At the time of Domesday, the Count of Eu was a man named Robert, the fifth Count of Eu from the House of Normandy. He supplied 60 ships for William′s invasion of England and was well paid for his allegiance. Later, in 1070, he started the building of Hastings Castle and became the Lord of Hastings.
The above is all that I could put together after having searched books and the Internet, for information on this man. I was disappointed as I wanted to know more and felt that there ought to be more but the above was all I could find.
Then, just as I had decided to leave it at that, I came across a book in an old book shop, entitled "Genealogical Memoirs of the Counts of Eu in Normandy, 996-1350", written by an Edmund Chester Waters, and published in 1886, and was astounded at how much he could tell me about the Count and his family.
I decided to give the complete extracts from his book, as I couldn′t have put it better than he did because I, simply, didn′t have the knowledge. I found these extracts fascinating and hope that you do, too.
ROBERT COUNT OF EU, the son and heir of Count William I, by Lesceline d'Harcourt, was expelled with his mother and brothers from the Castle of Eu during Guy of Burgundy′s rebellion, Burgundy's rebellion but the promotion, of his brother Hugh in 1050-to the bishopric of Lisieux proves that William of Normandy cherished no feelings of resentment against the family.
Count Robert and his wife Beatrice gave a wood in his domains to the Monks of the Holy Trinity of the Mount at Rouen and the grant was allowed by William of Normandy at the time when his quarrel began, with the King of France - "tempore quo discordia cepit inter ipsum et Henricum regem Francorum".
The war arose out of the assistance which the French King gave to the Count of Arques, and afterwards to William Busac in their attempts to dethrone the young Count William, but Robert of Eu was steadfast in his loyalty to his sovereign and was so completely free from suspicion of sharing his brother′s treason that he was one of the generals in command of the Norman army, which defeated the rebels and their French allies at the Battle of Mortemer, in 1054.
Count Robert with the consent of his wife Beatrice and of their sons, Ralph, William and Robert founded and endowed, in 1059, St. Michael's Abbey at Tr´ort (Ulterior portus), which is half a league distant from the Castle of Eu at the mouth of the river, Bresle. The Count of Eu witnessed the charter by which his neighbour Roger de Busli or Builli, the Seigneur of Builli in the Bailiwick of Drincourt, sold to the Abbot of the Holy Trinity at Rouen in 1065 the tithes of his fief for 60 1b of silver pennies and a warhorse
This sale probably took place in 1065, and was made for the purpose of raising funds to equip him for the expedition England.
The Count of Eu witnessed this charter, little suspecting that in generations yet unborn his own descendants would inherit Roger de Busli's patrimony in Normandy and acquisitions s in England.
The Count contributed 60 ships to the fleet for the invasion of England in 1066, and is named by Wace amongst those who fought gallantly at the battle of Senlac.
He was one of the Conqueror's most trusted generals, and on the King's return from his first Northern Campaign in 1069 the Counts of Eu and, Mortain were left in Lindsey with an army to watch the Danes, who had sailed up the Humber but had dispersed on the King's approach, and had taken shelter in the Lincolnshire fens. The invaders welcomed by the inhabitants as kinsmen, for the Danish element was strong in the fenlands, but the King's lieutenants surprised them whilst they were carousing at a festival, and chased them to their ships with great slaughter.
The high rank and important services, of the Count of Eu insured him a large share in the distribution of estates forfeited by Englishmen, and provision was made for the Count out of lands which had belonged to King Harold's father and brother. The South Coast, which commanded the approach to Normandy, was a charge reserved for a few great Barons, whom the King could thoroughly trust.
The King's half-brother, the Bishop of Bayeux had the custody of Dover Castle and of the whole County of Kent, except Hugh de Montfort's Castelry at Romney. The six Rapes of Sussex had only five owners, for Chichester and Arundel were assigned to Roger de Montgomery, Bramber to William de Braose, Pevensey to the Count of Mortain , and Hastings to the Count of Eu. Every Rape had its own castle, river, port, and forest, and Hastings is still one of the Cinque Ports although the ancient harbour has long been silted up.
Hastings Castle was the first, which the Normans built on English soil, for according to the Bayeux tapestry it was commenced before the battle of Senlac. The duty of constructing and defending this fortress was entrusted in the first place to Humphrey de Tilleuil the brother-in-law of' Hugh de Grandmesnil, the Viceroy of Hampshire, but Humphrey was one of those home-sick Normans, who was induced by his wife to desert his post in 1068 and when he left England the Castle, and perhaps also the Rape of Hastings was granted to the Count of Eu. The Count, however, was by no means constantly resident in England, for when King William remained five years in Normandy, from June 1075 to July 1080, the Count's appearance at court from time to time suggests that he also was absent from England during the whole period. He witnessed, in April 1077, the Royal Charter in favour of St. Stephen's Caen, and was chief mourner at Lisieux on 25 July in this year at the funeral of his brother Bishop Hugh. The Count also is mentioned amongst the grandees, who were present at Rouen at Easter 1080, when the monks of the Holy Trinity of the Mount obtained from the King a solemn confirmation of their right to an island in the Seine, which was given to them by their founder 50 years before.
The Domesday Barony of the Count of Eu, was valued at £294 9s. His chief possession was the Rape and Castle of Hastings, which once belonged to Earl Godwin. It comprised 157, 000 acres, and was valued at £251 9s. per annum.
The Count had also the manor of Buckworth in Huntingdonshire worth 13 p. a, , and formerly belonged to Earl Tostig; and also the manor of Thurrock in Essex, which formed part of King Harold's domains and had seven houses in London attached to it. The Count converted these houses into a residence for himself in London, which improved their value from £12 per annum to £30 per annum
He was also mesne Lord, under the See of Canterbury, of the manors of Ulcombe and Stowting in Kent, which had increased in value under his stewardship from £8 p.a. each to £10 and £11, respectively.
The Count of Eu was one of those Norman nobles, who on the death of William the Conqueror applied to the King of England for protection against the anarchy which prevailed in Normandy, and were supplied with money and troops, which enabled them to fortify their castles in defiance of their lawful sovereign. The Count was a useful ally to William Rufus on both sides off the Channel, for his castle at Hastings commanded one of the chief ports of communication with France.
It was so important to the King that this fortress should be in friendly hands that the Bishop of Durham reckoned it amongst his greatest services to his master that had kept the owner from joining the rebels.
The Count died during this unsettled period, for all though the day of his decease is not known all the authorities are agreed that he died in 1090.
Count Robert had issue by his wife Beatrix, who is often confounded with her son William′s wife, Beatrix de Busli, three sons: -
RALPH witnessed with his brothers his father and mother′s foundation of Treport Abbey in 1059 and (as I presume), died unmarried, before his father.
WILLIAM son and heir.
ROBERT, witness in 1059 with his brothers.
