Rotrou III (bef. 1080 – 8 May 1144), called the Great ( le Grand ), was the Count of Perche and Mortagne from 1099. He was the son of Geoffrey II, Count of Perche , and Beatrix de Ramerupt, daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier . He was a notable Crusader and a participant in the Reconquista in eastern Spain, even ruling the city of Tudela in Navarre from 1123 to 1131. He is commonly credited with introducing Arabian horses to the Perche, giving rise to the Percheron breed. By his creation of a monastery at La Trappe in memory of his wife, Matilda , daughter of Henry I of England , in 1122 he also laid the foundations of the later Trappists .
42-436: Rotrou may refer to: Rotrou I, Count of Perche Rotrou II, Count of Perche Rotrou III, Count of Perche (bef. 1080 – 1144) Rotrou IV, Count of Perche Rotrou (Archbishop of Rouen) (1109 – 1183/84) Jean Rotrou (1609 - 1650), French poet and playwright [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with
84-424: A seigneur or "lord", 12th century), which gives rise to the expression "seigneurial system" to describe feudalism. Originally, vassalage did not imply the giving or receiving of landholdings (which were granted only as a reward for loyalty), but by the 8th century the giving of a landholding was becoming standard. The granting of a landholding to a vassal did not relinquish the lord's property rights, but only
126-610: A Seigneur or Dame that owns the fief. The Guernsey fiefs and seigneurs existed long before baronies, and are historically part of Normandy . While nobility has been outlawed in France and Germany, noble fiefs still exist by law in Guernsey. The owners of the fiefs actually convene each year at the Court of Chief Pleas under the supervision of His Majesty's Government. There are approximately 24 private fiefs in Guernsey that are registered directly with
168-496: A confrater (brother) of the Abbey of Cluny , Nogent's mother house, and to show his sincerity and prove the fulfillment of his Crusading vow he placed a charter confirming his predecessors' donations to the abbey and the palm frond brought back from Jerusalem on the altar. Rotrou's position in the Duchy of Normandy was that of defender of the frontier with the Île-de-France . His position
210-476: A city in whose conquest he played no role was either recompense for the mistreatment he received in the first decade of the century or due to the deterrent effect of his private army of Normans on the neighbouring Muslims. In the winter of 1124–25, Rotrou led an expedition against the hilltop Muslim fortress of Peña Cadiella ( Benicadell ), which guarded the road from Alicante to Valencia . Since Muslim troops from Murcia often moved up this road to Valencia, it
252-485: A land grant in exchange for service continued to be called a beneficium (Latin). Later, the term feudum , or feodum , began to replace beneficium in the documents. The first attested instance of this is from 984, although more primitive forms were seen up to one hundred years earlier. The origin of the feudum and why it replaced beneficium has not been well established, but there are multiple theories, described below. The most widely held theory
294-540: A standard feudal system, nor did there exist only one type of fief. Over the ages, depending on the region, there was a broad variety of customs using the same basic legal principles in many variations. In ancient Rome, a " benefice " (from the Latin noun beneficium , meaning "benefit") was a gift of land ( precaria ) for life as a reward for services rendered, originally, to the state. In medieval Latin European documents,
336-619: Is attested in charters from 1126 through 1128). Rotrou did not participate in Alfonso's Andalusian campaign, and a rumour in Normandy claimed that Alfonso made his war out of envy for Rotrou's achievements. Rotrou returned to Alfonso the Battler in 1130, when he was at the Siege of Bayonne . On 26 October, from the siege, Alfonso granted the fuero previously given to Tudela to the small town of Corella . Rotrou
378-437: Is first attested around 1250–1300 (Middle English); the word "fief" from around 1605–1615. In French, the term fief is found from the middle of the 13th century (Old French), derived from the 11th-century terms feu , fie . The odd appearance of the second f in the form fief may be due to influence from the verb fiever 'to grant in fee'. In French, one also finds seigneurie (land and rights possessed by
420-549: Is put forth by Marc Bloch that it is related to the Frankish term *fehu-ôd , in which *fehu means "cattle" and -ôd means "goods", implying "a moveable object of value". When land replaced currency as the primary store of value , the Germanic word *fehu-ôd replaced the Latin word beneficium . This Germanic origin theory was also shared by William Stubbs in the 19th century. A theory put forward by Archibald R. Lewis
462-508: Is that the origin of 'fief' is not feudum (or feodum ), but rather foderum , the earliest attested use being in Astronomus 's Vita Hludovici (840). In that text is a passage about Louis the Pious which says "annona militaris quas vulgo foderum vocant" , which can be translated as "(Louis forbade that) military provender which they popularly call 'fodder' (be furnished)." In
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#1733086226946504-595: The Chronicle of San Juan , that Rotrou ruled Tudela as a vassal of Alfonso the Battler, who is called "emperor" in the document. Similar charters from February 1128 and November 1131 show that this arrangement continued for almost a decade, even though Rotrou was often absent in Normandy and Robert Burdet in Tarragona. When Alfonso granted fueros to Tudela in 1127 he also mentioned Rotrou, Robert and Duran. It has been suggested that Rotrou's rise to an important frontier post in
546-577: The First Crusade , travelling with the army of the duke of Normandy , Robert Curthose . What influenced Rotrou in this regard were probably familial connexions. He was related to the Anglo-Norman aristocracy and the Perche was a march (border region) in southern Normandy. A sister was married to Raymond I of Turenne , who was a fellow Crusader in the following of Raymond IV of Toulouse . His mother, Beatrix,
588-451: The 'Aragonese plot' originated as a rumour with dissatisfied returning Normans. After the death of his wife, eldest son and two of his nephews in the wreck of the White Ship (1120), Rotrou returned to Spain. His parting may have been an act of penitence (perhaps he believed his sins had brought on the tragedy), or perhaps a public demonstration of grieving, since his wife was a daughter of
630-405: The 10th and 11th centuries the Latin terms for 'fee' could be used either to describe dependent tenure held by a man from his lord, as the term is used now by historians, or it could mean simply "property" (the manor was, in effect, a small fief). It lacked a precise meaning until the middle of the 12th century, when it received formal definition from land lawyers. In English usage, the word "fee"
672-468: The Crusaders had to confront a Seljuk relief force two weeks later in open battle, Rotrou was one of the front line commanders. He fulfilled his vow and made it all the way to Jerusalem . The Chanson also mentions his bravery at the siege of Nicaea of 1097. In 1107, Rotrou built a castle on land held partly allodially and partly in lordship by Hugh II of Le Puiset , thus challenging Hugh's rights to
714-535: The Norman involvement in the campaign originated as gossip designed to discredit Alfonso by Cluny, an ally of Alfonso's rival, Alfonso VI of Castile . More probably the Normans just accomplished too little to be noticed, or were perhaps sent back home without encountering any Muslims because their services were not need at the time, when Alfonso the Battler had an alliance with the taifa (faction-kingdom) of Zaragoza . Perhaps
756-458: The Perche, count in Gravina . This Gilbert was one of Rotrou's grandsons, although by which son is not known. Another relation, Henry of Montescaglioso , was a son of Margaret, perhaps illegitimate. Rotrou's first wife's name is unknown. They had one daughter: Rotrou's second wife was Matilda , illegitimate daughter of Henry I of England and one of his many mistresses, Edith. Matilda drowned in
798-437: The call for transpyrenean assistance put out by the Battler. Likewise Rotrou is attested fighting for Henry I in Normandy in 1119 and so could not have had any hand in the conquest of Tudela, although the Chronicle of San Juan makes him out to be the chief conqueror and the first and independent ruler of the town. Neither is he mentioned in the charter of surrender of Tudela. Rotrou was still in Normandy in 1120 when he signed
840-589: The campaign against Lleida . An Aragonese charter dating to April 1123 refers to Rotrou as "count in Tudela", although it does not specifically refer to him as the ruler of the place. The Norman lord Robert Burdet , who later held the Tarragona as a principality, may originally have fought alongside Rotrou in Normandy and then followed him to Spain c .1123. Robert is first mentioned in a charter issued by Rotrou in Spain, in which
882-455: The count granted some houses in Zaragoza to a knight of his named Sabino in gratitude for his services (December 1124). There is a slightly later reference which shows that Rotrou was in control of Tudela and that he had appointed Robert to act as his alcalde (mayor) or military commander of the citadel and one Duran Pixon to act as administrator ( justiciar ). This charter also affirms, against
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#1733086226946924-606: The court of the County of Blois . There Hugh lost, but in the violence that followed his tenant, who held the land from him as a fief , was captured by Rotrou's men. The reigning pope, Paschal II , who was in Chartres in April, sent the case back to Ivo, who complained in a letter that since "this law of the Church protecting the goods of knights going to Jerusalem was new. . . they did not know whether
966-417: The documents) for the life of the vassal, or, sometimes extending to the second or third generation. By the middle of the 10th century, fee had largely become hereditary. The eldest son of a deceased vassal would inherit, but first he had to do homage and fealty to the lord and pay a " relief " for the land (a monetary recognition of the lord's continuing proprietary rights over the property). Historically,
1008-513: The estate. Since Pope Urban II had taken Crusaders' "houses, families, and all their goods into the protection of Saint Peter and the Roman church", and both Hugh and Rotrou were veterans of the First Crusade, the dispute was intractable. Bishop and lawyer Ivo of Chartres could not resolve it, since it involved a judicial duel , over which the church was not allowed to preside, and so remitted it to
1050-591: The fees of the 11th and the 12th century derived from two separate sources. The first was land carved out of the estates of the upper nobility. The second source was allodial land transformed into dependent tenures. During the 10th century in northern France and the 11th century in France south of the Loire , local magnates either recruited or forced the owners of allodial holdings into dependent relationships and they were turned into fiefs. The process occurred later in Germany, and
1092-673: The king's daughter Matilda. He was not often in England, but is purported to have been close to his wife. Rotrou's actual first participation in the Reconquista dates to the first decade of the twelfth century (possibly 1104–5). He and a group of Normans are said to have fought the Muslims in the service of Alfonso the Battler , then King of Aragon and Navarre , until the Aragonese plotted against them and they returned home. It has been speculated that
1134-556: The king, who had also lost his heir, William Adelin , in the wreck. According to the Chronicle of San Juan de la Peña , Rotrou took part in the conquests of Zaragoza (1118) and Tudela (1119), but this account has been shown to be apocryphal. Many French barons can be connected with the expedition against Zaragoza, but although his Anales de la Corona de Aragón name Rotrou as fighting under Alfonso of Aragon on several occasions, Jerónimo Zurita does not mention him by name when recording
1176-473: The monastery he had founded at La Trappe . In Spain, Rotrou established links with García Ramírez , the future king of Navarre . García married Margaret of L'Aigle , daughter of Rotrou's sister Juliana. Margaret's daughter Margaret , married William I of Sicily and raised to the chancellorship her cousin Stephen du Perche , a younger and illegitimate son of Rotrou. She also made Gilbert , another cousin from
1218-435: The protection applied only to their properties or also applied to their fortifications." Rotrou denied that the case had anything to do with the novel canon law. During Rotrou's absence his father, Geoffrey of Perche , died in 1099. On the first Sunday after returning to France, Rotrou paid a visit to the monastery of Nogent-le-Rotrou , a foundation of his family's and the location of his father tomb. There he asked to become
1260-454: The reconfirmation act of the abbey of Arcisses . Since he received land in Zaragoza after the conquest, it might be assumed that he sent either money or men to assist in the enterprise. He did not sign the city's fueros , which the nobles of southern France who had participated in its conquest did. He had arrived in Aragon by 1123, perhaps as early as 1121. His first participation was probably in
1302-478: The right of high justice, etc.) in their lands, and some passed these rights to their own vassals. The privilege of minting official coins developed into the concept of seigniorage . In 13th-century Germany, Italy, England, France, and Spain the term "feodum" was used to describe a dependent tenure held from a lord by a vassal in return for a specified amount of knight service and occasional financial payments ( feudal incidents ). However, knight service in war
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1344-484: The same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rotrou&oldid=545918984 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Rotrou III, Count of Perche Rotrou took part in
1386-547: The service of mercenaries . A list of several hundred such fees held in chief between 1198 and 1292, along with their holders' names and form of tenure, was published in three volumes between 1920 and 1931 and is known as The Book of Fees ; it was developed from the 1302 Testa de Nevill . The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a group of several of the Channel Islands that is a Crown Dependency . Guernsey still has feudal law and legal fiefs in existence today. Each fief has
1428-413: The use of the lands and their income; the granting lord retained ultimate ownership of the fee and could, technically, recover the lands in case of disloyalty or death. In Francia , Charles Martel was the first to make large-scale and systematic use (the practice had remained sporadic until then) of the remuneration of vassals by the concession of the usufruct of lands (a beneficatium or " benefice " in
1470-440: The wreck of the White Ship on 25 November 1120. They had two daughters: Rotrou's third wife was Hawise, daughter of Walter of Salisbury and sister of Patrick, Earl of Salisbury . They had: Rotrou also had an illegitimate son by an unknown mistress: Rotrou was succeeded as Count of Perche by his son of the same name. Fief List of forms of government A fief ( / f iː f / ; Latin : feudum )
1512-681: Was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal , who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal allegiance, services or payments. The fees were often lands, land revenue or revenue-producing real property like a watermill , held in feudal land tenure : these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms . However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including governmental office, rights of exploitation such as hunting, fishing or felling trees, monopolies in trade, money rents and tax farms . There never existed
1554-456: Was a sister of Ebles II of Roucy , who had campaigned in Spain in 1073, and Felicia , who married Sancho Ramírez , King of Aragon . A religious motivation cannot be discounted. According to the Chanson d'Antioche , Rotrou was under the command of Bohemond of Taranto during the Siege of Antioch , and was one of the first to go over the city's walls through scaling ladders on 3 June 1098. When
1596-400: Was far less common than: A lord in late 12th-century England and France could also claim the right of: In northern France in the 12th and 13th centuries, military service for fiefs was limited for offensive campaigns to 40 days for a knight. By the 12th century, English and French kings and barons began to commute military service for cash payments ( scutages ), with which they could purchase
1638-531: Was of great strategic importance for any planned campaign in eastern al-Andalus . Rotrou's expedition, which had royal approval, may have been planned in conjunction with Alfonso's Andalusian expedition that took place in 1127–28. Rotrou was assisted in his endeavour by the Aragonese knights of the Confraternity of Belchite and their master, Galindo Sánchez . Rotrou returned to Normandy with his retinue in 1125, leaving Robert Burdet in command of Tudela (where he
1680-702: Was one of the signatories, since the castle of Corella had been granted to him by the king in December 1128. He is last attested as ruler in Tudela with Robert as his underling in a private act of November 1131. He was still in Iberia in March 1132, when he witnessed Alfonso's grant of a fuero to the town of Asín . Sometime before 1144, Rotrou returned to the Mideast on Crusade, one of the few north French barons to do so. On this second trip Rotrou obtained some relics which he donated to
1722-520: Was probably enhanced by his participation in the First Crusade. Whereas his father had only held the title of viscount , Rotrou is usually called a count. In the war between Henry I of England and Robert Curthose, Rotrou sided with the former and was an important figure in Henry's administration of the duchy after the capture of Robert at Tinchebrai in 1106. Rotrou was a direct vassal of Henry in England, where he held fiefs jure uxoris , in right of his wife,
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1764-473: Was still going on in the 13th century. In England, Henry II transformed them into important sources of royal income and patronage. The discontent of barons with royal claims to arbitrarily assessed "reliefs" and other feudal payments under Henry's son King John resulted in Magna Carta of 1215. Eventually, great feudal lords sought also to seize governmental and legal authority (the collection of taxes,
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