Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester(died circa 21 October 1204) (Latinizedtode Bellomonte( "from the beautiful mountain" )) was anEnglishnobleman, the last of the Beaumont earls of Leicester. He is sometimes known asRobert FitzPernel.
Life[edit]
Robert was the eldest surviving son ofRobert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of LeicesterandPetronilla de Grandmesnil,[1]who was either a granddaughter or great-granddaughter ofHugh de Grandmesnil.Robert's older brother died in 1189.[1]As a young man, he accompaniedKing Richard I of Englandon theThird Crusade,and it was while the crusading forces rested atMessina,Sicilythat Robert was invested with theEarldom of Leicesteron 2 February 1191, following the death of his father in 1190 atDurazzowhile on his way to theHoly Land.[1]
Robert's newly gained estates included a large part of centralNormandy.He held castles at Pacy, Pont-Saint-Pierre and Grandmesnil. Earl Robert also was lord of the vast honour of Breteuil, but the family castle there had been dismantled after the1173-1174 War.On his return from the crusade, he turned his attention to the defence of Normandy from theFrench.After defendingRouenfrom the advances ofPhilip II of France,he attempted to retake his castle of Pacy. He was captured by forces of the French king and remained imprisoned for 3 years. Later, King John would bestow the new fortress and lordship of Radepont (the land of Radepont was traded to King John by the seigneur du Neubourg for lands and revenues in the pays de Caux) upon the earl.
Sometime after his release in 1196, he marriedLoretta de Braose,daughter ofWilliam de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber.They had no children, and Robert's death in 1204 brought the end of the Beaumont male line.
In the year of his death, Normandy was lost to the French; Earl Robert attempted to come to an independent arrangement with King Philip of France, in which he would hold his land in Normandy as a liege-vassal of the Kings of France, and his lands in England as a liege-vassal of the Kings of England. In any event, Robert died on 20 or 21 October 1204, and his large English estates were divided between the heirs of his two sisters. The eldest sister,Amice,had married the FrenchbaronSimon de Montfort,and their son, also namedSimon de Montfort,inherited half the estate as well as the title of Earl of Leicester. The younger sister, Margaret, had marriedSaer de Quincy,and they inherited the other half. Three years later Saer was createdEarl of Winchester.
References[edit]
- ^abc"Breteuil, Robert de, fourth earl of Leicester (d. 1204), magnate".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47202.Retrieved13 July2019.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)