Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 49.djvu/107

  (1707–1784), medallist and goldsmith, the eldest son of Norbert Roettiers, by his second wife, was born at St. Germain-en-Laye on 20 Aug. 1707, the elder Pretender being his godfather. He at first practised medal engraving, but subsequently devoted himself with success to the business of a goldsmith, and was appointed goldsmith to the French king. On the death of his father in 1727 he was appointed ‘engraver of the mint’ of the Pretender. In 1731 he came to London with a project of striking medals from the dies made by his grandfather, John Roettiers. He was encouraged by Mead and Sloane, and himself produced medals of the Duke of Beaufort (1730), John Locke (1739), and Sir Isaac Newton (1739). His signature is. He became a member of the French Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and in 1772 obtained ‘lettres de confirmation de noblesse.’ He died at Paris on 17 May 1784.

[For authorities see under .] 

ROGER (fl. 1071-1075). [See .]

ROGER (d. 1093?), was of the Norman family of Montgomery. In the foundation charter for the abbey of Troarn he describes himself as ‘ego Rogerius ex Normanno Normannus, magni autem Rogerii filius’ (, Rot. Normanniæ, . lxiii, . xciii). He was son of Roger the Great, who in 1035 was an exile at Paris for treachery, and was a cousin not only of the Conqueror, but also of Ralph de Mortimer (d. 1104?) [q. v.] and of William FitzOsbern [q. v.] His brothers, Hugh, Robert, William, and Gilbert, took a prominent part in the disorders of Normandy under the young Duke William; it was William de Montgomery who murdered Osbern, the duke's steward, and father of William FitzOsbern (, 268 B, 313 A). The young Roger, however, soon became one of William's most attached and trusted supporters. In 1048 he was with the duke before Domfront, and was one of the spies who discovered the hasty flight of Geoffrey Martel (, pp. 182–3;, Gesta Regum, ii. 288). Roger added to his paternal estate as lord of Montgomery and viscount of L'Hiemois by marrying Mabel, daughter of William Talvas of Bellême, Alençon, and Séez, and thus became the greatest of the Norman lords. His influence with William was great. By inducing the duke to give the castle of Neufmarché-en-Lions to Hugh de Grantmesnil he rid himself of a dangerous neighbour, while by his advice Ralph of Toesny, Hugh de Grantmesnil, and Arnold d'Echaufour were for a time banished from Normandy ( ii. 81, 113). Roger was present at the council of Lillebonne in 1066, and agreed to contribute sixty ships for the invasion of England. At Hastings he was in command of the French on the right, and distinguished himself by his valour in killing an English giant (, 7668–9, 13400). He returned with William to Normandy in 1067, and when the king went over to England was left as guardian of the duchy jointly with Matilda ( ii. 178). But William soon summoned Roger to rejoin him, and made him Earl of Chichester and Arundel.

About 1071 Roger obtained also the more important earldom of Shrewsbury, which, if it was not a true palatinate, possessed under Roger and his sons all the characteristics of such a dignity. In Shropshire there were no crown lands and no king's thegns; and in ‘Domesday’ there is mention of only five lay tenants in chief, besides the earl (Domesday, p. 253;, Const. Hist. i. 294–5; , Norman Conquest, iv. 493). The importance of this earldom and the need for its exceptional strength lay in its position on the Welsh border. Roger's special share in the conquest was achieved at the expense of the Welsh. This work was accomplished by politic government, and by a well-devised scheme of castle-building. Chief of his castles was that of Montgomery, to which he gave the name of his Norman lordship (, iv. 52, xi. 118). The chief of Roger's advisers were Warin, the sheriff, who married his niece, Amieria; William Pantulf or Pantolium [q. v.]; and Odelerius, his chaplain, the father of Ordericus Vitalis ( ii. 220). But though Roger is praised by Ordericus, he does not seem to have been so popular with his English subjects, for the English burgesses of Shrewsbury complained that they had to pay the same geld as before the earl held the castle (Domesday, p. 252). Roger exerted himself to bring about the peace of Blanchelande between William and Fulk Rechin of Anjou in 1078, and to effect a reconciliation between the king and his son Robert in the following year ( ii. 257, 388). In December 1082 his Countess Mabel was killed by Hugh de la Roche d'Igé at Bures-sur-Dives. Mabel was a little woman, sagacious and eloquent, but bold and cruel (, p. 275). Among other ill deeds, she had deprived Pantulf of Perai. Pantulf, who was a friend