NameRichard I (The Fearless) of Normandy
Birth28 Aug 933, Fecamp, France
Death20 Nov 996, Fecamp, Seine-Inferieure, France
Misc. Notes
Weis' "Ancestral Roots. . ." (39:22), (119:24), (121E:20), (177:3),
(214:22), (235:19), (250:20). "RICHARD I, "the Fearless", Duke of
Normandy, b. Fecamp ca. 933, named father's h. 29 May 942, d. 20 Nov.
996; m. (1) (Danish wife) GUNNOR, d. 1027 or 1031, dau. of the forester
of Arques, but betrothed ca. 945 & event. m. (2) 960 to Emma, d. ca. 968,
dau. HUGH CAPET ..., Count of Paris. After Emma's death, m. (Christian
marriage) GUNNOR to legit. their children. "
Cokayne's "Complete Peerage" (Appendix D to v.VII, p.711), identifies him
as father of ROBERT, COUNT OF EVREUX.
Stuart's "Royalty For Commoners" (166:33).
From Rosamond McKitterick.s, "The Frankish Kingdoms under the
Carolingians 751-987", London & NY (Longman) 1983, pp. 238-239:
"When in 942 WILLIAM was murdered at the instigation of COUNT
ARNULF OF FLANDERS (RIN 2173), his son Richard, still a minor,
succeeded him. LOUIS IV (RIN 1617) and HUGH THE GREAT (RIN 1206)
each tried to sieze Normandy, and LOUIS took charge of Richard. He then
ensconced himself at Rouen and HUGH took Bayeux, which still had a
Scandinavian leader called Sictric. Richard escaped from his custody at
Laon, retook Rouen, and called on another Viking leader, Harald of the
Bassin, for help. The Normans under Richard were able to re-establish
their autonomy and from 947 Richard governed in relative peace. In 965
he swore allegiance to the Carolingian king Lothar [son of LOUIS IV] at
Gisors. Richard's official marriage was to Emma, daughter of HUGH THE
GREAT; they had no children, but by his common-law wife GUNNOR, a
Dane, he had many. RICHARD II, son of GUNNOR and Richard I, succeeded
his father in 996, another son Robert was archbishop of Rouen from 989
to 1037 and EMMA their daughter became queen of England on her
marriage to AETHELREAD, a position she maintained after his death in
1016 by marrying Knut. GUNNOR's nephews and other relatives
furthermore formed the core of the new aristocracy which developed in
the course of the eleventh century. Unfortunately we know little about
the internal organization and history of Normandy until the reign of
RICHARD II."
From "Predatory Kinship and the Creation of Norman Power, 840-1066"
by Eleanor Searle, University of California Press, 1988:
"The Acknowledged Children of Richard I: Sons. The most revealing
evidence of the prestige and power of Richard and his successor is to be
found in the endowments and marriages of their children. The wife
whose Norseness and high status made her an acceptable equal in the
eyes of his chieftains was a woman whose children commanded paternal
recognition, for they would have powerful maternal kinsmen upon whose
loyalty they could call. Even so, it is remarkable that Dudo, with GUNNOR
at his side, tells the reader only the number of children she bore Richard:
five boys and three girls. He does not give their names, and Richard's
sons defy full identification. RICHARD II was certainly GUNNOR's son, as
was his virtual coruler, Robert, archbishop of Rouen. Charters identify
their relationship clearly, but they do not identify any of her husband's
other sons as GUNNOR's...." (p. 132, see below for source)
"Richard I and his new settler -in-laws of the 960s were the winners
who lasted. In becoming so they learned (and taught) two principles of
success that marked them off from the Franks. They learned the value of
a strong centralizing chieftain who could at least freeze the status quo
once his own local chieftains had taken what they wanted. The more
successful he was, the more chiefs attached themselves to him for just
this: with his warranty, backed by his chieftains, their defeated enemies
could not recover by violence what had been taken from them by violence.
Thus were the Norman dukes 'settlers of quaarrels.' Fearlessness was
the necessary quality in such a corrdinating chieftain, and Richard I, who
has no encomiast of his deeds, has at least this sobriquet, "the Fearless"
Those who were great fighters and the ruthlessly, selectively violent,
were the great centralizers among the threatened and rapacious Norse."
During the minority of his (WILLIAM LONG-SWORD) successor, Duke
Richard, KING LOUIS IV, who was making an expedition into Normandy,
was captured by the inhabitants of Rouen and handed over to HUGH THE
GREAT. From this time onwards the dukes of Normandy began to enter
into relations with the dukes of France; and in 958 Duke Richard married
HUGH THE GREAT's daughter. He died in 996. (Succeeded by RICHARD II.)
References: [RFC],[ES],[RoyalAAF],[Paget1],[Weis1],[AR7], [PlantagenetA],[ConverseA],[CP]
Spouses
Birthabt 936, Normandy, France
Death1031, France