Robert Despenser | |
|---|---|
 The Château de Tancarville in Normandy. Despenser was a tenant of the lords of Tancarville. | |
| Royal steward | |
| In office c. 1088 –c. 1098 | |
| Preceded by | none |
| Personal details | |
| Born | unknown - before 1066 Normandy |
| Died | c. 1098 England |
Robert Despenser (sometimes Robert Despensator, [1] Robert Dispenser, [2] or Robert fitzThurstin; [3] died after 1098) was a Norman officeholder and landholder in post-Conquest medieval England.
Despenser was the brother of Urse d'Abetot,who was sheriff of Worcestershire shortly after the Conquest. [1] Despenser and his brother were originally from Normandy,and were tenants of the lords of Tancarville there. [3] Despenser held the office of royal steward,or dispenser,under King William II. [1] Despenser's surname derived from his office. [4] [note 1] Although Despenser was married,the name of his wife is not known for sure. He may be the Robert de Abitot referred to in a confirmation charter of King Stephen of England's,but this identification is not certain. [1]
In 1086,Despenser was listed in Domesday Book as holding lands as a tenant-in-chief in Gloucestershire,Leicestershire,Lincolnshire,Oxfordshire,and Warwickshire,as well as holding lands in Worcestershire from the Bishop of Worcester. [3]
Robert was still alive in 1098,as he restored some estates to Westminster Abbey, [3] but likely died shortly thereafter. [4] In Normandy,Robert was a benefactor to the Priory of St. Barbe-en-Auge,which had been founded by the Tancarville lords. [6]
Despenser appears to have had no legitimate male children,as his heir was his brother Urse. [1] He may have had a daughter,as some of his lands were inherited by the Marmion family,but it is also possible that they acquired the lands via marriage with a daughter of Urse. [4] Despenser's office as steward may also have gone to Urse,as later the office passed to Urse's heirs. [3] The medieval writer Orderic Vitalis states that it was Despenser who gave Ranulf Flambard his surname of Flambard,which means torch-bearer or incendiary. This was applied to Flambard because of his overwhelming personality. [2]
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