EFL - Enciclopedia delle Famiglie Lombarde

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NAMUR.htm ROBERT [I] ([920/25]-befor e 981). Robert succeeded as Comte de Namur, maybe as direct successo r to Berengar as no documentary record has been found of another inter vening count in the area, although this is not certain. The earliest r eference to Robert is the charter dated 2 Jun 946 under which "Rotbert us comes" donated the villa of Melin "in comitatu meo" to the abbey o f Waulsort [1]. According to ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' [2], Rober t was the son of Berengar. However, the only evidence so far identifie d that Robert may have been a descendant of Berengar is provided by th e ''Vita Gerardi Abbatis Broniense'' which records that "comes Berenga rius Nammucensi castro præsidebat" commenting that "cuius stirpis pos teritas ibidem hactenus perstat" [3]. This convoluted reference sugges ts that the relationship may have been less direct than father/son: ma ybe Robert was Berengar's grandson, the son of Berengar's daughter. Th is appears to be corroborated by the chronology of the births in the f amily. If Giselbert, son of Robert [I], was born in [955/60], it is un likely that his father was born before [920/25] at the earliest, beari ng in mind that he was presumably an adult at the time of the 946 char ter. Assuming that the birth date range of Berengar is correct as show n above, Robert would most likely have been born earlier than this i f he had been Berengar's son. The fact that Robert named his second so n Giselbert also suggests a family connection with Berengar, whose wif e was the sister of Giselbert Duke of Lotharingia, although it is some what surprising that the name Berengar itself is not repeated among Ro bert's descendants. Another indication of Robert's family background i s provided by the ''Gesta Abbatum Gemblacensium'' which names "Rotbert us… comes Namucensis" as the most powerful of the "cæteri fratres e t nepotes pii patris nostri [Wicperti]", while recording that he oppre ssed the abbey of Gembloux [4]. If this is correct, Robert's materna l grandmother was Osburga, whose first husband was St Wicbert's father . "Otto… rex" granted property "quod Ymmo in villa Castra et in pag o Darnegouue ac in comitatu Rotberti comitis" to "fideli nostro Tietbo ldo" by charter dated 11 Jun 958 [5]. Flodoard's ''Annals'' record tha t in 960 "Rotbertus", enemy of Bruno Archbishop of Köln (son of Henri ch I King of Germany), fortified "Namuurum castrum" against the archbi shop [6]. "Rotbertus comes" subscribed a charter dated 961 under whic h Erluin abbé of Gembloux exchanged property [7]. The ''Gesta Abbatu m Lobiensium'' names "comite Roberto" and records that "Ratherius" die d "apud Namurcum" [8], an event dated elsewhere to 974. m ---. Thierr y Stasser suggests that the wife of Robert [I] Comte de Namur may hav e been [Liutgarde], daughter of Adalbert Graf [von Metz], emphasisin g that this is purely speculative based only on onomastics [9]. [1] N amur 1, p. 3. [2] ES VII 68. [3] ''Vita Gerardi Abbatis Broniensis' ' 3, MGH SS XV.2, p. 656, the introduction, p. 654 footnote 7 suggesti ng that the work was composed [960/76]. [4] ''Gesta Abbatum Gemblacen sium'' 20, MGH SS VIII, p. 533. [5] D O I 194, p. 275. [6] ''Flodoar di Annales'' 960, MGH SS III, p. 405. [7] Roland, C. G. (ed.) (1921 ) ''Recueil des chartes de l'abbaye de Gembloux'' (Gembloux) ("Gemblou x"), p. 15. [8] ''Folcuini Gesta Abbatum Lobiensium'' 28, MGH SS IV , p. 70. [9] Stasser, T. 'L'épouse de Robert I de Namur: Essai d'ide ntification', Keats-Rohan, K. S. B. and Settipani, C. (eds.) (2000) '' Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident medieval'' (Prosopographica e t Genealogica, Vol. 3), p. 115.