Robert I, Count of Artois

1216–1250

Robert I, Count of Artois, was a younger brother of Louis IX of France and a commander on the Seventh Crusade. His aggressive advance at al-Mansurah in 1250 helped turn an initial success into a disastrous battle in which he was killed.

Robert accompanied his brother Louis IX on the Seventh Crusade and became notorious for the aggressive decision that led a crusading vanguard into al-Mansurah in February 1250. The force became isolated in the city and was overwhelmed; Robert was killed along with many leading knights. His death helped turn an initially promising advance into a severe setback for the crusading army.

Robert Shea’s All Things Are Lights places Robert I beside his brother Louis IX during the Seventh Crusade. The fictional Roland de Vency follows the royal expedition from France to Egypt, and Robert’s headlong advance at al-Mansurah forms part of the historical disaster that traps the crusading vanguard and ends with the count’s death. The novel therefore uses Robert not as a distant name but as one of the commanders whose aggression and confidence help turn an apparent opportunity into a catastrophic reversal for Louis’s army.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Robert I, Count of Artois (2 series)

The Accursed Kings in Order

by Maurice Druon 7 books 4.2(8,269)

The Accursed Kings follows the French and English monarchies from the final year of Philip IV's reign in 1314 to the capture of John II at Poitiers and the political crisis of the late 1350s. Across seven novels, the direct Capetian line fails, the Valois dynasty takes the…

All books in this series

1. The Iron King

First published 1955 · 4.0(2,634)

Read more Amazon

2. The Strangled Queen

First published 1955 · 4.3(1,241)

Read more Amazon

3. The Poisoned Crown

First published 1956 · 4.4(940)

Read more Amazon

4. The Royal Succession

First published 1957 · 4.4(964)

Read more Amazon

5. The She-Wolf

First published 1959 · 4.4(886)

Read more Amazon

6. The Lily and the Lion

First published 1960 · 4.4(1,039)

Read more Amazon

7. The King without a Kingdom

First published 1977 · 3.6(565)

Read more Amazon

Plantagenet Saga in Order

by Jean Plaidy 14 books 4.1(16,124)

The Plantagenet Saga spans the dynasty from Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine to Richard III. Across fourteen novels, family rebellion, disputed succession, royal marriage and war connect the Angevin Empire, the conquest of Wales, conflict with Scotland, the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of the Roses.