Robert of Gloucester

“ The report of his sickness quickly gathered the nobility around him. Robert, too, his son, the earl of Gloucester, was present; who, from his unblemished fidelity and matchless virtue, has deserved to be especially signalized throughout all ages. Being interrogated by these persons, as to his successor, he awarded all his territories, on either side of the sea, to his daughter, in legitimate and perpetual succession ”

“ He made friends easily, but he made enemies no less easily. One of the most powerful of the barons was Robert, Earl of Gloucester, an illegitimate son of Henry I., who held the strong fortress of (p. 134) Bristol, and whose power extended over both sides of the lower course of the Severn. In 1138 Stephen, who distrusted him, ordered his castles to be seized. Robert at once declared his half-sister Matilda to be the lawful queen, and a terrible civil war began. Robert's garrison at Bristol was a terror to all the country round. He, too, gathered foreign mercenaries, who knew not what pity was. ”

“ A well-balanced compound of soldier, statesman and scholar was Earl Robert’s ideal no less than Count Geoffrey’s; an ideal so realized in his own person that he might safely be trusted to watch over its developement in the person of his little nephew. As far as the military element was concerned, the earl of Gloucester, with his matured experience and oft-proved valour, was no less capable than the count of Anjou of furnishing a model of all knightly prowess, skill and courtesy ”

“ Robert of Gloucester’s close connection, as thus indicated, with both South Wales and Normandy at once suggests that he must have taken a considerable interest in Welsh and Breton legendary lore. It is even possible that it was at his instance that Walter, the archdeacon, and Geoffrey embarked upon the quest which ultimately led to the discovery, real or alleged, of the “book in the British tongue,” and to its translation into Latin. ”

“ Osney and Worcester merely copy the usual story. Thomas Wykes has been quoted already. Roger of Hoveden simply copies Florence. Ralph the Black and Roger of Wendover at least give a little variety by copying the account in William of Malmesbury. It is not till we get to the English and French rimers, Robert of Gloucester and Peter Langtoft, that we come to anything worthy of much notice or anything showing any imagination. Robert of Gloucester tells the story of the dream, attributing it to a monk, but not saying of what monastery. ”

“ It may be, however, that the good Earl did not see these less promising characteristics of his ward; for, after five years of the boy’s residence at Bristol, and the old desultory warfare between the partisans of King and Empress, Count Geoffrey sent for his son, to take leave of him before going on a crusade; and while Henry was absent, Earl Robert died, in 1147. It speaks much for Henry Beauclerc’s court that such men should have grown up in it as Robert of Gloucester and David of Scotland. ”

“ It was a sorry excuse, for King Robert and his brother were devastating the northern counties with fire and sword, and it gave new ground to the suspicion of an understanding between the Scottish king and the ordainers. But the victor of Bannockburn showed surprising moderation. He suffered the bodies of Gloucester and the slain barons to be buried among their ancestors, and released Gloucester's father-in-law, Monthermer, without ransom, declaring that the thing in the world which he most desired was to live in peace with the English. ”

“ The first example I remember of this delicacy (it ought not to be called mawkishness) is in Robert of Gloucester, writing about 1300. When describing the tortures in­flicted by King John on his subjects in 1216, and the death of the Earl Marshal on an Irish field in 1234, the old rimer uses Latin terms instead of certain En­glish words that would jar upon our taste. [29] But a leech who flourished eighty years after Robert's time is far more plain-spoken, when describing his cures, made at Newark and London. [30] Indeed, he is as little mealy-mouthed as Orrmin himself. ”

“ One-third of the geld was paid to Geoffrey de Coutances, bishop of Exeter, who threw up the earthworks of the castle. He joined in a rebellion against William II., and after his death the king granted the town and castle, as part of the honour of Gloucester, to Robert FitzHamon, whose daughter Mabel, marrying Earl Robert of Gloucester in 1119, brought him Bristol as her dowry. Earl Robert still further strengthened the castle, probably with masonry, and involved Bristol in the rebellion against Stephen. ”

“ Yet he began his misrule not without some method. The power of Robert of Gloucester lay chiefly in his influence with the great earls who represented the families of the Conquest. Stephen also would have a court of great earls, but in trying to make himself friends he raised up persistent enemies. He raised new men to new earldoms, but as he had no spare domains to bestow, he endowed them with pensions charged on the Exchequer: thus impairing the crown revenue at the moment that his personal authority was becoming endangered. ”

“ At the time of the dispute with Robert of Gloucester on the subject of precedence, Stephen professed that his gratitude to the king impelled him to be the first to offer allegiance to Matilda; but his whole course of action at this period shows that his designs upon the English crown were fully matured. He exerted himself to attain popularity among the people, as well as among the barons. His daring and gallantry secured him the admiration of the Normans, while his affable and familiar manners, joined to a generosity without stint, obtained the affections of the people. ”

“ Gloucester is in hot siege; nothing but the obdurate valour of a few men there prevents the King, with Prince Rupert, called also Prince Robert and Prince Robber, from riding roughshod over us. [7] The City, with much emotion, ranks its Trained Bands under Essex; making up an Army for him, despatches him to relieve Gloucester. He marches on the 26th; steadily along, in spite of rainy weather and Prince Rupert ”

“ Swimming a river was no uncommon feat amongst the heavy-armed soldiery of those days. Robert of Gloucester swam the Trent before the battle of Lincoln, when the fords were impassable from floods. Fordun (or Bowyer) , frightened perhaps at the idea of the king and his men-at-arms swimming the Moray Firth, places the battle at the Spey, and divides the honour of the feat with Sir Alexander Scrimgeour. He and Boece are eloquent about the escape of Alexander from the treachery of one of his chamberlains in league with the enemy ”

“ In such an age the first occupant passes uninspired over subjects which might kindle the highest enthusiasm in the poet of a riper period, as the savage treads unconsciously in his deserts over mines of incalculable value, without sagacity to discover or inplements to explore them.' We give the following extracts from Robert of Gloucester's poem:—
THE SPOUTS AND SOLEMNITIES WHICH FOLLOWED KING ARTHUR'S CORONATION. The king was to his palace, tho the service was ydo, [1]
Yled with his meinie, [2] and the queen to her also. ”

“ The really important fact is this: that we have a continuous chain of evidence, proving that "Robert, the king's son," was not yet Earl of Gloucester, at least as late as April-May, 1121.
Against this weight of accumulated evidence what is there? Absolutely nothing but that Tewkesbury charter, which is quoted from Dugdale's Monasticon, where it is quoted from a mere Inspeximus of the 10th Henry IV. (1408-9) , some three centuries after its alleged date! ”

“ In the year 1137, Robert, Earl of Gloucester, having organised an extensive confederacy, quitted his estates, and having crossed the Channel, sent to the king a formal letter of defiance. Other great barons also, on the ground that the promises made to them had not been fulfilled, renounced their homage, and retired to their strongholds, Stephen displayed at this crisis the highest valour and activity, and a desultory warfare took place between the king and his disaffected nobles. ”

“ He therefore offered to do homage on condition that the kin fulfilled all his promises, and never invaded any of the rights of Robert. Thus a pretext was afforded for revolt at any moment, and the Earl of Gloucester, who was a man of considerable abilities and military reputation, occupied himself in promoting a spirit of disaffection among the nobles. The right which the English barons had obtained of erecting fortified castles was exercised to the utmost. Strong fortresses rapidly arose in all parts of the kingdom, and were garrisoned with licentious soldiery, native and foreign. ”

“ Bishop Robert was undoubtedly a great man, and his reputation for fine character, bravery, and ability was well deserved.
Gilbert Foliot, A.D. 1148-1163, the next Bishop, had been consecrated as Abbot of St. Peter's, Gloucester, by Bishop Robert, with whom he had contracted an early friendship as far back as 1139.
On the death of Bishop Robert, he was consecrated at St. Omer. He assisted at the consecration of Becket at Canterbury, and the next year was transferred to the See of London. He was followed by Robert of Maledon, A.D. 1163-1168, said to have been remarkably wise. ”

“ For William Rufus, son of the Conqueror and second Norman king of England, held his Whitsuntide gemot, or summer council of his lords and lieges, in the curious old Roman-Saxon-Norman town of Gloucester, in the fair vale through which flows the noble Severn. The city is known to the young folk of to-day as the one in which good Robert Raikes started the first Sunday-school more than a hundred years ago. ”

“ Parts of the walls can be traced, and many remains and coins have been found, though inscriptions (as is frequently the case in Britain) are somewhat scarce. Its situation on a navigable river, and the foundation in 681 of the abbey of St Peter by Æthelred favoured the growth of the town; and before the Conquest Gloucester was a borough governed by a portreeve, with a castle which was frequently a royal residence, and a mint. The first overlord, Earl Godwine, was succeeded nearly a century later by Robert, earl of Gloucester. ”

“ Even Matthew adds that Robert was supplied with every luxury, and had six knights to wait upon him. In 1119 Henry declared that he was keeping his brother ‘as a noble pilgrim, worn out with many troubles, reposing in a royal citadel (in arce regia) , with abundance of delicacies and comforts.’ Arx regia probably means the Tower. Nine years later (1128) Robert was in the castle of Devizes. His last years were spent in that of Cardiff, in the custody of Robert, earl of Gloucester [q. v.] ”

“ Robert, in making his recension of it, also used the Brut of Layamon. From 1135 to 1256 Robert is still a compiler, although references to oral tradition become more frequent as he approaches his own time. From 1256 to 1270 he has the value of a contemporary authority. But he is more important to the philologist than to the historian. ”

“ Lord Scrope, the ardent supporter of Gloucester, succeeded Lord Hungerford as Treasurer, while care was taken to displace men of Beaufort sympathies from positions which entailed personal attendance on the King. Accordingly Lord Cromwell was dismissed from the post of Chamberlain in favour of Sir William Philip, and Lord Tiptoft, the Steward of the Household, made way for Sir Robert Babthorp, who had instructions to make all haste to take up his office at once. ”

“ The work is characterised by a love of truth, much more critical faculty in sifting evidence than was then common, and considerable attention to literary form. It is dedicated to Robert, Earl of Gloucester, the champion of Queen Matilda. Other works by W. are De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum, Lives of the English Bishops, and a history of the Monastery of Glastonbury. ”

“ The empress swore, and pledged her faith to the bishop, that all matters of importance in England, and especially the bestowing of bishoprics and abbeys, should await his decision, if he, with the holy church, would receive her as sovereign, and observe perpetual fidelity towards her. Her brother, Robert, earl of Gloucester, swore as she did, and pledged his faith for her, as did also Brian Fitz-count, lord Marcher [5] of Wallingford, and Milo of Gloucester, afterwards earl of Hereford, with some others. ”

“ FRAMPTON, ROBERT (1622–1708) , bishop of Gloucester, was born at Pimperne, near Blandford in Dorsetshire, 26 Feb. 1622. He was the youngest of eight children, his father being a respectable farmer. He was educated at the Blandford grammar school, whence he went to Oxford as an exhibitioner at Corpus Christi College. ”

“ But he hardly deserves the extravagant praise which is lavished upon him by William of Malmesbury. The sympathies of the chronicler are too obviously influenced by the earl’s munificence towards literary men. ”

“ Malm. ii. 725) . Stephen promptly besieged Wallingford, but failing to take it, retired, leaving a blockading force (Gesta, pp. 57–8) . But the blockade was raised, and Brian relieved by a dashing attack from Gloucester (ib. p. 59) . Thenceforth Wallingford, throughout the war, was a thorn in Stephen's side, and Brian was one of the three chief supporters of the empress, the other five being her brother Robert and Miles of Gloucester [q. v.] These three attended her on her first visit to Winchester (March 1141) , and were sureties for her to the legate (Will. Malm. ii. 743) . ”

“ All these matters were carefully noted by the discontented Duke of Gloucester, still more morose from the king's refusal of his daughter, on the plea of her being too near akin. Gloucester, during the whole marriage visit to France, did not conceal his hostility to the alliance. It was in vain that the king made him rich presents to win his good-will. He was still sullen, morose, and destitute of all courtesy, returning the attentions of the nobles with abrupt and curt answers, so that they said amongst themselves, if ever Gloucester could stir up a war he would. ”