Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester

Youth and Education

Robert de Beaumont was the son of Robert de Beaumont , Count de Mélan and 1st Earl of Leicester , a major statesman and close associate of the English King Henry I , and Elizabeth de Vermandois , the granddaughter of the French King Henry I. Robert had a twin brother Galeran . Shortly after the death of his father in 1118 , Robert and Galeran were taken under the protection of the King of England. Extensive possessions on both sides of the English Channel , remaining after the death of Count de Melan, until the brothers reached adulthood, were under the tutelage of a group of Anglo-Norman aristocrats led by Wilhelm de Varenne , Count of Surrey , second wife of Elizabeth de Vermandois.

The young brothers Robert and Galeran received an excellent education for that time. Perhaps they studied at the school of Abingdon Abbey , but this is not finally established. It is known that already in 1119 they accompanied King Henry I to Normandy to meet with Pope Calixtus II , where, at the request of the king, they held a philosophical debate with cardinals . Robert, who, apparently, was one of the most educated aristocrats in England, was distinguished by special scholarship. So far, a treatise on astronomy has been reached, which contains a dedication to " Count Robert Lester, a man of work and deep knowledge, the most skilled in matters of law " ^[5] .

Count Leicester and Senior de Breteuil

In 1120, the Beaumont brothers were declared adults and took possession of the lands of their father. Galerand received the title of Count de Mélan and the Beaumont possessions in Normandy and Ile de France , Robert got the English lands and the title of Count Leicester . According to the Doomsday Book in England, Robert's father owned more than 91 manors , which made him one of the richest people in the country. Moreover, in 1121, Henry I, who was sympathetic to young Robert, transferred to him extensive possessions in Upper Normandy with centers in Breteuil and Passe -sur-Er , confiscated two years earlier from the Breton house de Breteuil, to which belonged to the wife of Robert de Beaumont . In the 1120s , Robert was busy restoring order in his new Norman possessions: the Barons of Breteuil did not immediately accept the new overlord and repeatedly opposed Robert and King Henry I. During the uprising in Normandy 1123 - 1124 , supported by Galerand de Beaumont, Robert remained loyal to the king and often visited the court of Henry I.

At the same time, Robert de Beaumont was actively involved in rounding off his English possessions. By force he seized some of the lands of Bishop Lincoln and Earl of Chester in Leicestershire , uniting under his authority a compact block of lands from Luchborough to Melton Mowbray and Market Harborough . The size of Count Leicester’s possessions and the development of their management system is evidenced by the fact that Robert had his own checkerboard chamber , modeled on the royal, which was responsible for controlling the income from the count’s lands and resolving disputes between vassals and other holders of the count’s land. In his possessions, Robert de Beaumont actively patronized the church. He founded several monasteries, of which the monastery of St. Mary de Pres in Leicester , as well as the Cistercian Abbey of Garendon, became the largest and most influential.

After the death of King Henry I in 1135, Robert and Galerand de Beaumont supported Stefan Bloisky's candidacy for the English throne and took the oath of allegiance to him at the Great Royal Council on Easter 1136 . Then Robert returned to Normandy, where for the next two years he defended his possessions from encroachments by other Norman feudal lords and reflected the attempts of the supporters of Empress Matilda to gain a foothold in the duchy. In the process of hostilities, he managed to capture and annex Pont-Saint-Pierre castle to his domain . At the end of 1137, Robert returned to England, to the court of King Stephen. Together with his brother, they were in the circle of the closest associates of the king and initiated the removal and arrest of Roger of Salisbury , Justiciary of England, which had disastrous consequences for Stephen, since he deprived him of the support of the English clergy.

Engaging in the Civil War in England

In the civil war that began in England in 1139 between the supporters of Stephen and Empress Matilda, Robert supported the king. Earl of Leicester in Dorset and the port of Warem that belonged to him were captured in 1139 by Robert of Gloucester , leader of the party of Matilda. At the same time, Stefan handed over to Robert de Beaumont the city and castle of Hereford , controlled by the Earl of Gloucester. In 1140 , Robert again went to Normandy and for some time successfully defended the duchy from the troops of Empress Matilda and the Anjou . However, gradually the advantage moved to the side of the latter. In 1142 , the Anjou seized Falez and entered Vexen , and at the beginning of 1144 Rouen fell. Robert's Norman possessions were confiscated by Geoffrey Plantagenet , the count was forced to give up resistance and return to England.

Robert de Beaumont did not take an active part in the last stage of the civil war in England. Although he was still considered a supporter of King Stephen, they were no longer close and Robert rarely appeared at court. Earl Leicester focused on managing his own Middle English possessions and protecting them from the looting of military units of the warring parties. The biggest problem was Ranulf de Jernon , Earl of Chester , who claimed dominance in Central England and sought to expand his holdings in Leicestershire and Lincolnshire . The confrontation between Robert de Beaumont and Ranulf de Jernon continued with varying success until 1147. Robert managed to secure the northern Leicestershire and the strategically important Mountsorrel Castle in Cheshire . Earl Leicester was one of the initiators of the creation of a system of private agreements between the Middle English feudal lords on maintaining joint peace in the region. This was facilitated by the departure of Empress Matilda to Normandy and the weakening of her party in England. Peace treaties concluded between the counts and barons of Middle England among themselves are vivid evidence of the complete decline of royal power in the region and the desire of local feudal lords to ensure order and tranquility in their possessions on their own. Particularly indicative in this sense is the agreement between the counts of Leicester and Chester, concluded between 1149 and 1153. An extensive document contains a detailed description of the principles that will determine the relationship between these two largest feudal lords of Central England: each undertook to not start a war without prior notification to the other parties for 15 days, the construction of castles and fortifications was prohibited on the border territory, and in the event the king attacked one of the parties to the treaty, the other had the right to render the king no more help, h I am eating twenty knights . Guarantors of compliance with the terms of the contract were the bishops of Leicester and Chester . ^[6]

By 1149 , relative order was restored in Central England. At the same time, Robert took custody of his brother's possessions in Worcestershire and in 1151 prevented King Stephen from capturing Worcester . The cooling of the relations of Count Leicester with the king led him to the camp of Empress Matilda. Apparently, since the spring of 1153 , Robert had been negotiating with the son of Matilda Henry Plantagenet , the Earl of Anjou and the Duke of Normandy . In May 1153, Henry returned to Robert his possessions in Normandy. In June, Henry was received at Leicester Castle, and in a subsequent campaign against Stephen, Robert was already on the side of Plantagenet. After the conclusion of the Wallingford Peace in November 1153 between King Stephen and Henry Plantagenet, Robert de Beaumont went to Normandy, where he took over the lands and castles returned to him. One of the conditions of the agreement between Robert and Henry was the recognition of Count Lester and his descendants of the honorary hereditary position of Lord Manager ( Seneschal ) of England and Normandy.

Chief Justice of England

After the death of Stephen of Blois in 1154 , Henry Plantagenet entered the English throne. Shortly after the coronation, Henry appointed Robert de Beaumont to the post of chief justice of England - the second post after the king in the judicial and administrative system of the country. The jurisdict's competence included the supervision and enforcement of the law in the courts and local governments and the administration of justice in critical public affairs, as well as the replacement of the king in England during his trips to the continent. Robert de Beaumont held this post continuously for almost fourteen years before his death and gained considerable authority. In the process of fulfilling the functions of the Justiciary, Count Leicester made a significant contribution to the development of the Clarendon constitutions and to the formation of the ramified administrative apparatus of the Anjou monarchy .

Robert de Beaumont died on April 5, 1168 , probably at Brackley Castle, in Nottinghamshire . Before his death, he became a monk and was buried north of the main altar of the Leicester Abbey that he founded.

Robert de Beaumont was married (after 1120) to Amicia de Montfort (d. C. 1168), the daughter of Raul II, the lord de Montfort and de Breteuil , the youngest son of Ralph II , Earl of East Anglia . Their children:

• Havisa de Beaumont (d. April 24, 1197), married (1150) to William Fitz-Robert , 2nd Earl of Gloucester ;
• Robert de Beaumont (d. 1190), 3rd Earl of Leicester , married Pernell, daughter of Hugo de Granmesnil ;
• Isabella de Beaumont (d. After 1188), married the first marriage (c. 1138) to Simon de Senlis , 2nd Earl of Northampton , the second marriage to Gervais de Dudley (d. 1194);
• Margarita de Beaumont (1125 — c. 1185), married to Raul IV de Tosni .

• Genealogy of the House de Beaumont (English)
• Beaumont in the history of England

• Crouch, D. The Beaumont Twins: the Roots and Branches of Power in the Twelfth Century. - Camb. 1986.
• Crouch, D. The Reign of King Stephen, 1135-1154. - L. , 2000.
• Poole, AL From Domesday Book to Magna Carta 1087-1216. - Oxf. , 1956. - ISBN 0-19-285287-6