Robert II of Dreux (1154 – 28 December 1218), Count of Dreux and Braine, was the eldest surviving son of Robert I, Count of Dreux, and Agnes de Baudemont, countess of Braine, and a grandson of King

Louis VI of France Louis VI (1 December 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat () or the Fighter (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Like his father Philip I of France, Philip I, Louis made a lasting contribution to centralizing ...

. He participated in the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

, at the Siege of Acre and the

Battle of Arsuf The Battle of Arsuf took place on 7 September 1191, as part of the Third Crusade. It saw a multi-national force of Crusaders, led by Richard I of England, defeat a significantly larger army of the Ayyubid Sultanate, led by Saladin. Followi ...

. He took part in the war in

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 ...

against the Angevin kings between 1193 and 1204. Count Robert had seized the castle of

Nonancourt Nonancourt () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. The writer Louis-François Beffara (1751–1838) and the playwright Lucien Besnard (1872–1955) were born in Nonancourt. Nonancourt station has rail connectio ...

from

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

in late 1193 while Richard was imprisoned in Germany. The count also participated in the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...

in 1210. In 1214 he fought alongside King

Philip Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

at the

Battle of Bouvines The Battle of Bouvines took place on 27 July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. It was the concluding battle of the Anglo-French War (1213–14), Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. Although estimates on the number of troo ...

Marriages and children

His first marriage with Mahaut of Burgundy (1150–1192) in 1178 ended with separation in 1181 and produced no children. The excuse for the

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning alm ...

was

consanguinity Consanguinity (from Latin '':wikt: consanguinitas, consanguinitas'' 'blood relationship') is the characteristic of having a kinship with a relative who is descended from a common ancestor. Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are ...

: Mahaut and Robert were both great-great-grandchildren of

William I, Count of Burgundy William I (1020 – 12 November 1087), called the Great (''le Grand'' or ''Tête Hardie'', "the Stubborn"), was Count of Burgundy from 1057 to 1087 and Mâcon from 1078 to 1087. He was a son of Reginald I, Count of Burgundy and Alice of Normandy ...

and his wife Etiennette, and they were both Capetian descendants of

Robert II of France Robert II ( 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious () or the Wise (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his father on military matters ...

. His second marriage to Yolande de Coucy (1164–1222), the daughter of

Ralph I, Lord of Coucy Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

and Agnès de Hainaut, produced several children: * Robert III ( 1185 – 1234), Count of Dreux and Braine * Peter Ι (c. 1190 - 1250),

Duke of Brittany This is a list of rulers of Brittany. In different epochs the rulers of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary right. Hereditary ...

* Henry of Dreux (c. 1193 – 1240),

Archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese w ...

* John of Dreux (c. 1198 – 1239), Count of Vienne and Mâcon * Philippa of Dreux (1192–1242), married Henry II of Bar * Alix of Dreux, married Walter IV of Vienne, Lord of Salins, then married Renard II of Choiseul * Agnes of Dreux (1195–1258), married Stephen III of Auxonne * Yolande of Dreux (1196–1239), married

Raoul II of Lusignan Raoul II of Lusignan (c. 1200 – c. September 1, 1246, buried at the Abbey of Foucarmont) was the son of Raoul I of Lusignan and his wife Alix, Countess of Eu. He became Seigneur d' Exoudun and Count of Eu upon his father death in 1219. He ...

* Eleanor of Dreux, married Hugues IV de Châteauneuf then married Robert de Saint-Clair

Tomb

Count Robert's tomb bore the following inscription, in

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

hexameters Hexameter is a Metre (poetry), metrical Line (poetry), line of verses consisting of six metrical foot, feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English language, English line of poetry; in Greek language, Greek as well as i ...

with internal rhyme: :''Stirpe satus rēgum, pius et custōdia lēgum,'' :''Brannę Rōbertus comes hīc requiescit opertus,'' :''Et jacet Agnētis situs ad vestīgia mātris.'' Of which the translation is: "Born from the race of kings, and a devoted guardian of the laws, Robert, Count of Braine, here rests covered, and lies buried by the remains of his mother Agnes." It is also dated ''Anno Gracię M. CC. XVIII. die innocentum'', that is, "In the Year of Grace 1218, on the Feast of the Holy Innocents."

Ancestry

Notes

References

* * * * * ''Mémoires de la Société des lettres, sciences et arts de Bar-le-Duc'', Vol.2, Ed. Société des lettres, sciences et arts de Bar-le-Duc, Contant Laguerre Imprimeur Editeur, 1903. * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert 02 Of Dreux Dreux, Robert II, Count of Dreux, Robert II, Count of Dreux, Robert II, Count of Dreux, Robert II, Count of Counts of Dreux House of Dreux Burials at the Abbey of Saint-Yved de Braine