Army of Robert Curthose on the First Crusade

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The army of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, left for the Holy Land on the First Crusade. Robert was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and brother to William Rufus, king of England. [1] He was reportedly so poor that he often had to stay in bed for lack of clothes. In order to raise money for the crusade he mortgaged his duchy to his brother William II of England. His army joined the contingent of Robert II, Count of Flanders, and Stephen, Count of Blois.

Contents

The known members of the army, mostly from Normandy and England, included the ones listed below, as reported in histories of the First Crusade. Unless otherwise noted, references are to the on-line database of Riley-Smith, et al., [2] and the hyperlinks therein provide details including original sources. The names below are also referenced in the Riley-Smith tome, Appendix I: Preliminary List of Crusaders. [3] Those references are not shown unless they appear elsewhere in the text of the book. Articles that are hyperlinked to a more detailed article in this encyclopædia rely on the latter for references.

Household and clergy

According to Runciman, the number of non-combatants in a Crusader army was less than 25%. Those who are known include:

Nobles, knights and other soldiers

Among the nobles, knights and other combatants in the army of Robert were:

The relationship with other armies

It is believed that Robert’s army was the same size as the Army of Godfrey of Bouillon. In addition, after Hugh the Great abandoned the Holy Land, approximately 100 knights under his command joined Robert’s army. [19]

Sources

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References

  1. ↑ Asbridge, Thomas (2004) The First Crusade: A New History.  Oxford University Press. p. 63.
  2. ↑ "The Army of Robert Curthose".
  3. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. pp. 196–246.
  4. ↑ Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades, Volume One. pp. 115, fn 1.
  5. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. pp. 92–93.
  6. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. p. 86.
  7. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. p. 90.
  8. ↑ Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades, Volume One. pp. 277, 315.
  9. ↑ "Encyclopaedia Britannica".
  10. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. pp. 83, 92–3, 200.
  11. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. pp. 92, 225.
  12. ↑ "Vicomtes du Bessin (Bayeux)". Archived from the original on 2008-05-08.
  13. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. pp. 91, 94.
  14. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. pp. 234, 238.
  15. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. p. 166.
  16. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. pp. 92, 158, 166, 231.
  17. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. pp. 101, 221.
  18. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders. pp. 92, 225.
  19. ↑ Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades, Volume One. pp. 336–341.
  20. ↑ David, C. Wendell. (1920). Robert Curthose, duke of Normandy,. Cambridge,: Harvard university press; [etc., etc.].
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