Robert Fitz Martin

The remains of the Nevern Castle built by Robert FitzMartin

Robert Fitz Martin (* around 1084 , † around 1159 ) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman.

Life

Robert Fitz Martin was believed to be a son of the Norman Martin de Tiron , who came to England during the Norman conquest , and his wife Geva de Burci, a daughter of Lord Serlo de Burci. Robert inherited Dartington from his father and Bladgon and other estates in South West England from his mother . During the Norman conquest of West Wales by King Henry I , he became Lord of Cemais in northern Dyfed around 1108 . As the center of his new rule, he built Nevern Castle and founded the Borough Nevern. With the help of monks from the French monastery of Sainte-Trinité in Thiron , he founded a Benedictine priory in 1113 instead of the older Welsh monastery of Llandudoch , which was elevated to the status of St. Dogmaels' abbey in 1120 . In 1113, Henry I gave him Caldey Island off the coast of South West Wales.

During the Welsh uprising of 1136 , FitzMartin was a leader of the Norman army, which was decisively defeated in the Battle of Crug Mawr , and had to escape to Cardigan Castle . As a result of this defeat, Cemais was retaken from the Welsh. Robert withdrew to his estates in south-west England and was one of the supporters of Empress Matilda during the Anarchy from 1140 . In 1154 he donated the church in Blagdon and subordinated it to the Cistercian monastery Stanley Abbey , in addition he donated Hydron , part of his possessions in Blagdon, to the Knights Templar .

family

In his first marriage, Robert married Matilde de Peverel , a daughter of William Peverel . in his second marriage he married Adeliz de Nonant , a sister of Roger de Nonant von Totnes . From this marriage he had several children, his heir became his underage son William FitzMartin .

Web links

• Rootsweb: Medieval and Ancient Lines

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Chris Caple: Nevern Castle, Castell Nanhyfer. (PDF; 126.4 kB) Accessed October 7, 2014 . 
2. ↑ Monastic Wales: St Dogmaels (Abbey). Retrieved October 7, 2014 . 
3. ^ Pembrokeshire Virtual Museum: Caldey Island Old Priory. Retrieved October 7, 2014 . 
4. ^ Charterhouse Environs Research Team: Barry Lane, THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR IN BLAGDON. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 13, 2014 ; accessed on October 7, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.