The only heir of the Duke of the Franks

Denier of Hugh Capet, "Duke by the grace of God" (Dux Dei Gratia), Paris studio (Parisi Civita), late 10th century.

Robert II's exact date and birthplace are unknown, although historians have advocated for the year 972 and the city of Orléans^{[lower-alpha 1]} (the capital of the Robertians from the 9th century onward).^[2] The only son of Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine, he was named after his heroic ancestor Robert the Strong, who had died fighting the Vikings in 866. His parents' marriage produced at least two other daughters: ^{[lower-alpha 2]} Hedwig (wife of Reginar IV, Count of Hainaut) and Gisela (wife of Hugh I, Count of Ponthieu).

In the 10th century, the Robertians were the most powerful aristocratic family in the Kingdom of France. In previous decades, two of its members, Odo (888) and Robert I (922), had ascended to the throne, displacing the ruling Carolingian dynasty. The principality of Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks and Robert II's paternal grandfather, marked the apogee of the Robertians until his death in 956. In the middle of the 10th century, Hugh Capet succeeded as the head of the family.^[4]

Robert II's youth was especially marked by the incessant fights of King Lothair of France to recover Lorraine, the "cradle of the Carolingian family", at the expense of Emperor Otto II:

«As Otto possessed Belgium (Lorraine) and that Lothair sought to seize it, the two kings attempted against each other very treacherous machinations and coups de force, because both claimed that their fathers had possessed.»

— Richer of Reims, ca. 991–998.^[5]

In August 978, King Lothair unexpectedly launched a general assault on Aix-la-Chapelle where the imperial family resided, which narrowly escaped capture. After having looted the imperial palace and the surroundings, he returned to France carrying the insignia of the Empire. In the following October, to take revenge, Otto II assembled an army of 60,000 men and invaded Lothair's domains. The latter, with only a few troops around him, was forced to take refuge with Hugh Capet, who was then said to be the savior of the Carolingian kingship.^[6] The Robertian dynasty then took a turn that changed the fate of young Robert II. Bishop Adalbero of Reims, originally a man of King Lothair, turns more and more towards the Ottonian court for which he feels a great sympathy.

An exemplary education

Hugh Capet quickly understood that his ascent could not be attained without the support of Archbishop Adalbero of Reims. Illiterate himself, not mastering Latin, he decided around 984 to send his son, not with the scholar Abbo of Fleury, near Orléans, but to Archbishop Adalbero so he could train him in the basics of knowledge. Indeed, at the end of the 10th century, Reims had a reputation as the most prestigious school of all of West Christianity. The prelate willingly welcomed Robert, who was confided to his secretary, the famous Gerbert of Aurillac, one of the most educated men of his time.^[7]

It is assumed that to follow Gerbert's teaching, the young Robert II had to acquire the basics of Latin. He thus enriched his knowledge by studying the trivium (grammar, rhetoric and dialectic) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy). Robert II is one of the few laypeople of his time to enjoy the same worldview as contemporary clergy.^{[lower-alpha 3]} After about two years of study in Reims, he returned to Orléans. His intellectual level had also developed in the musical field, as recognized by another great scholar of his time, Richer de Reims. ^[9] According to Helgaud de Fleury, at an age unknown in his adolescence, the young Robert II fell seriously ill, to such an extent that his parents feared for his life. It was then when they went to pray at the Sainte-Croix church in Orleans and offered a golden crucifix and a sumptuous 60-pound (30 kg) vase as a votive offering. Robert II miraculously recovered.^[10]

«His pious mother sent him to the schools of Reims and entrusted him to master Gerbert, to be brought up by him and sufficiently instructed in liberal doctrines.»

— Helgaud of Fleury, Epitoma vitæ regis Roberti pii, ca 1033.^[11]

Robert II's association to the throne (987)

Denier of Robert II the Pious, struck at Soissons.

Immediately after his own coronation, Hugh Capet began to push for the coronation of his son. "The essential means by which the early Capetians were seen to have kept the throne in their family was through the association of the eldest surviving son in the royalty during the father's lifetime," Andrew W. Lewis has observed, in tracing the phenomenon in this line of kings who lacked dynastic legitimacy.^{[12][lower-alpha 4]} Hugh Capet's claimed reason was that he was planning an expedition against the Moorish armies harassing Count Borrell II of Barcelona, an invasion which never occurred, and that the stability of the country necessitated a Junior King, should he die while on expedition.^[13] Rodulfus Glaber, however, attributes Hugh Capet's request to his old age and inability to control the nobility.^[14] Modern scholarship has largely imputed to Hugh Capet the motive of establishing a dynasty against the claims of electoral power on the part of the aristocracy, but this is not the typical view of contemporaries and even some modern scholars have been less sceptical of his "plan" to campaign in Spain.^[15]

Once Hugh Capet proposed the association of Robert to the throne, Archbishop Adalbero of Reims was reportedly hostile to this and, according to Richer of Reims, he replied to the king: "we do not have the right to create two kings in the same year" (on n’a pas le droit de créer deux rois la même année). It is believed that Gerbert of Aurillac (who was himself close to Borrell II, for a time his protector), would then have come to the aid of Hugh Capet to convince the Archbishop that the co-kinship was needed due to the purposed expedition to assist the Count of Barcelona, and to secure a stable transition of power. Under duress, Archbishop Adalbero finally consented.^[16]

Unlike that of Hugh Capet, the coronation of Robert was precisely detailed by Richer of Reims — even the day and place were clearly identified. Dressed in purple woven with gold threads, as tradition dictated, the 15-year-old boy was acclaimed, crowned and then consecrated by the Archbishop of Reims on 25 December 987^{[lower-alpha 5]} at the Sainte-Croix Cathedral in Orléans.^[19][20]

«The princes of the kingdom were gathered on the day of the Lord's nativity to celebrate the royal coronation ceremony, the Archbishop, taking the purple, solemnly crowned Robert II, son of Hugh, in the basilica of the Holy Cross, to the acclamations of the French, then did so and crowned king of the western peoples from the Meuse river to the Ocean.»^[21]

Richer of Reims also underlines that Robert II is only "King of the peoples of the West, from the Meuse to the Ocean" and not "King of the Gauls, Aquitaine, Danes, Goths, Spaniards and Gascons" as his father.

Robert II directs the religious affairs

Crowned as Junior King, Robert II had begun to take on active royal duties with his father, as evidenced by his signum at the bottom of certain acts of Hugh Capet. From 990, all the acts have its inscription. In the written acts: "Robert, very glorious king" as underlined by a charter for Corbie (April 988) or even "filii nostri Rotberti regis ac consortis regni nostri" in a charter for Saint-Maur-des-Fossés (June 989).^[22] On the strength of his instruction received from Gerbert of Aurillac, his task, initially, was to preside over episcopal synods:

«He [Robert II] attended synods of bishops to discuss ecclesiastical affairs with them.»

— Richer of Reims, ca. 990.^[23]

Unlike the last Carolingians, the first Capetians attached a clan of bishops to the north-east of Paris (Amiens, Laon, Soissons, Châlons, etc.) whose support was decisive in the course of events. In one of their diplomas, the two kings appear as intermediaries between the clerics and the people (mediatores et plebis) and, under the pen of Gerbert of Aurillac, the bishops insisted on this need for consilium: "...not wanting anything abuse the royal power, we decide all the affairs of the res publica by resorting to the advice and sentences of our faithful".^[24] Hugh Capet and Robert II needed the support of the Church to further consolidate their legitimacy, and also because the contingents of horsemen who made up the royal army came largely from the bishoprics.^[25] Robert II already appeared in the eyes of his contemporaries as a pious sovereign (hence his nickname) and close to the Church for several reasons: he devoted himself to the liberal arts; he was present at the synods of bishops; Abbo of Fleury specially dedicated his canonical collection to him; he easily forgave his enemies; and the abbeys received many royal gifts. He sent Ulric, bishop of Orleans, on an embassy to Emperor Constantine VIII and received the gift of a piece of the true cross along with silken hangings.^[26]

Charles de Lorraine seizes Laon (988–991)

Precisely, Hugh Capet and Robert II relied on the contingents sent by the bishoprics since the city of Laon had just been stormed by Charles of Lorraine, the last Carolingian pretender to the throne. The sovereigns besieged the city twice, without result.^{[lower-alpha 6]} Concerned about his failure in Laon, Hugh Capet contacted several sovereigns to obtain their help (Pope John XV, Empress Theophanu, mother and Regent on behalf of Emperor Otto III), in vain. After the death of Archbishop Adalbero of Reims (24 January 989), Hugh Capet decided to elect, as new archbishop, the Carolingian Arnoul, an illegitimate son of King Lothair, rather than Gerbert of Aurillac. It is believed that this was to appease the supporters of the Carolingians, but the situation turned against the Capetians when Arnoul surrendered Reims to his uncle Charles.^[27]

The situation was unblocked thanks to the betrayal of Ascelin, Bishop of Laon, who seized Charles and Arnoul during their sleep and delivered them to the King (991): the Bishop thus saved the Capetian royalty in extremis. In the Council of Saint-Basle de Verzy, Arnoul was judged as a traitor by an assembly chaired by Robert II (June 991). Despite the protests of Abbon of Fleury, Arnoul was deposed. A few days later, Gerbert of Aurillac was appointed Archbishop of Reims with the support of his former pupil Robert II. Pope John XV did not accept this procedure and wanted to convene a new council in Aix-la-Chapelle, but the bishops confirmed their decision in Chelles (winter 993–994).^[28][29]

Gerbert and Ascelin: two figures of disloyalty

When his master Adalbero of Reims died, Gerbert of Aurillac was obliged to follow the intrigues of the new archbishop Arnoul, determined to deliver Reims to Charles of Lorraine. Although the documentation is very incomplete on this subject, it seems that the scholar subsequently changed his positions to become Charles's supporter:

«Lothair Augustus's brother, heir to the throne, was expelled from it. His competitors, [Hugh Capet and Robert II], many people think, received the interim of the reign. By what right has the legitimate heir been disinherited?.»

— Gerbert of Aurillac, Letters, 990.^[30]

A doubt in legitimacy was thus settled on the reign of both Hugh Capet and Robert II. However Gerbert, seeing the situation change to the detriment of Charles of Lorraine, changed sides during the year 991. Having become Archbishop of Reims by the grace of Robert II, he testified:

«With the consent of the two princes, Lord Hugh Augustus and the excellent King Robert [Hugh Capet and Robert II].»

— Gerbert of Aurillac, Letters, 991.^[31]

As for Ascelin, Bishop of Laon, after having served the crown by betraying Charles and Arnoul, he soon turned against the Capetians. In the spring of 993, he allied with Count Odo I of Blois to plan the capture of Hugh Capet and Robert II, in agreement with Emperor Otto III. If they succeeded, Louis (the son of Charles of Lorraine) would become King of the Franks, Odo I Duke of the Franks, and Ascelin Bishop of Reims. However, the plot was denounced and Ascelin was placed under house arrest.^[32]

First marriage: Rozala of Italy

Rozala (renamed Susanna) of Italy, as Countess of Flanders (late years of 15th century).

Immediately after associating his son with the throne, Hugh Capet wanted Robert II to marry a royal princess, but the prohibition against marriage within the third degree of consanguinity obliged him to seek a bride in the East. He had a letter written by Gerbert of Aurillac asking the Byzantine Emperor Basil II for the hand of one of his nieces for Robert II; however, no Byzantine response is recorded.^[33] After this rebuff, and under pressure from his father (who apparently wanted to reward the Flemish for their help when he seized power in 987),^[34] Robert II had to marry Rozala, daughter of Berengar II of Ivrea, King of Italy and widow of Arnulf II, Count of Flanders. The wedding, celebrated before 1 April 988, brought Robert II possession of the cities of Montreuil and Ponthieu and a possible guardianship over the County of Flanders, given the young age of Rozala's son Baldwin IV, for whom she had been acting as regent ever since her first husband's death.^[35][36]

Upon her marriage, Rozala became junior Queen consort of the Franks and took the name of Susanna;^[37][38] however, after about three or four years of marriage (c. 991–992), the young Robert II repudiated her,^[39] due to the excessive age difference between them (Rozala was almost 22 years older than him ^[40] and probably too old to have more children). In fact, the breakup was justified by the absence of a child from their union and, for this reason, Hugh Capet and his advisers did not oppose the annulment proceedings.

«King Robert, having arrived at his 19th year, in the prime of his youth, repudiated, because she was too old, his wife Susanna, Italian by nation.»

— Richer of Reims, History, 996–998.^[41]

Separated from her husband, Rozala returned to Flanders at the side of her son Baldwin IV and became one of his principal advisers. Robert II managed to keep the port of Montreuil (part of his former wife's dowry), a strategic point on the Channel.^[17] Historians believe that from this period, Robert II wished to challenge his father and finally reign alone.

The marriage was formally annulled in late 996, following Hugh Capet's death and Robert II's ascension as sole King of the French.^[39]

Second marriage: Bertha of Burgundy

Bertha of Burgundy, detail from a genealogical chart of the Ottonian dynasty in a manuscript of the 2nd half of 12th century.

Now Robert II was determined to find a bride who would give him the much hoped-for male offspring. In early 996, probably during the military campaign against Count Odo I of Blois, he met Countess Bertha of Burgundy, wife of the latter. She was a daughter of King Conrad of Burgundy^[42] and his wife Matilda (in turn daughter of King Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony, sister of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor), so was from an undisputed royal lineage. Robert II and Bertha quickly became attracted to each other despite the complete resistance of Hugh Capet^{[lower-alpha 7]} (the House of Blois was the great enemy of the Capetian dynasty). However, Robert II saw, in addition to his personal feelings, that Bertha would also bring all the Blois territories under Capetian control.^[44] The deaths in 996 of Odo I of Blois (12 March) and Hugh Capet (24 October) eliminated the main obstacles for a union between Robert II and Bertha.

According to French historian Michel Rouche, this alliance was purely political: to loosen the grip threatening the Capetian dynasty and its stronghold of Île-de-France, and probably according to the will of Robert II's mother, Queen Adelaide of Aquitaine; indeed, the territories of Odo I were Blois, Chartres, Melun and Meaux. In addition, the couple were just waiting for the statutory nine months set by law after Odo I's death. It was, therefore, obvious that another objective was to have legitimate children.^[45]

However, two important details obstructed this union: firstly, Robert II and Bertha were second cousins (their respective grandmothers, Hedwig and Gerberga, were sisters)^{[lower-alpha 8]} and secondly, Robert II was the godfather of Theobald, one of the sons of Bertha.^{[lower-alpha 9]} According to canon law, marriage was then impossible.^[45] Despite this, the two lovers began a sexual relationship and Robert II put part of the County of Blois under his direct rule. He took over the city of Tours and Langeais from Count Fulk III of Anjou, thus breaking the alliance with the House of Ingelger, faithful support of the late Hugh Capet. At the start of Robert II's reign, the alliance relations were thus changed.^[47]

«Bertha, the wife of Odo, took King Robert as her protector and defender of her cause.»

— Richer of Reims, History, 996–998.^[48]

The Excommunication of Robert the Pious, oil on canvas by Jean-Paul Laurens, 1875, currently at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. In reality, the excommunication of the king was never promulgated by the Pope.^[49]

Robert II and Bertha quickly found a complacent bishop to marry them off, which Archambaud de Sully, Archbishop of Tours, finally did in November/December 996,^[43] much to the chagrin of the new Pope Gregory V. To please the Holy See, Robert II annulled the sentence of the Council of Saint-Basle, freed Archbishop Arnoul and restored him to the episcopal see of Reims. Gerbert of Aurillac then had to take refuge with Emperor Otto III in 997. Despite this, the Pope ordered Robert II and Bertha to put an end to their "incestuous union".^[50] Finally, the two councils which met first in Pavia (February 997), then in Rome (summer 998), condemned them to do penance for seven years and, in the event of non-separation, they would be struck with excommunication.^[51] Moreover, at the end of three years of union, there were no living descendants: Bertha gave birth only to one stillborn son, in 999. That year, the accession of Gerbert of Aurillac to the Papacy under the name of Sylvester II did not change anything. Following a synod, the new Pope accepted the condemnation of the King of the Franks whose "perfidy" he had suffered.^[49] Finally, the seven years of penance were completed around 1003.^[52]

«They came to the Apostolic See and after having received satisfaction for their penance, they returned home (Postea ad sedem apostolicam venientes, cum satisfactione suscepta penitentia, redierunt ad propria).»^[52]

— Ivo of Chartres, IX, 8, letter to King Henry I.

Despite the threat of excommunication, Robert II and Bertha refused to submit until September 1001, when they finally became separated. The inability of Bertha to produce further offspring after her stillbirth was probably the main reason for this. Robert II, in need of male heirs, decided to remarry one more time.^[52]

Third marriage: Constance of Arles

Constance of Arles, depicted in an engraving of the late 19th century.

After October 1002 and before August 1004, Robert II contracted his third and last marriage (to a distant princess to avoid any close relationship) with the 17 year old Constance, daughter of Count William I of Arles and Provence and his wife Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou.^[53] The new Queen's parents were prestigious in their own right: Count William I was nicknamed "the Liberator" (le Libérateur) thanks to his victories against the Saracens, and Countess Adelaide-Blanche's blood relations with the House of Ingelger allowed Robert II to restored his alliance with them.^[54] Six^{[lower-alpha 10]} children born from Constance's marriage to Robert II are recorded:

• Hedwig [Advisa], Countess of Auxerre (ca. 1003 – aft. 1063), married Renauld I, Count of Nevers^[57] on 25 January 1016 and had issue.
• Hugh, Junior King (1007 – 17 September 1025).
• Henry I, successor (bef. 17 April/4 May 1008 – 4 August 1060).^[58]
• Adela, Countess of Contenance (ca. 1009 – 8 January 1079), married (1) Richard III of Normandy and (2) Count Baldwin V of Flanders.^[58]
• Robert (1011–12 – 21 March 1076), named by his father heir to the Duchy of Burgundy in 1030, installed as such in 1032 by his brother.^[58]
• Odo [Eudes] (1013 – 15 May 1057–59), who may have been intellectually disabled according to the chronicle (ended in 1138) of Pierre, son of Béchin, canon of Saint-Martin-de-Tours. He died after his brother's failed invasion of Normandy.

Constance of Arles surrendering to her son Henry I of France. Illumination on parchment from ca. 1375–1380 manuscript. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Fr 2813, folio 177 recto.

Since early in her marriage, Constance often placed herself at the center of many intrigues to preserve a preponderant place in the Frankish court. Rodolfus Glaber rightly emphasized that the Queen was "in control of her husband". For contemporaries, a woman who led her husband implied an abnormal situation. It all started at the beginning of the year 1008, a day when the King and his faithful Count palatine Hugh of Beauvais were hunting in the forest of Orléans. Suddenly, twelve armed men appeared and threw themselves on Hugh before killing him under the eyes of the king. The crime was ordered by Count Fulk III of Anjou, and with all probability supported by the Queen.^{[lower-alpha 11]} Robert II, exasperated by his wife after six or seven years of marriage (c. 1009–1010), went personally to Rome accompanied by Angilramme (a monk from Saint-Riquier) and Bertha de Burgundy. His plan was to obtain from Pope Sergius IV an annulment from his marriage with Constance and to remarry Bertha,^[60][61] whom Robert II still loved deeply,^[52] under the grounds of Constance's participation in the murder of Hugh of Beauvais. Odorannus, a Benedictine monk from the Abbey of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif in Sens, explains in his writings that during her husband's journey to Rome, Constance withdrew in distress to her dominions at Theil. According to him, Saint Savinian would have appeared to him and secured that the royal marriage would be preserved; three days later, Robert II was back, definitively abandoning Bertha.^{[lower-alpha 12]} The problems did not end, however. The rivalry between Bertha and Constance only enhanced the hatred between the Houses of Blois and Anjou. In the midst of this dispute, after the military victory of Odo II of Blois over Fulk III of Anjou in Pontlevoy (1016), the Queen sought to strengthen her family's position at court. For this, she and her Angevin relatives pressured the King to associate her eldest son Hugh to the throne, to ensure the regency of Constance over the Kingdom in the event of Robert II's death. Against the opinion of the royal councilors and the territorial princes, Robert II relented and thus, according to Rodulfus Glaber, 10-years-old Hugh was consecrated Junior King on Pentecost Day (9 June) 1017 in the church of the Abbey of Saint-Corneille in Compiègne.^[63] Although the association markedly favored the House of Anjou (and could put the sovereign's own life at risk), Robert II considered that this was the best way to consolidate the new Capetian dynasty and prevent another of the noble families from disputing the throne. However, he did not give any royal power to his son and, for this, Hugh was constantly humiliated by his mother. When he came of age, the junior King rebelled against his father, but eventually was restored in the royal favor.^[64]

A "monk king"

Robert the Pious at the office in the cathedral of Orleans. Robinet Testard, Grandes Chroniques de France, ca. 1471. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Fr. 2609.

Anxious to ensure their salvation and to repair their sins (incursions into Church land, murders, incestuous unions), kings, dukes and counts of the year 1000 attracted to them the most efficient monks and endowed them richly, such as the chronicle which Helgaud of Fleury wrote for Robert II.^[97]

Robert II was a devout Catholic, hence his sobriquet "the Pious." He was musically inclined, being a composer, chorister, and poet, and made his palace a place of religious seclusion where he conducted the matins and vespers in his royal robes. Robert II's reputation for piety also resulted from his lack of toleration for heretics, whom he harshly punished. He is said to have advocated forced conversions of local Jewry. He supported riots against the Jews of Orléans who were accused of conspiring to destroy the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Furthermore, Robert II reinstated the Roman imperial custom of burning heretics at the stake.^[98] In 1030–1031, Robert confirmed the foundation of Noyers Abbey.^[99]

Fleury Abbey and the rise of the monastic movement

The reign of Hugh Capet was that of the episcopate; that of Robert II was otherwise. Since the Council of Verzy (991–992), the Capetians had been at the heart of a political-religious crisis which opposed, on the one hand, someone close to power, Bishop Arnoul II of Orléans, and on the other Abbo of Fleury.^{[lower-alpha 18]}

In these troubled times (10th–11th centuries), there was the revival of monasticism which was characterized by the desire to reform the Church, a return to the Benedictine tradition, and a fleeting revival of the days of Louis the Pious by Benedict of Aniane. Their role was to repair "the sins of the people". The monks quickly met with great success: kings and counts attracted them to them and endowed them richly in land (often confiscated from enemies), in objects of all kinds, and the great abbots were called to purify certain places. Thus Guglielmo da Volpiano was called by Duke Richard II of Normandy to Fécamp (1001). Under the aegis of Cluny, the monasteries were increasingly seeking to free themselves from episcopal supervision, in particular Fleury-sur-Loire. Moreover, abbots went to Rome between 996 and 998 to claim privileges of exemption from the Pope.^[101] In the southern regions of the kingdom, Cluny and other establishments, peace movements were disseminated with the help of certain ecclesiastics who hoped for a strengthening of their power: Odilo, supported by his relatives, worked in close collaboration with the bishop of Puy to begin the Truce of God in Auvergne (ca. 1030). Nevertheless, in the northern provinces, Cluny did not have good press. Here the bishops were at the head of powerful counties and the intervention of the Cluniac movement could harm them. Ascelin of Laon and Gerard of Cambrai did not like the monks whom they considered to be impostors. Moreover, on the side of the bishops, there was no lack of criticism against the monks: thus they were accused of having an opulent life, of having unnatural sexual activities and of wearing luxury clothes (the example of the Abbot Mainard of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés is detailed). On the side of the regulars, examples against the bishops abounded: it was said that the prelates were very rich (trafficking in sacred objects, simony) and dominated as true warlords. Abbo of Fleury, the leader of the monastic reform movement, set an example by trying to go and pacify and discipline the monastery of La Réole, where he would be killed in a fight in 1004.^{[lower-alpha 19]}

The strength of Fleury and Cluny were their respective intellectual centers: the first retained in the 11th century more than 600 manuscripts from all walks of life, and Abbot Abbo himself wrote numerous treatises, the fruit of distant trips, notably to England, upon which he reflected (for example, on the role of the ideal prince); the second, through Rodulphus Glaber, was a place where history was written. Hugh Capet and Robert II, solicited by the two parties (episcopal and monastic), received the complaint from Abbo who denounced the actions of a layman, Lord Arnoul of Yèvres, who would have erected a tower without royal authorization and above all would have submitted by force the peasant communities that belong to the Abbey of Fleury. Bishop Arnoul II of Orléans, the uncle of Arnulf of Yèvres, said meanwhile that his nephew (???), for the King needed support to fight against Count Odo I of Blois. Finally, a negotiation took place under the chairmanship of Robert II and a diploma dated in Paris in 994 temporarily put an end to the quarrel.^[104][105] Abbo was then denounced as a "corrupter" and summoned to a royal assembly. He wrote a letter for the event entitled "Apologetic Book against Bishop Arnoul of Orléans" (Livre apologétique contre l’évêque Arnoul d’Orléans), which he addressed to Robert II, reputed to be literate and steeped in religious culture. The Abbot of Fleury seized the opportunity to claim the protection of the sovereign, who responded favorably. The traditional Carolingian episcopate then felt abandoned by royalty and threatened by the monks. This situation would be reinforced with the death of Hugh Capet in the fall of 996.^{[lower-alpha 20]} Robert II was now more tempted by monastic culture than by episcopal and pontifical power which still remained largely the servant of the Holy Roman Empire. In parallel with these factional struggles, we also know that bishops and abbots found themselves alongside the counts to ensure that their legal immunities were respected.

Robert II, the ideal prince

Merovingian holy reliquary from the 6th century on which Robert II probably had to pray. Currently displayed in the Museum of Sens.

On the death of Robert II, the canons of Saint-Aignan asked a monk from Fleury who had worked with the sovereign and had access to the library of the Loire Abbey, to compose the biography of the second ruler of the Capetian dynasty.

«The very good and very pious Robert, King of the Franks, son of Hugh, whose piety and goodness resounded by everyone, has with all his power enriched cherished and honored this saint [Aignan] by whose permission we have wanted to write the life of this very excellent king.»

— Helgaud of Fleury, Epitoma vitæ regis Roberti pii, ca. 1033.^[108]

In his biography, Helgaud strives to demonstrate the holiness of this king since he does not intend to relate the facts relating to warlike functions. This work seems to have been inspired by the life of Gerald of Aurillac, another lay saint told by Odilo of Cluny. The life of Robert II is a series of exempla, intended to show that the behavior of the king was that of a humble prince who possessed all the qualities: gentleness, charity, accessible to all, forgiving everything. This hagiography is different from the traditional royal ideology, since the king seems to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Sin allows kings to recognize themselves as mere mortals and thus lay a solid foundation for the new dynasty.^[109]

The Abbey of Fleury, since the reign of Hugh Capet, has taken care of deeply legitimizing the Capetian monarchy by creating a new royal ideology. According to Helgaud, Robert II is since his coronation, particeps Dei regni (participant in the Kingship of God). Indeed, the young sovereign received in 987 the anointing of oil at the same time temporal and spiritual, "desiring to fulfill his power and his will with the gift of the holy blessing". All the clerics for whom we have the works, submit to the royal person: for Helgaud, Robert holds the place of God on earth (princeps Dei), Fulbert of Chartres calls him "holy father" or " your Holiness", for Adémar de Chabannes it is the "Father of the poor" and finally according to Ascelin of Laon, he received from God the true wisdom giving him access to the knowledge of "the celestial and unchanging universe".^[110] Another great scholar of his time, Rodulfus Glaber, relates the meeting between Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor and Robert II in the city of Ivois in August 1023. They endeavored to define together the principles of a peace common to all Christendom. According to the theorists of the 11th century, Robert II was at the level of the Emperor by his mother since she has Roman ancestry, the Francorum imperator.^[111]

Secret of their success with the church hierarchy, the first Capetians (and in the first place Robert II) are famous for having carried out many religious foundations. Hugh the Great and Hugh Capet in their time had founded the monastery of Saint-Magloire on the right bank in Paris. Queen Adelaide, mother of Robert II, reputed to be very pious, ordered the construction of the monastery of Saint-Frambourg in Senlis and especially the one dedicated to Saint Marie in Argenteuil. According to Helgaud of Fleury:

«She [Queen Adelaide] also built in Parisis, at a place called Argenteuil, a monastery where she brought together a considerable number of servants of the Lord, living according to the rule of Saint Benedict.»

— Helgaud of Fleury, Epitoma vitæ regis Roberti pii, ca. 1033.^[112]

Robert II is in the forefront in the defense of the saints who, according to him, guarantee the effectiveness of divine grace and "thus contribute to the purification of society by blocking the forces of evil". Several crypts were built or renovated for the occasion: Saint-Cassien in Autun, Sainte-Marie in Melun, Saint-Rieul de Senlis in Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois. The sovereign goes further by offering pieces of relics to certain monks (a fragment of the chasuble of Saint Denis to Helgaud of Fleury). We also know that around 1015–1018, at the request of his wife Constance, Robert II ordered the making of a reliquary for Saint Savinien for the altar of the relics of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif near Sens. According to legend, Saint Savinian would have protected the integrity of the royal marriage when Robert II had gone to Rome with his former wife Bertha before leaving her definitively. The order is made from one of the best monk-silversmiths in the kingdom, Odorannus. In total, the sacred object is composed of 900 grams of gold and 5 kilograms of silver. In total, the inventory is impressive: during his reign Robert II offers a quantity of copes, priestly vestments, tablecloths, vases, chalices, crosses and censers. One of the gifts that most marks the contemporaries is probably the Évangéliaire dits de Gaignières, produced by Nivardus, a Lombard artist, on behalf of the Abbey of Fleury (beginning of the 11th century).^[113][114]

Chosen by the Lord

The definition of royalty in the time of Robert II is difficult to appreciate nowadays. The king only has precedence over the princes of the Frankish kingdom. Some like Odo II of Blois (in 1023), although respect is in order, make it clear to him that they wish to govern as they please without his consent. A prince respects the sovereign but he does not feel his subordinate. At the same time, however, the king tends to impose himself as Primus inter pares, the first of the princes. Moreover, the texts dating from the first part of the 11th century largely evoke loyalty to the king from the princes.^[115]

One day in 1027, a "rain of blood" fell on the Duchy of Aquitaine. The phenomenon worried enough contemporaries for William V of Aquitaine to explain it as a divine sign. The Duke then decides to send messengers to meet Robert II so that the latter asks the best scholars of his court for an explanation and advice. Gauzlin, Abbot of Fleury and Archbishop of Bourges, and Fulbert of Chartres take the matter in hand. Gauzlin answers that "the blood always announces a misfortune which will befall the Church and the population, but that after will come divine mercy". As for Fulbert, better documented, he analyzes the old historiæ (the works which relate the past facts):

«I found Titus Livius, Valerius, Orosius and several others relating this event; in the circumstances I contented myself with producing the testimony of Gregory, Bishop of Tours, because of his religious authority.»

— Fulbert of Chartres, Lettre au roi Robert, 1027.^{[lower-alpha 21]}

Fulbert concludes from Gregory of Tours (Histoire des Francs, VII), that only the ungodly and fornicators "will die for eternity in their blood, if they have not amended themselves beforehand". Friend of Bishop Fulbert, William V of Aquitaine could have addressed him directly. Now, aware that Robert II is the Lord's chosen one, it is from him, responsible for the entire kingdom, that we must seek advice. He is in the best position to know the mysteries of the world and the will of God. In the 11th century, even the most powerful men respect the order established by God, that is to say to pray to his sovereign.^[117][118]

The history of royal magical powers was dealt with by Marc Bloch in his work The Thaumaturge Kings (1924). During the early Middle Ages, the power to work miracles was strictly reserved for God, saints and relics. In the Merovingian times, was the mention of pious Guntram, mentioned by Gregory of Tours (6th century) and considered the first Frankish king healer. During the reign of Henry I, in the middle of the 11th century, we begin to tell Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire that Robert II had the gift of healing the wounds of certain diseases affecting them. Helgaud of Fleury writes in his Epitoma vitæ regis Roberti pii:

«[...] This man of God had no horror of them [lepers], for he had read in the Holy Scriptures that often our Lord Jesus had received hospitality in the figure of a leper. He went to them, approached them with eagerness, gave them the money with his own hand, kissed their hands with his mouth [...]. Moreover, divine virtue conferred on this holy man such grace for the healing of bodies that by touching the sick with the place of their wounds with his pious hand, and imprinting thereon the sign of the cross, he removed all pain from the disease.»

— Helgaud of Fleury, Epitoma vitæ regis Roberti pii, ca. 1033.^[119]

Indeed, Robert II is the first sovereign of his line to be credited with thaumaturgical talent. Perhaps this was a propaganda with the purpose of a symbolic compensation for the weakness of royal power; not being able to impose itself by force (for example in the episode with Odo II of Blois in 1023), the monarchy had to find an alternative to impose its primacy. Nevertheless, this first thaumaturgy is recognized as "generalist", that is to say that the king was not specialized in such or such disease as will be the case for his successors with the scrofula.^[120][121] Not much is known about Robert II's magical actions except that he would have cured lepers in the South during his journey from 1018 to 1020. The King of the Franks is not the only one to use this kind of practice, his contemporary Edward the Confessor does the same in England. According to popular tradition, the king's blood conveys a capacity to work miracles, a gift which is reinforced by the royal coronation. Finally, according to Jacques Le Goff, no document proves that the French sovereigns regularly practiced touching scrofula before Saint Louis.^[122] In 1031 Robert II also came on pilgrimage to the Abbey of Saint-Géraud d'Aurillac to visit the relics of Saint Gerald and the cradle of Gerbert, of which he had been a disciple.

A period of full economic growth

Fragment (single leaf) of a Speculum Viriginum ms., late 13th or early 14th century. The illustration showing the "Three Conditions of Woman", viz. virgins, widows and married wives, in a harvest allegory; the virgins reap hundredfold, the widows sixtyfold, the wives thirtyfold. Bonn, Rheinisches Landesmuseum.

If the 9th century looting have significantly slowed the economy, it is sustained expansion from the 10th century. Indeed, with the establishment of a decentralized defense, the Banal Lordship brought a response well adapted to the rapid Saracen or Viking raids. It becomes more profitable for thieves to settle in an area, get a tribute against the tranquility of the population and trade, rather than wage war, and this from the 10th century.^[123] The Vikings thus participate fully in the process of feudalisation and in the economic expansion which accompanies it. They must dispose of their booty, and they mint coins from the precious metals that were hoarded in looted religious goods. This cash, which is reinjected into the economy,^[124] is a leading catalyst for the ongoing economic transformation. The global money supply increases as much as with the weakening of the central power more and more bishops and princes coin money. However, the growing monetization of the economy is a powerful catalyst: farmers can take advantage of their agricultural surpluses and are motivated to increase their production capacity through the use of new techniques and the increase in cultivable areas through land clearing. The establishment of common law contributes to this development because the producer must generate enough profits to be able to pay the taxes. The lords also reinject this cash into the economy because one of the main criteria for belonging to the nobility in full structuring is to have a broad and expensive behavior towards its counterparts (this behavior being moreover necessary for ensure the loyalty of its militias).^[125]

In fact, in certain regions, the mottes play a pioneering role in the agrarian conquest of the saltus. During this time, were also developed more constantly the Thiérache, it is "to the clearing of land returned to the forest that the first castral movement is linked". In Cinglais, a region south of Caen, the primitive castles had settled on the borders of forest complexes.^[126] In all cases, the castral establishment on the outskirts of the village is very common.^[127] This phenomenon is part of a very anchored and ancient linear population which is juxtaposed with an early clearing that was certainly Carolingian well prior to the castral phenomenon. Nonetheless, the charters of northern France confirmed an intensive clearing activity still present until the middle of the 12th century and even beyond.

On the other hand, the lords as well as the clergy saw the interest in stimulating and benefiting from this economic expansion: they favored the clearing and the construction of new villages, and they invested in equipment increasing production capacities (mills, presses, ovens, plows, etc.) and transport (bridges, roads, etc.). Especially since these infrastructures can increase the income banal, levy tolls and tonlieus.^[128] In fact, increased trade leads to the proliferation of roads and markets (the network that is set up is immensely denser and ramified than what could have existed in Antiquity).^[129] These bridges, villages and markets are therefore built under the protection of a lord which is materialized by a castle mound. The power squire filter exchanges of any kind that amplify from the 11th century. We see many castras located on important roads, sources of a considerable financial contribution for the lord of the place. For Picardy, Robert Fossier noticed that nearly 35% of the sites that can be located in village lands are located on or near Roman roads, and that 55% of road and river nodes had fortified points.^[130]

Monetary Policy

The silver denarius is, as we have seen, one of the main engines of economic growth since the 9th century. The weakness of royal power led to the minting of coins by many bishops, lords and abbeys. While Charles the Bald had 26 coinage workshops, Hugh Capet and Robert II only have that of Laon.^[131] The reign of Hugh Capet marks the apogee of the feudalization of money. The result is a decrease in the uniformity of the denarius and the appearance of the practice of remapping money on the markets (we rely on the weight of the coin to determine its value). On the other hand, we are in a period where the increase in trade is supported by the increase in the volume of metal available. Indeed, the expansion towards the east of the Holy Roman Empire allows the Ottonian dynasty to be able to exploit new deposits of silver. Robert II has little room for maneuver. However, the practice of trimming or mutations, leads to devaluations that are quite harmful. However upholding the Peace of God, Robert II supports the fight against these abuses. The Order of Cluny who, like other abbeys mint their currency, have every interest in limiting these practices. Therefore, during the 10th century in the South, users must commit to not cut or falsifying currencies and issuers undertake not to take pretext of war to pursue a monetary transfer.^[132]

The royal administration

Is known that since around 992, Robert II has exercised the royal power transmitted by his aging father Hugh Capet. Historians thus show that the first Capetians begin to give up power around the age of 50, by tradition but also because the life expectancy of a sovereign at that time is around 55–60 years. Robert II followed this tradition in 1027, his son Henry I in 1059 and his grandson Philip I in 1100.^[17] In the image of his father and in the Carolingian tradition of Hincmar of Reims, Robert II takes advice from the ecclesiastics, something that was no longer done, to the great regret of the clerics, since the last Carolingians. This policy is taken up and theorized by Abbo of Fleury. From the time he was still associated with Hugh Capet, Robert II could write from Gerbert of Aurillac's pen:

«Not wishing in any way to abuse the royal power, we decide all the affairs of the res publica by resorting to the advice and sentences of our faithful ones.»

— Gerbert of Aurillac, Letter to the Archbishop of Sens, ca. 987.^[133]

The term that comes up most often in royal charters is that of "common good" (res publica), a concept taken from Roman Antiquity. The king is thus the guarantor, from the height of his supreme magistracy, of the well-being of all his subjects.^[134]

The royal administration is known to us through the archives and in particular through the content of the royal diplomas. As for his father, Robert II record both a continuity with the previous era and a break. Historiography has truly changed his perspective on administration in Robert II's day over the past fifteen years. Since the thesis of Jean-François Lemarignier was thought that the space in which the diplomas were shipped had tended to shrink during the 11th century: "the decline is observed between 1025–1028 and 1031 to the various points of view of qualification categories". But the historian affirmed that, starting from Hugh Capet and even more under Robert II, the charters included more and more foreign subscriptions (signatures) than the traditional royal chancellery: thus the châtelains and even simple knights mingled with the counts and bishops until then predominant and outnumbered them at the end of the reign. The king would no longer have been sufficient to guarantee his own acts.^[135]

More recently, Olivier Guyotjeannin has brought to light a whole different perspective on the administration of Robert II. The introduction and multiplication of subscriptions and witness lists at the bottom of the acts sign, according to him, rather a new deal in the systems of evidence. The royal acts by addressees and by a chancellery reduced to a few people still consist for half of them, of a Carolingian-type diplomatic (monogram, Carolingian forms) until around 1010. The preambles change slightly under the chancellor Baudouin from 1018 but there is still "political Augustinism and the idea of the king as protector of the Church". Above all, underlines the historian, the royal acts drawn up by Robert II's chancellery do not open until very late and very partially to signatures foreign to those of the king and the chancellor. On the other hand, in the second part of the reign, one notes some acts with multiple subscriptions: for example in the act delivered at the Flavigny Abbey (1018), was notes the signum of six bishops, of Prince Henry, of Count Odo II of Blois, of Count Otto of Vermandois and some later additions. It seems nevertheless that the knights and the small counts present in the charters are not the rebellious squires of the traditional historiography but rather the members of a local network woven around the abbeys and the bishoprics held by the king.^[136] Clearly, the changes in royal acts from the end of Robert II's reign do not reflect a decline in kingship.

Justice of Robert II

Crypt of Fleury Abbey at Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, first third of the 11th century.

Since the end of the 10th century, the formulation of royal ideology is the work of monastic world, especially in the highly dynamic Fleury Abbey, located in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire. In the theory of Abbo of Fleury (ca. 993–994), the concern of the sovereign of the year 1000 is to make equity and justice reign, to guarantee peace and harmony in the Kingdom. Its purpose is to safeguard Capetian memory for centuries.^[137] For their part, the territorial princes of the 11th century know what founds and legitimizes their power even in their royal aspects. The presence of a royal authority in the Kingdom of the Franks remains essential for contemporaries. However, Abbo also emphasizes in his writings the need of a local ruler who could exercise his office for the common good, deciding matters with the consent of the advisers (bishops and princes). However, Robert II did not always follow, to his great fault, this theory, in particular in the case of the succession of the Counties of Meaux and Troyes (1021–1024).^[134][138]

Since the beginning of the reign of Robert II, the Counties of Meaux and Troyes were in the hands of a powerful figure, his second cousin once removed^{[lower-alpha 22]} Count Stephen I of Troyes. In 1019, Stephen I appealed to the Robert II's generosity, asking him to confirm the restitution of property to the Abbey of Lagny. The king accepted, but Stephen I died ca. 1021–1023; a rare occurrence at the time, he had no clearly named successor or heir. Robert II is responsible for managing the succession, which he cedes without difficulty to Count Odo II of Blois, a lord already well-established in the region (he hold the cities of Épernay, Reims, Vaucouleurs and Commercy) and moreover was a second cousin^{[lower-alpha 23]} of Stephen I.^[139] However, a few months later a crisis breaks out. Ebles I of Roucy, Archbishop of Reims informs the king of the bad actions of Odo II who monopolizes all powers in Reims to the detriment of the prelate. Robert II, as a defender of the Church, decides, without the consent of anyone, to withdraw the comital title of Reims from Odo II. The latter, furious, imposes himself in Reims by force. In addition, the king is not supported, his justice is undermined: even his faithfuls Fulbert of Chartres and Duke Richard II of Normandy support Odo II by arguing that Robert II should not behave like a "tyrant". Summoned by the king in 1023, Odo II courteously informs that he will not move and Robert II has neither the means to oblige him nor the right to seize his patrimony, because these lands weren't granted by the king but inherited from his ancestors by the will of the Lord.^[140]

After this event (which weakened his already unstable authority), Robert II does not repeat the same mistake. In 1024, after a meeting of the greats of the Kingdom in Compiègne who suggested appeasement to him with Odo II of Blois, the King had to confirm the Count's possessions. A few years later, in May 1027, Dudon, Abbot of Montier-en-Der, publicly complains of the violent usurpation exercised by Stephen of Vaux, Lord of Joinville. The latter seized seven churches to the detriment of the monastery of which he is however the advocatus. Robert II once again takes charge of the affair, and taking advantage of the coronation of his second son Henry at Pentecost of 1027 in Reims, he summons the Lord of Joinville to his court. The latter does not travel for the event. The present assembly, composed among others by Ebles I of Roucy, Odilo of Cluny, Dudon of Montier-en-Der, William V of Aquitaine and Odo II, unanimously decides to launch the anathema on the Lord of Joinville. In short, Robert II is not the weak king that historiography has always presented. Of course, his decisions in matters of justice must take into account the advice of ecclesiastics and territorial princes, but he remains as the Primer inter pares, that is to say the first among his peers.^[115][141]