ROBERT, king of France, surnamed the Wise and the Pious, came to the crown in 996, after the death of Hugh Capet his father. He was crowned at Orleans, the place of his nativity, and afterwards at Rheims, after the imprisonment of Charles of Lorraine. He married Bertha his cousin, daughter of Conrad king of Burgundy; but the marriage was declared null by Gregory V.; and the king, if we can give credit to Cardinal Peter Damien, was excommunicated. This anathema made such a noise in France, that all the king's courtiers, and even his very domestics, went away from him. Only two continued with him; who were so deeply impressed with a sense of horror at whatever the king touched, that they purified it with fire: this scruple they carried so far, as to the very plates on which he was served with his meat, and the vessels out of which he drank. The same cardinal reports, that as a punishment for his pretended incest, the queen was delivered of a monster, which had the head and neck of a duck. He adds, that Robert was so struck with astonishment at this species of prodigy, that he lived apart from the queen. He contracted a second marriage with Constance, daughter of William count of Arles and Provence; but the arrogant disposition of this princess would have totally overturned the kingdom, and thrown it into confusion, had not the wisdom of the king prevented her from intermeddling with the affairs of the state. He carefully concealed from her whatever acts of liberality he showed to any of his domestics. "Take care (said he to them) that the queen don't perceive it."
Robert. it." Henry duke of Burgundy, brother of Hugh Capet, dying in 1002, without lawful issue, left his dukedom to his nephew the king of France. Robert invested his second son Henry with this dukedom, who afterwards coming to the crown, resigned it in favour of Robert his cadet. This duke Robert was chief of the first royal branch of the dukes of Burgundy, who flourished till 1361. This dukedom was then re-united to the crown by King John, who gave it to his fourth son Philip the Bold, chief of the second house of Burgundy, which was terminated in the person of Charles the Rash who was slain in 1477. King Robert was so much esteemed for his wisdom and prudence, that he was offered the empire and kingdom of Italy, which, however, he declined to accept. Hugh, called the Great, whom he had had by Constance, being dead, he caused his second son Henry I. to be crowned at Rheims. He died at Melun, July 22. 1031, at the age of 60. Robert was, according to the knowledge of the times, a wise prince. Helgand, friar of Fleury, relates, in his life of him, that, to prevent his subjects from falling into the crime of perjury, and incurring the penalties which followed thereon, he made them swear upon a shrine from which the relics had been previously removed, as if intention did not constitute perjury! and long after similar reasoning was adopted. Robert built a great number of churches, and procured a restitution to the clergy of the tithes and wealth which the laylords had made themselves masters of. The depredations were such, that the laity possessed the ecclesiastical treasures by hereditary titles; they divided them among their children; they even gave benefices as a dowry with their daughters, or left them to their sons as lawful inheritance. Although Robert was pious, and although he respected the clergy, yet it was evident that he opposed the bishops with a firmness and resolution, of which, for many ages, they had no examples. Lutheric archbishop of Sens had introduced into his diocese the custom of proving by the eucharist persons accused as guilty of any crime. The king wrote to him in the following strong terms:—"I swear (says he) by the faith I owe to God, that if you do not put a stop to the gross abuse complained of, you shall be deprived of your priesthood." The prelate was forced to comply. He punished, in 1022, the Manichéens, canons of Orleans, by burning them at the stake. There are, however, recorded of him some less severe actions, which it is right to mention. A dangerous conspiracy against his person and government having been discovered, and the authors taken into custody, he seized the moment when their judges had met to sentence them to death, to cause an elegant repast to be served up to them. Next day they were admitted to the eucharist. Then Robert told them, that he gave them their pardon, "because none of those can die whom Jesus Christ came to receive at his table." One day when he was at prayers in the chapel, he perceived a thief, who had cut off the half of the fringe of his mantle, proceeding to take the remainder; "Friend (says he with a pleasant countenance), be content with what you have already taken, the rest will very well serve some other." Robert cultivated, and was a patronizer of the sciences. There are several hymns wrote by him, which still continue to be sung in the church. His reign was happy and tran-
quil. According to some authors, he instituted the order of the Star, commonly attributed to King John. Robert.
ROBERT of France, second son of Louis VIII. and brother to St Louis, who erected in his favour Artois into a royal peerage in the year 1237. It was during this time that the unlucky difference between Pope Gregory IX. and the emperor Frederic II. took place. Gregory offered to St Louis the empire for Robert; but the French noblesse, having met to deliberate on this proposal, were of opinion that he ought to reject it. He gave the pope for answer: "That Count Robert esteemed himself sufficiently honoured by being the brother of a king, who surpassed in dignity, in strength, in wealth, and in birth, all other monarchs in the world." Robert accompanied St Louis into Egypt, and fought with more bravery than prudence at the battle of Mansouré, on the 9th of February 1250. In his pursuit of the cowards through a certain small village, he was killed by stones, sticks, and other things which they threw at him from the windows. He was an intrepid prince, but too passionate, dogmatical, and quarrelsome.