Robert Curthose

Robert Curthose was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and duke of Normandy from 1087 until 1106. His relationship with his father and younger brothers was marked by repeated conflict over authority and inheritance. When William I died, Normandy passed to Robert while England went to William Rufus, creating rival centres of family power. Robert joined the First Crusade in 1096 and gained a strong military reputation during the expedition, including at the siege and capture of Jerusalem.

Returning to Europe after the crusade, Robert faced the changed politics created by William Rufus’s death and Henry I’s seizure of the English throne. He attempted to press his own claim to England but eventually reached an agreement with Henry. Their rivalry continued in Normandy, where Robert’s weak political position and disputes among nobles gave Henry an opportunity to intervene. In 1106 Henry defeated Robert at Tinchebray, took control of Normandy and imprisoned his brother for the remainder of his life. Robert died in captivity at Cardiff Castle in 1134.

Alfred Duggan’s Knight with Armour follows a poor Norman knight into Robert Curthose’s contingent on the First Crusade, presenting the duke as one of the major princes whose rivalries and decisions shape the march to Jerusalem. The Story of the Crusades, 1097–1291 places Robert in the historical leadership of that expedition and the establishment of the crusader states. Tracy Borman’s Matilda examines the family context behind his conflict with William the Conqueror and his brothers. Griff Hosker’s Traitor’s Arrow moves to the succession crisis after William Rufus’s death, when Robert’s claim to England competes with Henry I’s rapid seizure of the crown. In The Castle, the consequences of Henry’s victory at Tinchebray and Robert’s defeat form part of the Norman political order in which the fictional estate struggle unfolds.