Robert of Bellême ( – after 1130), seigneur de Bellême (or Belèsme), seigneur de Montgomery, viscount of the Hiémois, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and Count of Ponthieu, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, and one of the most prominent figures in the competition for the succession to England and Normandy between the sons of William the Conqueror. He was a member of the powerful House of Bellême.

Robert became notorious for his alleged cruelty. Referring to his activities in the rebellion against Henry I of 1110–1112, the chronicler Orderic Vitalis, in Book XI of his Historia Ecclesiastica, calls Robert "grasping and cruel, an implacable persecutor of the Church of God and the poor ... unequalled for his iniquity in the whole Christian era", as well as "the tyrant who had disturbed the land and was preparing to add still worse crimes to his many offences of plundering and burning". The stories of his brutality may have inspired the legend of Robert the Devil.

Early life

Robert was the oldest surviving son of Roger of Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Mabel de Bellême, born probably between 1052 and 1056.Cokayne, George Edward, The Complete Peerage; or, a History of the House of Lords and all its Members from the Earliest Times, Vol XI, ed. Geoffrey H. White (London: St. Catherine Press, 1949), p. 689 In 1070 after the death of his great-uncle Yves Bishop of Séez his parents brought him to Bellême, which at that time became his mother's inheritance, and as the oldest surviving son it would eventually be his.Cokayne, George Edward, The Complete Peerage; or, a History of the House of Lords and all its Members from the Earliest Times, Vol XI, ed. Geoffrey H. White (London: St. Catherine Press, 1949), p. 690

In 1073, when the Conqueror invaded Maine, Robert was knighted by William at the siege of Fresnay castle.Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Vol. II, trans. Thomas Forester (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854), p. 75 By now, probably of age and independent of his father, he took part in the 1077 revolt of the young Robert Curthose against Duke William. When Robert's mother, Mabel, was killed , Robert inherited her vast estatesMason, J. F. A., "Roger de Montgomery and His Sons (1067–1102)", Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th series vol. 13 (1963) p. 13 but at this point Duke William took the added precaution of garrisoning the Bellême castles with his own soldiers, which was his ducal right.Hollister, C. Warren, Henry I (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2003), p. 65 On hearing the news of William the Conqueror's death in 1087, Robert's first act was to expel the ducal garrisons from all his castles.

Rebellion of 1088

At the end of 1087 Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy was told of a plot to place him on the throne of England in his brother William II's place, a plot that Duke Robert enthusiastically approved and supported.Aird, William M., Robert 'Curthose', Duke of Normandy (C. 1050–1134) (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2008), p. 110 Robert, his brother Hugh de Montgomery and a third brother, either Roger or Arnulf, participated in this rebellion.Chandler, Victoria, "The Last of the Montgomerys: Roger the Poitevin and Arnulf", Historical Research, Vol. 62, No. 147 (February 1989), p. 3 & n. 7 The main conspirators, however, were Odo of Bayeux, Eustace III, Count of Boulogne, Robert de Mowbray, Geoffrey de Montbray, Earl Roger de Montgomery and other disaffected Magnates. The next year in the Rebellion of 1088, beginning at Easter the rebels burned and wasted the king's properties and those of his followers.The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, trans. James Ingram (Middlesex: Echo Library, 2007), p. 137 At some point, Roger of Montgomery detached himself from supporting Robert Curthose through negotiations with the king.<ref>Strevett, Neil, "The Antlo-Norman Civil War of 1101 Reconsidered", Anglo-Norman Studies, XXVL, Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2003''', ed. John Gillingham (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2004), p. 160</ref> Finally Robert was among the rebels who found themselves defending Rochester Castle.Barlow, Frank, William Rufus (Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1983), p. 81 When William Rufus blockaded the town and built two counter-castles, the garrison began negotiating for surrender under honourable terms, being allowed to keep their lands and serve the king. This Rufus refused; he was furious and had initially wanted the traitors hanged, "or by some other form of execution utterly removed from the face of the earth."Bosnos, Karen, "Treason and Politics in Anglo-Norman Histories", Feud, Violence and Practice: Essays in Medieval Studies in Honor of Stephen D. White ed. Belle S. Tuten (Burlington, VT; Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2010), p. 299 Roger of Montgomery and other great barons interceded with the King, Earl Roger on behalf of his sons, until finally, in July, a semi-honorable surrender was negotiated between the king and the rebels. Rufus, albeit reluctantly, guaranteed the rebels' life and limb and gave them safe conduct.Aird, William M., Robert 'Curthose', Duke of Normandy (C. 1050–1134) (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2008), p. 115

Return to Normandy

Coincidentally, Robert sailed back to Normandy in the company of Count Henry (later king Henry I), who had not been part of the conspiracy against his brother William Rufus.Hollister, C. Warren, Henry I ( New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2003), pp. 62–3 However well they got along on the voyage, they were destined to become bitter enemies. One thing more they shared in common was the extreme resentment by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux who, banished from England, had returned to Normandy ahead of Henry and Robert. Henry at just 20 years of age was now Odo's overlord, which Odo strongly resented, and Robert de Bellême was a powerful and dangerous disruptive force in Normandy now free to do as he would. Odo, who held great sway over Duke Robert, convinced him that both Henry and his travel companion Robert were now conspiring with William Rufus against the duke. Both Henry and Robert were seized as they disembarked and, both placed in the Bishop's custody, were imprisoned; Henry at Bayeux and Robert at Neuilly-l'Évêque, now Neuilly-la-Forêt.

On hearing his son was imprisoned, Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, immediately went to Normandy and put all his castles in a state of readiness against the duke.Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Vol. II, trans. Thomas Forester (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854), p. 452 At this point, the Montgomery family was in a state of rebellion against Robert Curthose.Thompson, Kathleen, "Robert of Bellême Reconsidered", Anglo-Norman Studies XIII; Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1990, ed. Marjorie Chibnall (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1991), p. 270 Bishop Odo now instigated Duke Robert to take all the castles of Robert by force and the duke gathered an army and proceeded against them. Duke Robert first attacked Ballon and after losses on both sides, the castle surrendered.Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Vol. II, trans. Thomas Forester (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854), p. 455 Moving on to the castle of Saint-Céneri where the family of Robert was residing, Robert Quarrel had been told by Earl Roger to resist the duke at all costs, and this was done until the provisions eventually failed.Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Vol. II, trans. Thomas Forester (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854), p. 456 Duke Robert was so enraged at such resistance he blinded Robert Quarrel and mutilated the castle defenders. At this point, the duke lost interest in attempting to capture any more of Robert de Bellême's castles; he dissolved the forces and returned to Rouen. Earl Roger sent peace envoys to the duke and convinced him to release his son Robert, which the fickle duke finally did.Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Vol. II, trans. Thomas Forester (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854), p. 457 The price of his son's release, however, was the castle of Saint-Céneri, which Duke Robert gave to Robert Giroie as castellan. The Giroies had long held the castle until, as punishment for their rebellion in the 1060s, William the Conqueror gave this castle and other Giroie lands to Roger de Montgomery, who, as a member of the Bellême family, was also considered their nemesis.

By 1090, Robert was back in Robert Curthose's good graces, Orderic Vitalis calling him a "principal councilor" to duke Robert.Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Vol. II, trans. Thomas Forester (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854), p. 476 He supported Curthose in putting down a revolt by the citizens of Rouen, in 1090,Mason, J. F. A., "Roger de Montgomery and His Sons (1067–1102)", Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th series vol. 13 (1963) p. 19 and took considerable numbers of the citizens captive, throwing them into dungeons.Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Vol. II, trans. Thomas Forester (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854), pp. 502–3 According to Robert of Torigni in 1092, the inhabitants of Domfront, long a Bellême-Montgomery stronghold, invited Henry, the duke's younger brother to take possession of Domfront.Hollister, C. Warren, Henry I (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2003), pp. 86–7 & n. 250 Apparently, they had grown weary of Robert's oppressive and abusive style of lordship. No explanation was offered for what happened to Robert's garrison contingent or who exactly facilitated the bloodless takeover. In addition, Robert had requested that same year to hold Bellême of the French crown instead of the Duke of Normandy.

In 1094, Robert's father, Earl Roger, died.Schwennicke, Detlev, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 4 (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1989), Tafel 637 Robert's younger brother Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury inherited the English lands and titles, while Robert inherited his father's Norman properties, which included good part of central and southern Normandy, in part adjacent to the Bellême territories he had already inherited from his mother.Cokayne, George Edward, The Complete Peerage; or, a History of the House of Lords and all its Members from the Earliest Times, Vol XI, ed. Geoffrey H. White (London: St. Catherine Press, 1949), pp. 688, 689–691

William Rufus (1096–1100)

In 1096, Robert Curthose took up the cross on the First Crusade and left the custody of the duchy to his brother William Rufus, King of England. Robert regained the favour of Rufus, and both he and his brothers were in his service on several occasions. In 1098 he captured Elias I, Count of Maine for Rufus, a significant feat.Mason, J. F. A., "Roger de Montgomery and His Sons (1067–1102)", Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th series vol. 13 (1963) p. 20

In 1098, Robert's younger brother Hugh died, and Robert inherited, on payment of £3,000 in relief, the English properties that had been their father's, including the Rape of Arundel and the Earldom of Shrewsbury.C. Warren Hollister, Henry I (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2003), p. 155 Robert had also acquired the countship of Ponthieu jure uxoris'' and the honour of Tickhill; all of which combined made him the wealthiest magnate in both England and Normandy.