Proven Companions of William of at the (source: William of Poitiers, unless attributed elsewhere – all via Wikipedia)

1. Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of "A certain Norman, Robert, son of Roger of Beaumont, being nephew and heir to Henry, Count of Meulan, through Henry's sister Adeline, found himself that day in battle for the first time. He was as yet but a young man and he performed feats of valour worthy of perpetual remembrance. At the head of a troop which he commanded on the right wing he attacked with the utmost bravery and success."] 2. Eustace II, Count of Boulogne "With a harsh voice he ( William) called to Eustace of Boulogne, who with 50 knights was turning in flight and was about to give the signal for retreat. This man came up to the Duke and said in his ear that he ought to retire since he would court death if he went forward. But at the very moment when he uttered the words Eustace was struck between the shoulders with such force that blood gushed out from his mouth and nose and half dead he only made his escape with the aid of his followers” 3. William, Count of Evreux 4. Geoffrey of Mortagne, Count of Montagne and Lord of Nogent, later Count of Perche 5. William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford 6. Aimeri Viscount of Thouars 7. Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville 8. Hugh de Montfort, Lord of Montfort-sur-Risle 9. Ralph de Tosny, Lord of Conches 10. Hugh de Grandmesnil 11. William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey 12. William Malet, Lord of Graville "His (King Harold's) corpse was brought into the Duke's camp and William gave it for burial to William, surnamed Malet, and not to Harold's mother, who offered for the body of her beloved son its weight in gold." 13. Odo, Bishop of , later Earl of Kent (source: ). Hic Odo Eps (Episcopus) Baculu(m) Tenens Confortat Pueros." (Here Odo the Bishop holding a club strengthens the boys). 14. Turstin FitzRolf (source: ) 15. Engenulf de Laigle (source: Orderic Vitalis) 16. Geoffrey de Mowbray, Bishop of Coutances 17. Robert, Count of Mortain (source: Bayeux Tapestry) 18. Wadard, believed to be Follower of Bishop of Bayeux (source: Bayeux Tapestry) 19. Vital, believed to be Follower of Bishop of Bayeux (source: Bayeux Tapestry) 20. Goubert d’Auffay, Seigneur of Auffay (Source: Orderic Vitalis) 21. Humphrey of Tilleul-en-Auge (source: Orderic Vitalis)

"There were present in this battle: Eustace, Count of Boulogne; William, son of Richard, Count of Evreux; Geoffrey, son of Rotrou, Count of Mortagne; William FitzOsbern; Haimo, Vicomte of Thouars; Walter Giffard; Hugh of Montfort-sur-Risle; Rodulf of Tosny; Hugh of Grantmesnil; William of Warenne, and many other most renowned warriors whose names are worthy to be commemorated in histories among the bravest soldiers of all time."

Sources

 French Wikipedia, Compagnons de Guillaume le Conquérant  Cokayne's Complete Peerage, Revised edition, vol.12, Appendix L, pp. 47–48  Douglas, David C. & Greenaway, George W. (Eds.) English Historical Documents 1042-1189, London, 1959. "William of Poitiers: the Deeds of William, Duke of the and King of the English," pp. 217–232 & "The Bayeux Tapestry," pp. 232–279.  Mason, J.F.A., "The Companions of the Conqueror: An Additional Name," The English Historical Review, Vol. 71, No. 278 (Jan., 1956), pp. 61–69. External sources[edit]

 French Wikipedia, Compagnons de Guillaume le Conquérant  C. P. Lewis, "Companions of the Conqueror (1066–1071)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press. read online.  Battle Abbey Roll Liste de l'abbaye de la Bataille  Roll of Dives-sur-Mer. Liste de Dives-sur-Mer  Roll of Falaise. Liste de Falaise Further reading[edit]

 Camp, Anthony J. My Ancestors Came With the Conqueror: those who did and some of those who probably did not. Society of Genealogists, 1990, pp89.  Douglas, David C. Companions of the Conqueror, Jnl of History, vol.28, 1943, pp. 129–147  Mason, J.F.A. "The Companions of the Conqueror: An Additional Name," English Historical Review, vol.71, no.278, 1956, pp. 61–69  Planché, J.R. The Conqueror and his Companions, 1874  Moriarty, G. Andrews, "The Companions of The Conqueror," published in The American Genealogist, Vol.21, No. 2, October 1944, pp. 111–113

Robert, Count of Mortain, (Robert de Mortain) unofficially, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (c. 1031–1090) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother of . He was one of the few proven companions of William at the Battle of Hastings and as recorded in the of 1086 was one of the greatest landholders in his half- brother's new Kingdom.

Life

Robert was the son of Herluin de Conteville and Herleva of Falaise and brother of . He was born c. 1031 in Normandy, a half-brother of William the Conqueror and was probably not more than a year or so younger than his brother Odo, born c. 1030. About 1035, Herluin, along with his wife Herleva and Robert, founded Grestain Abbey.

In c. 1049 his brother, Duke William made him Count of Mortain in place of William Werlenc, who had been banished by Duke William; according to Orderic Vitalis, on a single word. William Werlenc was a grandson of Duke Richard and therefore a cousin once removed to William, . Securing the southern border of Normandy was critical to Duke William and Robert was entrusted with this key county which guarded the borders of Brittany and Belleme.

In early 1066, Robert was present at both the first council, that of William's inner circle, and the second larger council held to discuss the Duke's planned conquest of England. Robert agreed to provide 120 ships to the invasion fleet, which was more than any other of William's magnates.[ Robert was one of those few known to have been at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He is pictured at a dinner at Pevensey on the Bayeux Tapestry, seated with his brothers William and Odo on the day of the landing in England. When granting the monastery of St Michael’s Mount to the Norman monastery on the Mont-Saint-Michel, Robert recorded that he had fought at the Battle of Hastings under the banner of St Michel.

Robert's contribution to the success of the invasion was clearly regarded as highly significant by the Conqueror, who awarded him a large share of the spoils; in total 797 manors at the time of Domesday. However, the greatest concentration of his honors lay in Cornwall where he held virtually all of that county and was considered by some the Earl of Cornwall. While Robert held lands in twenty counties, the majority of his holdings in certain counties was as few as five manors. The overall worth of his estates was £2100. He administered most of his southwestern holdings from Launceston, Cornwall, and Montacute, Somerset. The holding of single greatest importance, however, was the Rape of Pevensey, East Sussex, which protected one of the more vulnerable parts of the south coast of England. In 1069, together with Robert of Eu, he led an army against a force of Danes in Lindsay and effected great slaughter against them. After that there is little mention of Robert who appears to have been an absentee landholder spending the majority of his time in Normandy. Along with his brother, Odo, he participated in a revolt in 1088 against William II but afterwards he was pardoned. On 8 December 1090 Robert died and chose to be buried at the Abbey of Grestain near his father and next to his first wife Matilda.

He was described by William of Malmesbury in his Gesta Regum as a man of stupid dull disposition (crassi et hebetis ingenii). but William the Conqueror considered him one of his greatest supporters and trusted him with the important county of Mortain. This was a trust he would hardly place in someone who was in any way incompetent. Further clues to his character are found in the Vita of Vitalis of Savigny, a very wise monk who Robert sought out as his chaplain. One incident tells of Robert beating his wife and Vital, intervening, threatened to end the marriage if Robert did not repent. In still another entry Vital tells of his leaving Robert's service abruptly and after being escorted back to him, Robert begged for Vital's pardon for his actions. Overall, Robert was proficient in every duty William assigned him, he was a religious man yet ill-tempered enough to beat his wife, but not himself known as a man of great wisdom.

Robert was married to Matilda, daughter of Roger de Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, before 1066 and together they had:

 William, Count of Mortain, who succeeded him.  Agnes who married André de Vitré, seigneur of Vitré.  Denise, married in 1078 to Guy, 3rd Sire de La Val.  Emma of Mortain, the wife of William IV of Poulouse.

After Matilda de Montgomery's death c. 1085 Robert secondly married Almodis. The couple had no children.

On screen, Robert has been portrayed by Gordon Whiting in the two-part BBC TV play Conquest (1966), part of the series, Theatre 625, and by Richard Ireson in the TV drama Blood Royal: William the Conqueror (1990).

1. His position of authority in the south west has led many to consider him as the Earl of Cornwall, although it appears uncertain whether he was formally created as such. The Complete Peerage, III, 428 states while he may have been considered the earl he was only known officially as Comes Moritoniensis. According to Charles Henderson "Count Robert did not call himself Earl of Cornwall [but] enjoyed the power that in the following century belonged to the earls, and after them the ". See: Henderson, C. G. (1933) "Cornwall and her patron saint", In: his Essays in Cornish History. Oxford: Clarendon Press; pp. 197-201.