Magnificent.

Robert helped in the restoration of Henry, King of France, to his throne and received the gratitude of the monarch, in the form of Vexin, as an addition to the lands he had received from his father.

He also aided Edward the Confessor, when he was in exile.

He became Duke of Normandy in 1028, succeeding his brother Richard III, Duke of Normandy, whom he was suspected of poisoning. In the 8th year of his reign, he set out on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Fatigue from the journed and the hot climate, weakened him and caused him to die on his return home in 1035, in Nice, Bithynia. William of Malmesbury recorded that his son William the Conqueror sent a mission to Constantinople and Nicea about 1086 to bring back his father's body, to be buried in Normandy. This mission travelled as far as Apulia, Italy on their return journey. Here they received word that William had died and they decided to re-inter Robert's body in Italy.

On his pilgrimage, he is said to have travelled barefoot and in such humble clothing that when he passed through a little town in France, a warder at the gate thought he was a beggar and struck him over the shoulders with a halbert. His friends wanted to avenge the insult, but he prevented it, saying, "Pilgrims ought to suffer for the love of God; I love his blow better than my city of Rouen."

When he reached Constantinople, he appeared in full state. His mule was even shod with silber shoes, which were purposely fastened on loosely so that they fell off and were a prize for the crowd. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he paid his devotions and made rich gifts at all of the holy shrines.



When his father died, his elder brother Richard III, succeeded as Duke of Normandy. Robert became Count of Hiemois. On the death of his brother, he succeeded. He is said to have received his nickname of "the Devil" or "le Diable" because he had his brother murdered. Another legend is that his mother was in dispair over not having a son and prayed to the devil for a son.


He had a mistress named Herleva, Herlette or Arlette of Falaise.

He had children:

1. Adeliza of Normandy, Countess of Aumale, b. 1029, named by Robert of Torigny in one place as full sister to William I and in another she is said to have had a different mother. She married 1. Engerrand II, Count of Ponthieu, 2. Lambert II, Count of Lens, 3. Odo II of Champagne


2. William the Conqueror, William I of England b. 1028


He is said to have sponsored monastic reform in Normandy.

Sources:
Gesta Normannorum Ducum

Royal & Noble Genealogical Data On the Web or Directory of Royal Genealogical Data
http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/genealogy/royal/

Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia Deluxe © 1999 The Learning Company, Inc.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2005, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_the_Magnificent

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/505506/Robert-the-Devil

A History of France‎ - Page 204
by George William Kitchin - France - 1892

Landmarks of History ...‎ - Page 21
by Charlotte Mary Yonge, Edith L. Chase - World history - 1867