Robert I ( – 15 June 923) was the elected King of West Francia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was

Count of Poitiers Among the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers (, ; or ''Poitou'', in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became part of Aquitaine) are: *Bodilon *Saint Warinus, Warinus (638–677), son of Bodilon *Hatton (735-778) Car ...

, Count of Paris and Marquis of Neustria and

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Charles the Simple, who in 898 had succeeded Robert's brother, king Odo.

Life

Robert was younger son of count Robert the Strong (d. 866), one of the most prominent nobles in the West Frankish Kingdom during the reign of

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

. Regarding the identity of Robert's mother, and numbers of marriages of his father, several solutions have been proposed in scholarly literature. Chronicler Regino of Prüm (d. 915) stated that count Adalhelm was maternal uncle () of Roberts's brother Odo, meaning that Odo's mother (and thus maybe Roberts's too) was sister of Adalhelm, but some alternative genealogical solutions have been also suggested by scholars. On the other side, several researchers have proposed that Odo's and Roberts's father was during the last years of his life married to Adelaide of Tours, but those suggestions are not universally acknowledged in scholarly literature, since it was shown that they were initially based on some late textual additions and misunderstandings in the Chronicle of St-Bénigne.HenryProject: Robert le Fort (Rotbertus Fortis, Robert the Strong)
/ref> Roberts's brother Odo became Count of Paris in 882, and was elected king of West Francia in 888. In time West Francia evolved into the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

; and under Odo, the royal capital was fixed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Robert and Odo came from the Robertian dynasty out of which the Capetian dynasty grew. In 885 Robert participated in the defence of Paris during the Viking siege of Paris. He was appointed by Odo as the ruler of several counties, including the county of Paris, and

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

'' in commendam'' of many abbeys. Robert also secured the office of '' Dux Francorum'', a military dignity of high importance. He did not claim the crown of West Francia when his brother died in 898; instead recognizing the supremacy of the Carolingian king, Charles the Simple. Charles then confirmed Robert in his offices and possessions, after which he continued to defend northern Francia from the attacks of

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

. Robert defeated a large band of Vikings in the Loire Valley in 921, after which the defeated invaders converted to Christianity and settled near

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

King

The peace between King Charles the Simple and his powerful vassal was not seriously disturbed until about 921 when Charles' favoritism towards Hagano aroused rebellion. Supported by many of the clergy and by some of the most powerful of the Frankish nobles, Robert took up arms, drove Charles into Lotharingia, and was himself crowned king of the Franks (''rex Francorum'') at Rheims on 29 June 922. Robert's rule was contested by the Viking leader Rollo, who had settled in the

Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a r ...

in 911 with the permission of Charles the Simple. During Robert's reign, Rollo remained loyal to Charles, who continued to contest his deposition. Gathering an army, Charles marched against Robert, and on 15 June 923 at the Battle of Soissons Robert was killed. However, his army won the battle and Charles was captured. Charles remained a captive until his death in 929. Robert was succeeded as king by his son-in-law, Rudolph.

Family

Robert's first wife was Aelis. They had: * Adela (name uncertain, sometimes also Adelaide or Adelais), married Herbert II, Count of Vermandois * Emma of France, married to Rudolph, Duke of Burgundy Robert married for the second time to Beatrice of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert I, Count of Vermandois. Together they had: * Hugh the Great, who was later ''dux Francorum''. Hugh was the father of King

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert 01 of France 10th-century kings of West Francia Robertians Frankish warriors 860s births Year of birth uncertain 923 deaths Monarchs killed in action