. Name of three counts of Flanders. Robert I the Frisian (r. 1071-93), the younger son of Count Baudouin V, usurped the countship from his nephew Arnulf III in 1071. Robert had married the widow of Count Florence I of Holland and Frisia, hence his nickname. Robert quickly repaired his diplomatic fences by marrying his stepdaughter, Bertha, to King Philip I of France, who had supported Arnulf III, and by supporting Philip against William of Normandy and England. Robert I and his son Robert II (r. 1093-1111) extended their influence in the bishopric and city of Cambrai, detaching the diocese of Arras from it in the interests of having a purely Flemish archbishopric outside the empire. The first significant evidence of the Flemish central administration comes from the period of Robert I, with the attachment of the chancery to the provostship of the church of Saint-Donatien of Bruges.
Robert II, known as Robert of Jerusalem for his participation in the First Crusade, became an active church reformer under the influence of his wife, Clementia, whose
Brother would become Pope Calixtus II. The Cluniac rule was introduced at Saint-Martin de Tournai, Saint-Bertin, and Bergues-Saint-Winoc. Robert proclaimed a peace in 1111, shortly before he died, forbidding the construction of fortifications without his authorization. He extended the local governmental organizations based on the castellanies introduced by Baudouin V.
Robert III de Bethune (r. 1305-22), the son of Gui de Dampierre, had to implement the Peace of Athis, which provided a huge indemnity to France in return for the restoration of the Dampierres to governance in Flanders. Realizing that the financial terms were impossible, Philip IV agreed to take the towns and castellanies of Lille, Douai, and Orchies from Flanders in exchange for part of the indemnity. This caused resentment, as did the demand that the Flemings indemnify Francophile patricians who had fled in 1302 and demolish their fortifications. The issue of further concessions to the French divided Robert’s sons Louis I de Nevers and Robert de Cassel. To secure his position in Flanders, Robert III became more independent of the crown and was condemned by the court of peers in 1315. Rains that autumn prevented an invasion by the French and their Avesnes allies in Hainaut and Holland. Robert de Bethune was succeeded by his grandson Louis I (II de Nevers) in late 1322.
David M. Nicholas
[See also: DAMPIERRE; FLANDERS]
De Hemptinne, T. “Vlaanderen en Henegouwen onder de erfgenamen van de Boudewijns, 10701244,” and Vandermaesen, M. “Vlaanderen en Henegouwen onder het Huis van Dampierre, 1244-1384.” In Algemene Geschiedenis derNederlanden. 2nd ed. Haarlem: Fibula-Van Dishoeck, 1982, Vol. 2, pp. 372-440.
Ganshof, Frangois L. La Flandre sous lespremiers comtes. Brussels: Renaissance du Livre, 1943. Pirenne, Henri. Histoire de Belgique. Brussels: Lamertin, 1922-1929, Vols. 1-2.
Verlinden, Charles. Robert ler le Frison, comte de Flandre: etude d’histoirepolitique. Antwerp:
De Sikkel, 1935.
World History
