Robert de Brus, Lord of Annandale († 1142)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert de Brus, Lord of Annandale (also Robert Bruce ) († May 11, 1142 ) was a Norman nobleman and military. He is the progenitor of the Brus family .

origin

Robert de Brus is said to have been a son of a Robert de Brus (according to other sources also an Adam de Brus ) who took part in the Battle of Hastings on the Norman side in 1066 . But there is no evidence for this. In fact, Brus is the first verifiable member of the Brus family. Brus probably came from Brix south of Cherbourg , which was owned by Heinrich , the youngest son of King Wilhelm I , at the end of the 11th century . He became English king in 1100 and fought against his brother Duke Robert for possession of Normandy . As an ally of Henry I, Brus supported his conquest of Normandy, probably in September 1106 in the Battle of Tinchebray , in which Duke Robert was decisively defeated. Perhaps as early as 1103, but before 1110 at the latest, Brus received from the king about eighty estates in Yorkshire , mainly in the wapentake of Claro . Thirteen estates that had previously been in the possession of Count Wilhelm von Mortain were at Skelton . Around 1119 Brus still received the goods from Hart and Hartness in County Durham . Brus had thus risen to become one of the most important barons in northern England, where Norman rule still had to be consolidated.

Activity as an Anglo-Norman baron

Especially after 1106 Brus attested several documents from Henry I. 1129 he belonged in Lyons-la-Forêt and Easter 1130 in Woodstock to the entourage of the king. However, he did not stay at the royal court all the time, but more often on his northern English possessions. In 1121 he attended a meeting of Northern English magnates when ownership of Tynemouth was disputed between the Durham Cathedral Priory and St Albans Abbey . Probably 1119 he founded the Augustinian priory of Guisborough in the North Riding of Yorkshire . He donated about thirty Carrucates estates to the monastery, of which his brother William became the first prior .

The ruins of the Guisborough Priory founded by Brus

Friendship with King David I of Scotland

Perhaps in Normandy Brus was a close friend of David, Earl of Huntingdon become, the younger brother of the Scottish king I. Alexander was. Brus donated the rights of the Church of Querqueville in Normandy to St Mary's Convent in York for the salvation of Earl David and his parents . Brus may also support David when he led a campaign against his brother in 1107. In this campaign David Strathclyde , Teviotdale and other southern Scottish lands that his eldest brother King Edgar had bequeathed to him. When David became King of Scots in 1124 after the childless death of Alexander I, he gave Annandale to Brus. Perhaps this was just a confirmation of ownership, since the barony included Annan Castle , which according to older historians could only be built by a Norman like Brus. Brus attested to numerous documents from David, both when he was still an English earl and when he became king. He was usually mentioned as the first of the Anglo-Norman barons, this is a sign that he was a close friend of the king.

Deed from David I, according to which Robert de Brus was Lord of Annandale

Role in the anarchy

After the death of King Henry I of England, however, the two of them broke up during the so-called anarchy . Henry I had made his magnates swear to recognize the succession to the throne of his daughter Matilda , and probably Brus had also sworn this oath in 1127. However, after the king's death in late 1135, Brus supported Matilda's cousin Stephan von Blois . He took part in the siege of Exeter by King Stephen in 1136 and later in the siege of York. In 1138 he was finally one of the leaders of the English army that placed the Scottish army, which had invaded northern England, under King David I on Cowton Moor . Brus was sent to the Scots to get his friend David to retreat. Brus reminded the king how he used to be able to rely on the English and Normans, and in fact David is said to have been ready to retreat. But then William Fitz accused Duncan Brus of treason and convinced David I to fight. Thereupon Brus revoked his oath of allegiance to the king, which was not an empty gesture, but made a great impression on his contemporaries. In the ensuing standard battle, the English were able to destroy the Scots. After that, Brus was never able to restore his friendship with the Scottish king. He may also lose Annandale, but it fell to his younger son Robert , who had fought in the Standard Battle on the Scottish side.

According to a family chronicle from the 14th century, Brus is said to have died on May 11, 1141, for which there is no further evidence. It is more likely that the chronicler John of Hexham stated that Brus died the following year. He was believed to be buried in its founding Guisborough Priory.

Marriage and offspring

Brus had married Agnes, who was believed to be the daughter of Geoffrey Bainard , who had been Yorkshire Sheriff before 1100. According to older information, however, she should have been a daughter of Fulk Paynel . Brus had two sons with his wife:

According to various sources, Brus had a third son, Peter de Brus , but this was probably a younger brother of his. A daughter Agatha , occasionally attributed to him, was certainly a daughter of his son Robert. After his death, Adam de Brus inherited most of the estates around Skelton in Yorkshire. Robert de Brus, however, inherited Annandale and a smaller part of the English possessions.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ AAM Duncan: The Bruces of Annandale, 1100-1304 . In: Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society . 3rd Ser., 69: 90 (1994).
  2. ^ AAM Duncan: The Bruces of Annandale, 1100-1304 . In: Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society . 3rd Ser., 69: 92 (1994)
  3. ^ AAM Duncan: The Bruces of Annandale, 1100-1304 . In: Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society . 3rd Ser., 69: 91 (1994).
personal data
SURNAME Brus, Robert de, Lord of Annandale
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bruce, Robert de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION norman nobleman and military
DATE OF BIRTH 11th century
DATE OF DEATH May 11, 1142