Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester

The coat of arms of Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester.

Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester († 1204 ) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Lord High Steward of England . He was a son of Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester , and the Pétronille (Pernel) de Grandmesnil . He was also called "FitzPernel" after his mother.

Robert joined King Richard the Lionheart's entourage for the Third Crusade in 1190 . His father had already moved ahead on this last year and died. The news of death reached Robert in February 1191 in the Sicilian Messina , where the main army wintered and where he was now invested by the king through a sword line to become the new Earl of Leicester . In the holy land he took part in the battle of Arsuf , among other things .

In the fight against King Philip II August Robert was captured in 1193, from which he was only released again in 1196. To do this, he had to give up his property around Breteuil, which is located in Normandy .

Robert was married to Loretta de Briouze († around 1266), a daughter of William de Braose . The couple had no children. After his death he was buried in the choir of Leicester Abbey (Saint Mary de Pratis). Since he had no heir, he bequeathed half of his property to his sisters Amicia and Margarete. He bequeathed the title of Earl of Leicester and the office of Lord High Steward to Amicia's son, Simon de Montfort .

literature

• FM Powicke: Loretta, Countess of Leicester , ed. by JG Edwards in: Historical Essays in Honor of James Tait (1933), pp. 247-274

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gesta Regis Henrici secundis et Gesta Regis Ricardi Benedicti abbatis , ed. by William Stubbs in: Rolls Series 49 (1867), Vol. 2, p. 156
2. ↑ Roger von Hoveden , Chronica , ed. by William Stubbs in: Rolls Series 51 (1870), Vol. 3, p. 254

predecessor	Office	successor
Robert de Beaumont	Lord High Steward 1190-1204	Simon de Montfort
Robert de Beaumont	Earl of Leicester 1190-1204	Simon de Montfort