With the death of William the Bastard on the field of Haestingas, the Norman force fled back to their ships in disarray. Harassed by the Englisc all the way to the boats, the navy crossed the channel and returned to Normandy proper by the end of October. While rumors of William’s death had beaten the fleet across the channel, the arrival confirmed those rumors and began to set in motion a variety of plots that had already been simmering, waiting for the official news of that event.
Normandy itself was placed in trouble. The Duchy devolved to William’s son, Robert, who was only 15 years old. There was some talk about a regency council, but Robert, taking King Phillip as his example (and also with his own impertinent manner), declared that he was old enough and did not need the guidance. This declaration of Robert’s was one of the factors that pushed his uncle Odo over the edge; the Bishop of Bayeux and veteran campaigner began to plot with petty nobility and local clergy to contest the young man’s claim. Robert’s caustic personality meant that Odo was able to find plenty of supporters.
The arrival of the fleet also set off a chain reaction beyond Normandy’s ducal borders. In Anjou, Fulk IV had decided that enough was enough and that he needed to seize control of the affairs of the County. He undertook a campaign against his brother, Geoffrey III, attempting to force him to recognize his rightful rule of Anjou. During combat, Geoffrey was killed by a knight in the service of Fulk; despite some mild Church condemnation, Fulk was able to assert his control of Anjou by the time spring of 1067 came around.
Phillip, the 14-year old King of France, decided that, for now, he had to watch events unfold in Normandy. He had grown up with the knowledge that William the Bastard had been a thorn in the side of the French monarchy, and now with the Duke dead, Phillip believed that a great chance had presented itself to secure his own authority. He would just have to wait and see what happened in the northern Duchy.
In July of 1067, Odo, from the pulpit of his church in Bayeux, declared that he had received evidence from worthy sources that William, in his will, had declared that Odo should have inherited the Duchy, in a caretaker capacity, as he knew that his children were young and inexperienced. Odo, presenting the evidence of Robert alienating the local nobility and clergy to support this claim. His supporters quietly raised their levies, waiting for Robert’s response.
Robert, of course, responded with incredulity. He declared that this was nothing more than an attempt to usurp his rightful rule, and called for his loyal noblemen to support him against his uncle. However, Odo had done a good job of convincing the Norman nobility of the “rightness” of his cause, and very few noblemen chose to side with the adolescent. One small comfort, however, was the choice of Robert’s other uncle, Robert, Count of Mortain, chose to support neither side. Though the young Duke would have preferred Robert to engage on his behalf, at least he did not raise his forces against the young nobleman.
Late summer and early fall of 1067 saw the beginning of fierce campaigning in Normandy. Robert, believing that he could defeat his uncle without outside help, refused his mother’s offer to call for aid from her father, the Count of Flanders. The young Duke was not as fine at fighting as he liked to believe, however, and the tide began to quickly turn against him. On October 7, at the Battle of Dieppe, Robert and his forces were drawn into open combat by the Bishop; the young Duke found himself out numbered and out maneuvered, soon finding himself trapped against the coast. Escaping on a small, commandeered fishing boat, Robert fled the field; his army was not as lucky.
The young Duke fled to Flanders, along with his mother and his brothers, while Odo marched on the castle at Caen, defended by a small garrison of Robert’s loyalists. Odo felt confident enough to write to King Phillip and request that he receive Ducal recognition; the young monarch remained silent, however.
While in Flanders, Robert finally humbled himself enough to ask for aid. His grandfather had died shortly after the Battle of Dieppe, and his maternal uncle, Baldwin VI, was now in control of Flanders. Baldwin was willing to support his nephews claim, in exchange for transferring the vassalage of the County of Ponthieu to him. Robert vacillated for a bit, but, realizing that there was little chance to recover his ducal rights any other way, he decided to stomp down his pride for now and agree to his maternal uncle’s conditions.
Rouen fell to Odo in March of 1068, leaving him in near total control of the Dukedom. The Bishop knew that it was likely that Flanders was going to intervene in his conflict, as he had heard of Robert’s fleeing to that land, and so he took steps to reinforce his army. Using his contacts with Breton lords, Odo was able to gain a small force of mercenaries to assist his Norman armies. Thus, he felt he was prepared to meet with Baldwin’s Flemish levies when they entered Normandy.
That invasion took place in May of 1068, with the Flemish army meeting up with the remnants of the loyalist forces in the Duchy. A brutal summer campaign ensued, with Baldwin recovering about a third of the Duchy. The Flemish lord was wiser than his nephew- he did not fall to Odo’s bait for pitched battle, instead sending small raiding detachments to distract the Bishop and keep his attention in several different directions while he moved further into the Duchy. This strategy succeeded in frustrating Odo, as well as demoralizing his supporters.
The fighting between Baldwin and Odo tapered off as fall set in, though another conflict in the Duchy would flare up. Fulk of Anjou, having spent the past year and a half watching and waiting while building up his forces, he felt prepared to launch his attack on the County of Maine- Maine had been a disputed territory between Anjou and Normandy for decades, and Fulk determined that now was the best time to resolve this dispute in Angevin favor. But he did not count on Robert of Mortain, the neutral uncle in the conflict.
When word reached the Count that the Angevins had crossed the border into Maine (late September of 1068), he raised his as-yet untouched levies and marched South to protect Norman territory. Robert of Mortain met the Angevin vanguard on the Sarthe river on September 30, and dealt them a resounding defeat. This move surprised Fulk, who, at first, was worried that his plans may not come to fruition. However, the wily Count soon realized that he could turn this to his advantage.
Fulk sent an embassy to Robert of Mortain, seeking to come to an accommodation with the Norman Count. Robert, at first, was uneasy with making a deal with Fulk, knowing of his reputation, but his clerical advisors told him to hear the Angevin out. Robert agreed, and prepared to meet with the Angevin in the town of La Fleche. Little did he know, but Fulk, knowing of Robert’s respect for the clergy, had, for lack of a better word, bribed the advisors of Robert to push for the meeting.
At La Fleche, Fulk dominated the strategically smart but diplomatically challenged Robert of Mortain. Fulk convinced Robert that both his brother and his nephew had forfeited their right to rule Normandy- Odo had rebelled against his liege, sullying his office as a clergyman, and Robert the younger was going to prop his reign up with foreign swords. The Count Robert was in possession of a fine force of Norman warriors; with, perhaps, some
minor considerations, Fulk would be willing to
lend him some Angevin soldiers to
assist in his rightful campaign…
With Robert’s clergy pushing for him to accept this measure, Robert folded to the Angevin’s offer. 1069 would see a third side of the war open, as the War of Uncles (as it was beginning to be called) continued into its second year.
Baldwin continued the same strategy as he had pursued the previous summer’s campaign, as that had brought him much success. However, Odo was more prepared for this measure, and had broken up his own force into smaller independent commands to better counter the Flemish efforts. This bogged down the fight between the Bishop and the Flemish Count, which made it all the better for Robert of Mortain when he finally made his move.
With his Angevin soldiers in tow, Robert began to attack the smaller detachments of Odo and Baldwin’s forces. The situation on the ground changed quickly, as the troops of Robert of Mortain were fresh and facing dispersed bands of soldiers. Odo and Baldwin tried to rally their men as quickly as they could, but communication was difficult and it took longer than they had hoped to rally their troops. Odo thought to hasten this process by personally overseeing the process; however, the Bishop would make a fatal mistake, as in July of 1069, an Angevin archer ended his life when he was caught in an ambush.
With Odo dead, his coalition would quickly fall apart, with most of the nobility who were loyal to him defecting to Robert of Mortain. This strengthened Robert’s forces, and allowed him to launch a powerful offensive against Baldwin. The Flemish Count was driven back to the County of Ponthieu, where he was able to hold off the Norman-Angevin attacks and fortify his position. The fighting died off as the season changed, with Robert of Mortain in charge of most of Normandy.
Baldwin had no great loyalty to his nephew; he was in possession of Ponthieu, which had been his goal in getting involved in this conflict. He decided that now was as good a time as ever to withdraw from the conflict; he sent messengers to Robert of Mortain, asking for him to recognize Flemish control over Ponthieu, in exchange for withdrawing from the conflict. Count Robert accepted this; despite the protests of the young Robert, Baldwin dismissed his forces, and left the young Duke nearly friendless.
The young Robert was in a great dilemma; he lacked the means to continue the fight, and his attempts to write to the King for aid went unanswered. With great reluctance, and likely pressure from his mother and brothers, Robert set off for Sicily, to join the Norman soldiers there. Perhaps, he reasoned, he could gain experience and the loyalty of a band of troops. One day, he swore, he would return and take what was rightfully his.
With the young Robert out of the picture, and tentative peace restored to Normandy, the King decided to break his silence. He sent word to Count Robert that, as the young Robert was absent from his patrimony, that he was recognizing Robert of Mortain as the Duke of Normandy. Robet was understandably grateful, and he rode to Paris in fall of 1070 to pay homage to his feudal master.
King Phillip was pleased. Normandy had been ravaged by war for three years, and had two Counties stripped from its patrimony. He knew that no great threat could arise from the Normans, at least for the foreseeable future. However, in his short sightedness, he did not realize that Flanders and Anjou had been strengthened.
For the next two years, the three rulers in Northern France- Robert, Baldwin, and Fulk- sought to either repair their lands or incorporate their new territories. The Kingdom was quiet, but that would change soon…
