Richard II of NormandyAge: 64 years963–1027
- Name
- Richard II of Normandy
- Given names
- Richard II
- Surname
- of Normandy
- Name prefix
- Duke
Birth | 23 August 963 29 27 |
Death of a father | Richard I of Normandy 20 November 996 (Age 33 years) |
Birth of a son #1 | Robert I ‘le Magnifique’ of Normandy 1000 (Age 36 years) |
Death of a wife | Judith of Bretagne 1017 (Age 53 years) |
Death | 28 August 1027 (Age 64 years) |
Family with parents |
father |
Richard I of Normandy Birth: 28 August 933 40 Death: 20 November 996 — Fécamp |
mother |
Gunnor … Birth: about 936 Death: 1031 |
himself |
Richard II of Normandy Birth: 23 August 963 29 27 — Normandiet Death: 28 August 1027 — Normandiet |
Family with Judith of Bretagne |
himself |
Richard II of Normandy Birth: 23 August 963 29 27 — Normandiet Death: 28 August 1027 — Normandiet |
wife |
Judith of Bretagne Birth: 982 55 Death: 1017 |
daughter | |
son |
Robert I ‘le Magnifique’ of Normandy Birth: 1000 36 18 Death: 1035 — Normandy |
Shared note | Richard II (born 23 August 963, in Normandy, France – 28 August 1027, in Normandy), called the Good, was the son and heir of Richard I the Fearless and Gunnora. He succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 996. Richard held his own against a peasant insurrection, and helped Robert II of France against the duchy of Burgundy. He also repelled an English attack on the Cotentin Peninsula that was led by Ethelred II of England. He pursued a reform of the Norman monasteries.
Richard attempted to improve relations with England through his sister's marriage to King Ethelred, but she was strongly disliked by the English. However, this connection later gave his grandson, William the Conqueror, part of his claim to the throne of England.
He married firstly (996) Judith (982-1017), daughter of Conan I of Brittany, by whom he had the following issue:
* Richard (c. 1002/4), duke of Normandy
* Adelaide (c. 1003/5), married Renaud I, Count of Burgundy
* Robert (c. 1005/7), duke of Normandy
* William (c. 1007/9), monk at Fécamp, d. 1025
* Eleanor (c. 1011/3), married to Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders
* Matilda (c. 1013/5), nun at Fecamp, d. 1033
Secondly he married Poppa of Envermeu, by whom he had the following issue:
* Mauger (c. 1019), Archbishop of Rouen
* William (c. 1020/5), count of Arques
Richard II (right), with the Abbot of Mont Saint Michel (middle) and Lothair of France (left).
Traditionally, Richard had a third wife named Astrid (Estritha), daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of England, Denmark, and Norway, and Sigrid the Haughty. This is extremely unlikely, however, given the political situation. |
Shared note | Richard II (born 23 August 963, in Normandy, France – 28 August 1027, in Normandy), called the Good, was the son and heir of Richard I the Fearless and Gunnora. He succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 996. Richard held his own against a peasant insurrection, and helped Robert II of France against the duchy of Burgundy. He also repelled an English attack on the Cotentin Peninsula that was led by Ethelred II of England. He pursued a reform of the Norman monasteries.
Richard attempted to improve relations with England through his sister's marriage to King Ethelred, but she was strongly disliked by the English. However, this connection later gave his grandson, William the Conqueror, part of his claim to the throne of England.
He married firstly (996) Judith (982-1017), daughter of Conan I of Brittany, by whom he had the following issue:
* Richard (c. 1002/4), duke of Normandy
* Adelaide (c. 1003/5), married Renaud I, Count of Burgundy
* Robert (c. 1005/7), duke of Normandy
* William (c. 1007/9), monk at Fécamp, d. 1025
* Eleanor (c. 1011/3), married to Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders
* Matilda (c. 1013/5), nun at Fecamp, d. 1033
Secondly he married Poppa of Envermeu, by whom he had the following issue:
* Mauger (c. 1019), Archbishop of Rouen
* William (c. 1020/5), count of Arques
Richard II (right), with the Abbot of Mont Saint Michel (middle) and Lothair of France (left).
Traditionally, Richard had a third wife named Astrid (Estritha), daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of England, Denmark, and Norway, and Sigrid the Haughty. This is extremely unlikely, however, given the political situation. |
Shared note | Judith of Brittany (982 – 1017) was the daughter of Conan I, Duke of Brittany and the mother of Robert the Magnificent.
She was the first wife of Richard the Good, Duke of Normandy, whom she married in 996. They had six children:
* Richard (c. 1002/4), duke of Normandy
* Adelaide (c. 1003/5), married Renaud I, Count of Burgundy
* Robert (c. 1005/7), duke of Normandy
* William (c. 1007/9), monk at Fécamp, d. 1025
* Eleanor (c. 1011/3), married to Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders
* Matilda (c. 1013/5), nun at Fecamp, d. 1033
The duchess Judith died in 1017 and was buried in the abbey of Bernay, which she had founded. |