v09_0888 - ROBERT II THE PIOUS Denier c. 987-990 Soissons

ROBERT II THE PIOUS

(24/10/996-20/07/1031)

Second of the Capetians, son of Hugues Capet, King Robert, who ascended the throne in 996, owed his penchant for things of the Church and his popularity with the clergy the nickname of "pious".. Pupil in Reims of the famous Gerbert d'Aurillac, the pope of the year 1000, he knew Latin, composed music and took books on trips, all things that distinguished him from most lords of his time.. First married to Rosala, daughter of the Count of Flanders, whom he repudiated, he then married Berthe, widow of the Count of Blois. Godfather of the children of the Countess, the king could not have this marriage recognized by the Church and had to conclude a third with Constance, daughter of the Count of Arles.. Princess with a difficult character, whose southern mores clashed north of the Loire, Constance gave three sons to Robert. The first, Hugh, was associated with the throne in 1017, the second, Henry, was in 1026, on the death of his eldest.. His mother preferred the third, Robert, and pushed him to revolt. The whole reign was darkened by the troubles due to the king's three marriages and the permanent quarrels between the monarch, his third wife and their children.. Inside, the king fought, in a series of indecisive little wars, against the growing power of the great barons.. His great success was the conquest of the Duchy of Burgundy in 1002. But, south of the Loire, the royal influence reached its low point. Outside, Robert II tried, without much success, to counter the expansion of the Germanic Empire. It was then that the ancient kingdom of Burgundy and Italy passed into the power of the emperor. A weak prince, like his father, Robert, he nevertheless knew how, like Hugues Capet before him, to maintain the alliance of the crown and the clergy and ensure the continuity of the dynasty, by associating his sons with the throne.. By its very length, his reign helped to further entrench the third royal race.