Page:Imperialdictiona03eadi Brandeis Vol3b.pdf/77

ROB  proceedings, which disturbed the tranquillity of the country, and in the end hastened a rupture with England. The truce with that kingdom, which lasted a considerable number of years, expired at this juncture. The borderers on both sides renewed their destructive inroads, and at last the English king, Henry IV., invaded Scotland at the head of an enormous army, but was obliged to retreat without accomplishing anything of importance. Shortly after the conclusion of this campaign, the jealousy which had long existed between Prince David and his crafty uncle came to a head. Albany induced the king to believe that the excesses of his son required restraint, and the unhappy youth was arrested, and conveyed to Falkland, where he was shut up in a dungeon and starved to death. The guilt of this tragic event is usually ascribed to Albany, and he undoubtedly reaped all the advantage which resulted from it. He became once more governor of the country, and sent an army of ten thousand men to invade England, under his eldest son Murdoch, and the earl of Douglas. They were intercepted on their way home at Homildon, near Wooler, and defeated with great slaughter.—(See .) This calamity was followed by the capture of James, the only surviving son of King Robert, on his voyage to France.—(See I.) The poor old monarch was completely heart-broken by these disasters, and died soon after, 4th April, 1406, in the sixteenth year of his reign; and Albany obtained the great object of his ambition, the undisputed regency of the kingdom.—J. T.  ROBERT, King of France, was elected sovereign on the death of his brother Eudes in 898, by the party opposed to the accession of Charles the Simple, the legitimate heir. He was acknowledged as monarch in an assembly held at Soissons in 922, and was consecrated by the archbishop of Sens, in the church of St. Remi at Rheims. But his nominal reign was a short one—he fell in battle against his rival, Charles the Simple, near Soissons, on the 15th of June, 923. Robert was the grandfather of Hugh Capet, the founder of the third dynasty of French rulers.—J. J.  ROBERT, surnamed or the Devout, King of France, was the son of Hugh Capet, and, on his father's death in 996, ascended the vacant throne. Although in doing so he encountered no opposition, his subsequent reign was less tranquil than his predecessor's. He had married in 995, in opposition to the canons of the church, Bertha of Burgundy, widow of Eudes count of Blois, and his own cousin in the fourth degree, for one of whose children he had also stood godfather. In these circumstances Pope Gregory V. excommunicated Robert, and laid the kingdom under an interdict. The French sovereign was obliged to yield. With the profoundest regret he separated from Bertha in 998, and thereafter espoused Constance, daughter of the count of Toulouse, a haughty and vindictive princess, but said to be one of the greatest beauties of her time. In 1022 Robert associated his eldest son Hugh with himself in the regal power. The cruelty of his mother, however, soon drove Hugh to revolt. His father subdued and pardoned him, and on his decease not long after, he elevated his second son Henry in his stead. Constance preferred the third son Robert, and her behaviour forced Henry, like his elder brother before him, to rebellion. It too was suppressed, and this was speedily followed by the death of King Robert, who expired at Melun, 1031, in the sixty-first year of his age. Robert was good-natured and gentle, and really merited the appellation of "devout," although his religion partook very largely of a superstitious character. His charity was ardent, genuine, and extensive.—J. J.  ROBERT, surnamed, Duke of Normandy, and father of William the Conqueror, was the younger brother of Duke Richard III., and the son of that Duke Richard II. whose sister Emma had been wedded, first to King Ethelred of England, and afterwards to Canute the Great. Robert actively aided in the maintenance of Henry I. on the throne of France during the civil war excited by the mother of the latter, Constance of Provence, in favour of her younger son. When Duke Robert's illegitimate son William was only seven years old, his father resolved to undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. As he had governed his states wisely, his people heard of his intention with alarm and regret; but he persisted in its fulfilment, and making them promise fealty to the boy as his successor in the duchy, he departed. He appears to have had a strong presentiment that he should not return, and he never did; for he died about a year afterwards, 1035, on his way home from Palestine.—J. J.  ROBERT II., surnamed, Duke of Normandy, was the eldest son of William the Conqueror, by Matilda, daughter of Baldwin V., earl of Flanders. His history was marked by much vicissitude. Before departing for the subjugation of England his father had promised, if he should prove successful, to resign to him the duchy, but afterwards refused to do so, and this led to an unnatural war between the father and the son. They were, however, subsequently reconciled, and when William died he left Normandy to Robert. Robert's younger brothers, William Rufus and Henry Beauclerc, who consecutively mounted the English throne, made various attempts to acquire possession of his inheritance. Henry was finally successful, and the protracted and sanguinary battle of Tinchebrai, fought on the 28th September, 1106, resulted in the utter ruin of Robert and his cause. The defeated duke was condemned by his merciless brother to confinement for life, and according to some accounts was also cruelly deprived of his eyesight. His adventurous and romantic career was terminated by his death in Cardiff castle twenty-eight years afterwards, at the age of eighty, in February, 1135. With all his faults Robert had many generous and heroic qualities, which peculiarly endeared him to his friends when living, and, in conjunction with his great misfortunes, caused him to be mourned when dead.—J. J.  ROBERT, surnamed , was the son of Charles II., king of Naples. On his decease in 1305 the crown descended to the eldest son, Charles Martel, king of Hungary, and on the death of that monarch, to his son Carobert, the reigning sovereign of that country. Robert disputed this order of succession, and as the eldest surviving son of Charles II. claimed the crown for himself. The question was argued before Pope Clement V. at Avignon, and for reasons more justifiable on political than legal grounds, judgment was given in favour of Robert. From this time he devoted himself to the cause of the Guelph faction, and the maintenance of the papal influence against the Ghibelines in Lombardy, and the two emperors, Henry VII. and Louis of Bavaria. In 1313 he received from Clement V. the title of the vicar of the empire in Italy. Genoa having, in 1318, placed itself under his protection, he defended it in person against the attacks of the Ghibeline lords. Between 1314 and 1325 he twice essayed to conquer Sicily, but each time without success, Robert encouraged letters. Petrarca and Boccaccio both found an asylum at his court. He died in 1343 without male issue. The crown descended to his granddaughter Joanna, the wife of Andreas, son of Carobert, king of Hungary.—W. J. P.  ROBERT, Count d'Artois, surnamed and, was born in 1216, and was the third son of Louis VIII., and brother of St. Louis. Pope Gregory IX., during his quarrel with Frederick, offered the empire of Germany to this prince, which, however, he had the wisdom to decline. Robert accompanied his brother in his memorable crusade, and displayed remarkable bravery at the battle of Mansourah in 1250. His daring impetuosity carried everything before it, and drove the enemy from the field; but having rashly pursued the fugitives too far, he was killed.—J. T.  ROBERT II., Count of Artois, posthumous son of the preceding, bore the same surnames with his father. He accompanied St. Louis in his second crusade in 1270, and distinguished himself greatly by his exploits against the Saracens. He chastised the rebellious Navarrese after the Sicilian vespers, brought powerful succours to his uncle Charles I. of Naples, was regent of that kingdom during the captivity of Charles II., defeated the Arragonese in Sicily, the English near Bayonne, in 1296, and in the following year gained a signal victory over the Flemings at Furnes. His only son, Philip, however, was mortally wounded at his side in that conflict, and Robert himself fell in battle with the Flemings at Courtrai in 1302. He was one of the bravest and best generals of his age; but his valour, like that of his father, was unfortunately accompanied by rashness, which proved fatal to both. His daughter Mahaut carried the county of Artois as her marriage portion to Otho, duke of Burgundy.—J. T. <section end="77H" /> <section begin="77Zcontin" />ROBERT III., Count of Artois, grandson of the preceding, was born in 1287. He contested the right of his aunt to the province of Artois, but ultimately received in lieu of it the district of Beaumont-le-Roger. He continued, however, eagerly to press his claims to Artois, and is accused by the French writers both of having poisoned his aunt, and of having endeavoured to assassinate the king, Philip of Valois, who had refused to countenance his pretensions. He was in consequence banished the kingdom. He took refuge in England, and in order to be revenged on Philip, urged Edward III. to lay claim to the throne <section end="77Zcontin" />