Robert FitzStephen
Robert FitzStephen (* around 1120, † after 1182) was a cambro-Norman nobleman and a leader of the first Anglo -Norman invasion of Ireland .
Family and origin
He was the son of the Welsh princess Nest ferch Rhys and her second husband Stephen , the constable of Cardigan Castle . Through his mother he had numerous half-brothers, including Robert FitzHenry , Henry FitzHenry , David FitzGerald and Maurice FitzGerald .
Lord of the castle in Wales
After the death of his father, he was also a constable of Cardigan Castle and inherited property in Cemais . He successfully defended the castle against Hywel ab Owain and other Welsh attacks in 1145 . In 1157 he supported King Henry II's campaign to Wales with his own ships and was one of the attackers on the island of Anglesey . During the fighting there, his half-brother Henry FitzHenry was killed, while Robert was badly wounded and escaped on one of his ships. He donated the land for Strata Florida Abbey, founded in 1164 . Around 1165 his castle was conquered and destroyed by the Welsh under Rhys ap Gruffydd . Robert was captured, imprisoned and was only released in 1167 through the mediation of his half-brother David, the Bishop of St Davids , and on the initiative of Dermot MacMurroughs , the overthrown King of Leinster , to participate in the invasion of Ireland.
Participated in the first Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland
In May 1169 he left Milford with his half-brother Maurice FitzGerald, his nephews Meiler FitzHenry and Miles of St Davids and his son-in-law Hervey de Marisco and an army of almost 400 men and landed in Bannow Bay on the south coast of Wexford , with that was the army the first Anglo-Norman army to land in Ireland. The following day they received support from Maurice Prendergast , who also landed in the bay with over 300 men. The invaders were supported by Dermot's son Donal with 500 Irish spearmen, Dermot himself followed with numerous other fighters. The combined army attacked the town of Wexford , which surrendered after brave defense. Then they marched to Ossory , where they attacked the Irish high king Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair with his army. The Anglo-Norman invaders had to entrench themselves at Ferns and finally negotiated a treaty according to which Dermot recognized Ruaidhrí as High King and Dermot remained ruler of Leinster, while the Anglo-Norman kept Wexford. That same year, FitzStephen began building Ireland's first Anglo-Norman castle in Ferrycarrig, about three kilometers from Wexford .
Shortly afterwards he brought his wife and children to Ireland, but in 1171 he was besieged by rebellious Irish in his unfinished castle and finally had to surrender. To his support came Richard de Clare Strongbow with an army to Wexford, but he could only burn down the town after the insurgents with their prisoners to the island Begeri had withdrawn near the port of Wexford. FitzStephen remained imprisoned for almost a year, until the rebels delivered him in chains to the king on the arrival of King Henry II . The King scolded FitzStephen for his hasty attack and gave him back in chains to the Irish who imprisoned him in Reginald's Tower in Waterford . In Lismore , Heinrich Fitz had Stephen brought up again, forgave him, and confirmed that he owned Wexford. Before returning to England in April 1172, the king appointed him deputy legal counsel for Ireland, Hugh de Lacy, and together with Miles de Cogan gave him the southern part of Munster without the city of Cork . The two attempted to conquer North Munster and Limerick in 1172 with Philip de Braose , a younger son of William de Braose . The campaign failed, however, and they were forced to withdraw, allegedly because of de Braose's cowardice and the rabble he had brought with him from Wales.
In the following years, FitzStephen experienced further blows of fate. Numerous followers fell in battles against the Irish, including his son Ralph and Miles de Cogan in 1178. He himself was troubled by an uprising in Munster in 1182 and was besieged in Cork. An army under his nephew Raymond FitzGerald freed him. Shortly afterwards he died. Since he died without a male heir, his nephew Philip de Barry inherited his possessions.
Giraldus Cambrensis describes him as “brave and fearless, he had to suffer many strokes of fate, of strong stature, generous, generous and pleasant, but too devoted to women and wine”.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Robert FitzStephen |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | cambro-Norman nobleman and leader of the first Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 12th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 1182 |