Robert I (Dauphin of Auvergne)

Roberts I coat of arms

Robert I , called himself Dauphin (* around 1170; † 1234 ), following his maternal relatives , was a Dauphin from Auvergne . He was a son of Count William VII of Auvergne and the Marquise d'Albon, who came from the family of the Dauphins of Vienne .

His father was once ousted as Count of Auvergne by his uncle; the family only owned an area around Vodable and Herment and a few other castles in the west of the Auvergne . They carried the title of "Count of Clermont", after the capital of Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand , but have been called "Dauphins of Auvergne" since Robert.

In keeping with the fashion of his time, Robert Dauphin was a patron of the trobadors and invited well-known poets such as Gaucelm Faidit to his court . As Dalfi d'Alvernha he wrote several works in Occitan poetry himself , and exchanged satirical and erotic verses with Bishop Robert von Clermont and Richard the Lionheart . With his sister's admirer, Guilhem de Saint-Leidier, he carried out a poetic debate ( partimen ) about the question of whether a lady is dishonored when she grants her love to a richer or more powerful gentleman.

Politically, Robert Dauphin was allied with his cousin, Count Guido II of Auvergne , against the French crown. When King Philip II of August besieged the castle of Issoire in the spring of 1196 , they called Richard the Lionheart for help, but he did not grant it. When Löwenherz himself waged war against Philip II a little later, he in turn asked Robert and Guido for support. He had sent this request to them in the form of a Sirventes , which Robert rejected in the same way, since Löwenherz had previously abandoned him and Guido. Around 1230, he and the Count of Auvergne made peace with the French crown by giving King Louis IX. paid homage.

His son Wilhelm Dauphin followed him.