Robert IV the Strong (Rutpert), Duke of Neustria

820 - 866  (46 years)

• Name	Robert IV the Strong (Rutpert)   [1]
  Suffix	Duke of Neustria
  Birth	820
  Gender	Male
  Name	Robert The Strong of Neustria
  _FSFTID	L4SB-2FB
  _FSLINK	https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=ancestor&person=L4SB-2FB
  Death	15 Sep 866  [2]
  	Cause: killed at the Battle of Brissarthe
  Notes	Count of Paris. http://www.hull.ac.uk/php/cssbct/cgi-bin/gedlkup.php/n=royal?royal05315 http://www3.sympatico.ca/robert.sewell/capet.html#gen13 Robert the Strong, Duke of Neustria, Count of Paris and Marquis of Anjou Died, slain at Brisarte on July 25, 866 Robert married a sister of Count Adelhelm of Leon and they had the following children: Eudes or Odo, born 856 and who was King of France 888-898 Robert (I), King of France Richilde who married Theobald, Count of Blois See map http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Neustria.JPG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_the_Strong «b»Robert the Strong From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia «/b»Map of early Frankland, showing Austrasia, where Robert the Strong originated, and Neustria, between the «u»Seine «/u» and «u»Loire «/u», where he held the most power. «b»Robert IV the Strong«/b» (also known as «b»Rutpert«/b») («u»820 «/u»-«u»September 15 «/u», «u»866«/u»), was «u»Margrave in Neustria «/u». His family is named after him and called «u»Robertians «/u». He was first nominated by «u»Charles the Bald «/u» «u»«i»missus dominicus «/u»«/i» in 853. Robert was the father of the kings «u»Odo «/u» and «u»Robert I of France «/u». Robert was the great-grandfather of «u»Hugh Capet «/u» and thus the ancestor of all the «u»Capetians «/u». His father was «u»Robert of Worms «/u». «b»Origins and rise to power «/b»While very little is known about the beginnings of the Robertian family, historians have been able to adduce that the family of nobles had its origins in «u»Hesbaye «/u». During the reign of «u»Louis the German«/u», the Robertian family moved from East Francia to «u»West Francia «/u». After his arrival in West Francia, Charles the Bald showed his favour of the family defecting from his enemy Louis by assigning Robert to the «u»lay abbacy «/u» of «u»Marmoutier «/u» in 852. In 853 the position of «i»missus dominicus«/i» in the provinces of «u»Maine «/u», «u»Anjou «/u», and «u»Touraine «/u» was given him and he had «i»de facto«/i» control of the ancient «u»«i»ducatus Cenomannicus «/u»«/i», a vast duchy centred on «u»Le Mans «/u» and corresponding to the «u»«i»regnum Neustriae «/u»«/i». Robert's rise came at the expense of the established family of the «u»Rorigonids «/u» and was designed to curb their regional power and to defend Neustria from «u»Viking «/u» and «u»Breton «/u» raids. «b»Revolt «/b»Despite the fact that he was a favoured noble of Charles, Robert joined a rebellion against the king in 858. He led the «u»Frankish «/u» nobles of Neustria with the Bretons under «u»Salomon «/u» in inviting Louis the German to invade West Francia and receive their homage. The revolt had been sparked by the marriage alliance between Charles and «u»Erispoe«/u», «u»Duke of Brittany «/u», and by the investment of «u»Louis the Stammerer «/u» with the «i»regnum Neustriae«/i» (856). These actions significantly curtailed the influence both of Salomon and Robert. Charles compensated Robert for the losses suffered in this civil war by giving him the counties of «u»Autun «/u» and «u»Nevers «/u» in «u»Burgundy «/u», which greatly enlarged his landholdings. In 856 he had to defend Autun from Louis the German following the death of «u»Lothair I «/u». But following Erispoe's assassination in November 857, both he and Salomon rebelled. Louis the German reached «u»Orléans «/u» in September 858 and received delegations from the Breton and Neustrian leaders, as well as from Pepin II. The Neustrian rebels had chased Louis the Stammerer from Le Mans, his capital, earlier that year. In 861, Charles made peace with Robert and appointed him «u»Count of Anjou «/u», even though he had been involved in the revolt. «b»War with Bretons and Vikings «/b»While count of Anjou, Robert was able to successfully defend the northern coast against the threat of a Viking invasion. In 862 Charles granted Louis the Stammerer, his son, the lay abbacy of «u»Saint Martin of Tours «/u», a small benefice in comparison with the kingdom he had received in 856 (and lost in 858). The young Louis rebelled and was quickly joined by Salomon, who supplied him with troops for a war against Robert. In 862 two groups of Vikings\emdash one the larger of two fleets recently forced out of the «u»Seine «/u» by Charles the Bald, the other a fleet returning from a «u»Mediterranean «/u» expedition\emdash converged on Brittany, where one (the Mediterranean) was hired by the Breton duke Salomon to ravage the Loire valley.«u»[1]«/u» Robert captured twelve of their ships, killing all on board save a few who fled. He then opened negotiations with the former Seine Vikings, and hired them against Salomon for 6,000 pounds of silver. The purpose of this was doubtless to prevent them from entering the service of Salomon.«u»[2]«/u» Probably Robert had to collect a large amount in taxes to finance what was effectively a non-«u»tributary «/u» «u»Danegeld «/u» designed to keep the Vikings out of Neustria.«u»[3]«/u» The treaty between the Franks and the Vikings did not last more than a year: in 863 Salomon made peace and the Vikings, deprived of an enemy, ravaged Neustria. Robert made war on Pepin II in his later years. In 863 he had to defend Autun again from Louis the German, this time after the death of «u»Charles of Provence «/u». Robert was in Neustria during 865 and 866, with Bretons and Vikings ravaging the environs of Le Mans. «b»Death and legacy «/b»In 866, Robert was killed at the «u»Battle of Brissarthe «/u» while, unsurprisingly, defending Francia against a joint Breton-Viking raiding party, led by «u»Salomon, Duke of Brittany«/u», and the Viking chieftain «u»Hastein «/u». During the battle, Robert had entrapped the Viking commander in a nearby church. Thinking he was not endangered, Robert took off his armour and began to besiege the church. Once Robert was unarmoured, the trapped Vikings launched a surprise attack and killed him before he had time to re-arm. His success against the Vikings led to his heroic characterisation as "a second «u»Maccabaeus «/u»" in the «u»«i»Annales Fuldenses «/u»«/i». The name of Robert's wife is not attested in «u»primary sources «/u». According to some modern scholars she was Adelaide or Adalais, a daughter of «u»Hugh of Tours «/u» (and thus an «u»Etichonid «/u») and the widow of «u»Conrad I of Auxerre «/u» (died 862), a «u»Welf «/u». Since Robert already had children by 862, Adelaide would have to have been his second wife. French genealogist «u»Christian Settipani «/u» has identified the source of this identification as the unreliable twelfth-century «u»«i»Chronicle of Saint-Bénigne de Dijon «/u»«/i», which was interpolated into the chronicle of «u»Alberic of Trois-Fontaines «/u».«u»[4]«/u» The «i»Europäische Stammtafeln«/i» has identified Robert's first wife as a certain Agane. Whatever the facts, two of Robert's sons became kings of France: Odo and Robert. «b»Sources «tab»«/b»Smith, Julia M. H. «i»Province and Empire: Brittany and the Carolingians«/i». Cambridge University Press: 1992. «u»ISBN 0-521-38285-8 «/u» «tab»Hummer, Hans J. «i»Politics and Power in Early Medieval Europe: Alsace and the Frankish Realm 600 \endash 1000«/i». Cambridge University Press: 2005. «u»ISBN 0-521-85441-2 «/u» «tab»Bradbury, Jim. «i»The Capetians, Kings of France 987-1328«/i». Hambledon Continuum: 2007. «u»ISBN 978-1-85285-528-4 «/u» «b»References «u»^«/u»«/b» Einar Joranson (1923), «i»The Danegeld in France«/i» (Rock Island: Augustana), 59\endash 61. «u»«b»^«/u»«/b» Robert probably expected Salomon to hire them to replace the defeated Mediterranean Vikings, then to attack Neustria from two sides: with the Viking ships ascending the Loire and Breton troops invading by land. «u»«b»^«/u»«/b» In 860\endash 1 Charles the Bald had collected a general tax to pay a Danegeld of 5,000 pounds. The king had probably authorised Robert's payment. «u»«b»^«/u»«/b» The «i»Chronicle of Saint-Bénigne«/i» names «i»Regine, que cum esset iuvencula fuit concubina Karoli Magni iam senioris«/i» as the wife of «i»Roberti Fortis marchionis«/i», but this Regina, concubine of «u»Charlemagne «/u», must have been born by 785 at the latest, since she had borne a son by 801. A marriage to Robert is chronologically implausible. Retrieved from "«u»<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_the_Strong>«/u»"
  Person ID	I2873	Glenn Cook Family
  Last Modified	26 Jan 2015

  
  

  Father	Robert III of Worms, Count of Worms   d. 822
  Mother	Waldrada (Wieldruth and Vendrie) of Worms,   b. 801   d. Yes, date unknown
  Marriage	819	Wormgau, Germany
  Family ID	F3242	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Aelis (Adelaide) of Tours,   b. Abt 819, Tours, Indre-et-loire, France d. Abt 866 (Age ~ 47 years)
  Children	1. Eudes (Odo) of France, King of France,   b. 856   d. 1 Jan 898, La Fère, France (Age 42 years)   2. Robert I of France, King of France,   b. 866, Bourgogne, France d. 15 Jun 923, Soissons, France (Age 57 years)   3. Richilde   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F790	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	19 Jun 2013

  
  

• Photos		Map of early Frankland Map of early Frankland, showing Austrasia, where Robert the Strong originated, and Neustria, between the Seine and Loire, where he held the most power.
  		Map of early Frankland Map of early Frankland, showing Austrasia, where Robert the Strong originated, and Neustria, between the Seine and Loire, where he held the most power.

  
  

• Sources

  [S36] Brian Tompsett, Dept of Computer Science, University of Hull, England(B.C.Tompsett@dcs.hull.ac.uk), Directory of Royal Genealogical Data, (This work is Copyright b 1994-2002 Brian C Tompsett). [S60] http://www3.sympatico.ca/robert.sewell/capet.html#gen13.