Robert Despenser (sometimes Robert Despensator,Keats-Rohan ''Domesday People'' p. 383 Robert Dispenser,Mason ''William II'' p. 75 or Robert fitzThurstin;Barlow ''William Rufus'' pp. 141–142 died after 1098) was a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

officeholder and landholder in post-Conquest medieval England.

Career

Despenser was the brother of

Urse d'Abetot Urse d'Abetot (–1108) was a Norman who followed King William I to England, and became Sheriff of Worcestershire and a royal official under him and Kings William II and Henry I. He was a native of Normandy and moved to England shortly after t ...

, who was sheriff of Worcestershire shortly after the Conquest. Despenser and his brother were originally from

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, and were tenants of the lords of

Tancarville Tancarville () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Geography Tancarville is a farming village surrounded by woodland, by the banks of the river Seine in the Pays de Caux, some east of Le Hav ...

there. Despenser held the office of royal steward, or dispenser, under King William II. Despenser's surname derived from his office. Although Despenser was married, the name of his wife is not known for sure. He may be the Robert de Abitot referred to in a confirmation charter of King

Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 113 ...

's, but this identification is not certain. In 1086, Despenser was listed in

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as holding lands as a

tenant-in-chief In medieval and early modern Europe, a tenant-in-chief (or vassal-in-chief) was a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as opposed to holding them ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, and

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, as well as holding lands in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

from the

Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...

. Robert was still alive in 1098, as he restored some estates to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, but likely died shortly thereafter. In Normandy, Robert was a benefactor to the Priory of St. Barbe-en-Auge, which had been founded by the Tancarville lords.Newman ''Anglo-Norman Nobility'' p. 150

Legacy

Despenser appears to have had no legitimate male children, as his heir was his brother Urse. He may have had a daughter, as some of his lands were inherited by the Marmion family, but it is also possible that they acquired the lands via marriage with a daughter of Urse.Round "Abetot, Urse d' (c.1040–1108)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' Despenser's office as steward may also have gone to Urse, as later the office passed to Urse's heirs. The medieval writer

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...

states that it was Despenser who gave

Ranulf Flambard Ranulf Flambard ( c. 1060 – 5 September 1128) was a medieval Norman Bishop of Durham and an influential government official of King William Rufus of England. Ranulf was the son of a priest of Bayeux, Normandy, and his nickname Flamba ...

his surname of ''Flambard'', which means torch-bearer or incendiary. This was applied to Flambard because of his overwhelming personality.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Despenser, Robert Normans in England Year of death uncertain