[101] Ordericus, iii, pp. 222-226; William of Malmesbury, _G. R._, ii, p. 336; _A.-S. C._, _a._ 1086; Florence of Worcester, ii, p. 20; _Interpolations de Robert de Torigny_, in William of Jumièges, p. 265.
[102] William of Malmesbury, _G. R._, ii, pp. 332, 338; Ordericus, iii, p. 228; cf. _Chronicon_ in _Liber de Hyda_, p. 298. Robert of Torigny is more specific: “Cum igitur in Pontivo apud Abbatisvillam, cum sui similibus iuvenibus, filiis scilicet satraparum Normanniae, qui ei, quasi suo domino futuro, specie tenus obsequebantur, re autem vera novarum rerum cupiditate illecti, moraretur et ducatum Normanniae, maxime in margine, excursionibus et rapinis demoliretur.” _Interpolations de Robert de Torigny_, in William of Jumièges, p. 268.
[103] This is the plain inference from Ordericus, iii, p. 242; William of Malmesbury, _G. R._, ii, pp. 332,337; _De Obitu Willelmi_, in William of Jumièges, pp. 146-147.
[104] That is, (1) before the Conquest (_supra_, p. 12), (2) after the Conquest on the occasion of the king’s illness at Bonneville (_supra_, p. 15), (3) at the reconciliation after the siege of Gerberoy (_supra_, p. 29). Cf. also the charter of Stigand de Mézidon, 1063, in Le Prévost, _Eure_, i, p. 562.
[107] _De Obitu Willelmi_, in William of Jumièges, pp. 146-147.
[108] That Maine was included is clear from the fact that Robert’s right to rule there was not questioned. Wace, too, is specific:
E quant Guilleme trespassa, Al duc Robert le Mans laissa.
_Roman de Rou_, ed. Hugo Andresen (Heilbronn, 1877-79), ii, p. 416. The _Annales de Wintonia_ are clearly wrong in stating that the Conqueror left Maine to Henry. _Annales Monastici_, ii, p. 35.
[109] Ordericus, ii, p. 390: “pater moriens Albericum comitem, ut ducatum Neustriae reciperet, in Galliam ad eum direxit”; _Interpolations de Robert de Torigny_, in William of Jumièges, p. 268.
[110] William of Malmesbury, _G. R._, ii, p. 338.
[111] _Interpolations de Robert de Torigny_, in William of Jumièges, p. 265.
While William Rufus was hurrying to England to claim the royal crown, and the young Prince Henry was piously attending his father’s funeral at Caen, Robert Curthose, hearing the news of the Conqueror’s death, hastily returned from his long exile, and upon arriving at Rouen took possession of his inheritance without encountering any opposition.[1] At last the duchy of Normandy and the county of Maine, so long denied him by his imperious father, were within his grasp. No doubt the news of the king’s death was very welcome to the incorrigible exile; yet it is pleasant to learn that Robert, upon entering into his inheritance, was not neglectful of filial duty toward his father’s memory or of those charitable acts which were regarded as necessary for the weal of the departed soul. The Conqueror upon his deathbed had made provision for the distribution of his treasures[2] and for the release of prisoners from his gaols.[3] These dispositions the duke was careful to carry out, making bounteous distribution of such treasure as he found to monasteries and churches and to the poor; while two captives of royal descent—Wulf, son of King Harold, and Duncan, son of King Malcolm—he not only allowed to go their way in peace, but honored with the arms of knighthood.[4] Filial piety and the chivalrous impulses of Robert Curthose were never more happily united. Some of the rare charters of the duke’s early reign are also indicative of a similar spirit. Thus we find him confirming to Saint-Étienne of Caen a grant of the manor of Vains which the Conqueror had made during his last illness.[5] Perhaps not quite the same motive, though assuredly no spirit of rancor, led him on 7 July 1088 to restore to La Trinité of Fécamp the lands which his father had taken away in his wrath.[6]