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Hamelin FitzRichard, Count of Maine
Hamelin FitzRichard, Count of Maine
	Hamelin taking refuge in a church after fleeing York
Marshal to the King
	In office; 3rd, August, Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page without content in them (see the help page).1104 – 13th August, 1123
Monarchs	King Robert I of England, King Robert II of England
Preceded by	Simon de Tottenham, 1st Earl of Warwick, 1st Earl of Hereford
Succeeded by	Sulmonoc de Cerneu
Seneschal of England
	In office; 4th December, 1106 – 13th August, 1123
Monarchs	King Robert I of England, King Robert II of England
Preceded by	Burgheard, Archbishop of Northumberland
Succeeded by	Herbert, Archbishop of Northumberland
Seneschal of Normandy
	In office; c.1112 – 31 July, 1121
Monarch	King Robert II of England
Preceded by	none
Succeeded by	Norman, Archbishop of Rouen
Regent of England
	In office; 2nd March, 1121 – 31 July, 1121
Monarchs	King Robert I of England, King Robert II of England
Personal details
Born	1081; York
Died	13th August, 1081; Le Mans
Spouse	Egelina de Normandy
Children	Hamelin de Normandie; Mauger de Normandie; Helewisa de Normandie;

Hamelin FitzRichard, Count of Maine, 1st Earl of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Worcester(c.1081 - 13th August, 1123), also known as Hamelin of Gloucester, or, Hamelin FitzRichard was an influential Anglo-Norman magnate born in 1081 in York. He held titles including Count of Maine, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and 1st Earl of Worcester. Throughout his life, Hamelin amassed significant landholdings across Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Alençon. His military prowess was notably demonstrated at the Battle of Abbeville, where he successfully commanded the left flank against superior numbers. Following the death of King Robert I of England, Hamelin emerged as one of the most powerful and respected barons in England, with his influence extending into France, Scotland, and Wales. He passed away on August 13, 1123, in Le Mans.

Early Life (1081 - 1101)

Childhood & Leadup to the Revolt of the Barons

Hamelin was born in 1081 in York to Richard de Normandy, and Helewisa. He was born a few days after his father was granted the Earldom of East Riding by his elder brother, King Robert I of England. Richard had an affectionate relationship with his elder brother, and was an ardent supporter of his reign. The two went on campaign together subjugating Scotland, the many kings of Wales, and parts of Brittany. Robert fought for years in a vain attempt to secure full overlordship over Wales, as the messy landscape and many feuding kingdoms meant that solid Anglo-Norman control could not last for too long. Constant rebellions in Wales also made it significantly harder. The benefit of these campaigns was that Richard had a habit of bringing his son with him, which allowed Robert, a capable military mind, to teach the boy on warfare. Hamelin also bore witness to campaigning in Wales and Scotland, though never went to battle. Supposedly, this practice stopped when Hamelin became 8, and was afflicted with a terrible sickness, with his father even fearing that he may die. In peacetime, Hamelin spent much time at his uncle, the king's court. He interacted with the king's young son, Robert as a teen.

The close relationship between Richard and Robert eventually began to break down, as differences between the brothers emerged, with the help of dissenting barons. Additionally, William, the youngest brother, was found scheming to kill the king's daughter, Egelina. William had his lands revoked and he was banished(to eventually die in prison in Burgundy). Richard, on the other hand, began forming baronial alliances, especially with the Earl of Gloucester, who was the leader of a dissenting group of barons calling for the crown to be weakened in power. The king was attempting to deal with this with negotiation while still launching foreign expeditions, however with the chaos in his own kingdom it became difficult for King Robert to actually maintain any foreign expeditions without the support of his subjects, weakening the king's hold over Scotland.

Revolt of the Barons (1101 - 1102)

Richard's Revolt

In early 1101, King Robert began making moves to crush the dissidence. He sought a papal sanction to revoke the lands of his younger brother, which was granted, only for Richard to revolt. Richard's revolt began with him raising a decent force and then marching to fortify his borders. Richard began making raids into the territory of the king, only to be surprise attacked by King Robert and captured. The king's troops began making their way to York as Hamelin — now 20 — decided to flee the fort and head out into the countryside with a tiny retinue. Hamelin fled to the Somerset Marshes and was there for about 5 months until the king's men found him and dragged him before Robert. Robert pardoned him of all his crimes and gave him a role at court instead of executing him. Over the next few months, Robert's relationship with Hamelin steadily warmed, until the king trusted him enough to travel with the young man. During this time, Hamelin would regularly travel to Normandy to fight there for the local barons against the French lords across the border.

Gloucester's Revolt

Eventually by mid-1102, Gloucester launched his revolt. Gloucester raised an army and attacked Royal lands around Abingdon. King Robert raised an army with shocking speed, calling Hamelin from Normandy, and attacked Gloucester's army. Hamelin was commanding the centre in the battle(with the king on the right flank), and Gloucester was badly defeated. Hamelin performed well enough in the battle that he was applauded by the rest of the men, before being sent with a few hundred men to crush the rest of Gloucester's forces. Gloucester was caught at the Battle of Newstead, his army was destroyed, and he was captured.

Expansion in Power (1102 - 1109)

Royal Enfeoffment and Initial Issues

With the Revolt of the Barons over, the king was able to hand out new titles after destroying the titles of the rebels and banishing them. Simon de Tottenham — who commanded the left flank at the Battle of Abingdon — was made Earl of Warwick and Hereford, and Hamelin was made Earl of Gloucester and Worcester. Hamelin and Simon were now the new most powerful lay barons in England, and were made close advisors to the king, with Simon being made Marshal of England and Seneschal of Normandy. Hamelin's meteoric rise in power also came with a responsibility to prop up the king's satellite kings in Wales. Hamelin was able to both focus on building up his territories' castle networks(with royal permission) and build the strength of the king's allies in the region.

War in Scotland and Marshal to the King

Robert soon went back north to restore order in Scotland, now with his external threats vanquished. Malcom 'the Cruel' III, was dealing with a revolt from the Scottish nobles who wanted to free Scotland — also called Alba — from Anglo-Norman influence. They were led by the Duke of Lothian, who was on the verge of deposing Malcolm. At Hamelin's advice, the king rushed north with a few thousand men and attacked Lothian. Lothian fled north only to be cornered, and forced to face Robert at the Battle of Ross. Hamelin commanded a sizeable part of the king's army in this engagement. In the chaotic fighting, Simon de Tottenham, who had been summoned to fight with the king, was cornered in battle. Instead of fighting his way out or surrendering, he directed the Scots to capture Hamelin instead. The Battle of Ross was a decisive victory for King Robert, but it also changed the direction of the careers of both Hamelin and Simon de Tottenham. de Tottenham was sacked as Seneschal of Normandy, with the position being filled by the Edward, Count of Evreux, and was sacked as Marshal to the King, being replaced by Hamelin. Hamelin, after paying his ransom, had become officially part of the king's circle, and had grown significantly in power.

Robert soon went back north to stabilise the situation in Scotland The current King, Malcom 'the Cruel' III, was dealing with a revolt and had appealed many times to Robert for help. Now, Robert could help, he summoned both Hamelin and Simon to his side, and marched north. Robert attacked a force of Scottish rebels and overwhelmed them. However, in the fighting, Simon de Tottenham allowed Hamelin to be captured out of cowardice, leading Hamelin to hate him and tarnishing his reputation. Nevertheless, the king stabilised the situation in Scotland, ransomed Hamelin, and returned south. Simon became widely hated in England after the Scottish campaign, and the king fired him from the council, replacing him as Marshal with Hamelin. Hamelin was now in charge of the king's forces and it was his job to manage them. He helped recruit more troops to strengthen the king's forces after two major conflicts.

Seneschal of England

In 1106, Burgheard, Archbishop of Northumberland died, leaving the king with no Seneschal of England. Instead of picking a clergymen, as was the norm at the time, Robert decided to appoint Hamelin as Seneschal, allowing his meteoric rise to continue. Hamelin's administration of affairs in England allowed the king to spend most of his time in Normandy. The State of affairs in England by 1106 was one of tension, as support among the barons grew for Hamelin to be made king. This was due to the king's power growing, and the barons believed that if Hamelin became king he would be beholden to them. This became effectively impossible when Robert married his daughter, Egelina de Normandy to Hamelin. Hamelin also had to deal with the general discontentment among the nobility, which he did by forming a network of alliances within the kingdom. By 1107, England seemed stable enough to go on campaign again.

Failed Punitive Campaign in Brittany

The Normans had never succeeded in fully subjugating Brittany, and had only been able to install a client state in the southwestern portion. The rest split off as the Kingdom of Breizh ruled by King Alan. Alan had been desperate to reclaim the lost parts of his kingdom for years, and finally succeeded after capturing some lands in the northwest. This was an affront to both Anglo-Norman power in Brittany and on the continent as a whole, as such a defeat would doubtless encouage Anglo-Norman enemies. Thus, the king organised an expedition to Brittany in order to reverse that failure. Unfortunately, Alan IV had spent years cultivating allies, and despite sieging down Nantes, Robert was unable to score an actual lasting victory. At the same time, tensions in England were growing, and though they were soothed by the efforts of Hamelin, they grew nonetheless.

A benefit of the campaign was the showcasing of the martial skill of the king's son, Robert the Younger. Robert excelled in battles, giving the king confidence he could bring his son to battle.

Battle of Abbeville

The French, since the 1090s, were ruled by Queen Melisende — a fairly weak queen who was only crowned to avoid a war between the great magnates of France — Robert was desperate to avenge the failure of the last campaign, and saw conquering the Vexin, a heavily contested strategic region, to be the best way to do so. Additionally, the king had made his son Robert the Duke of Normandy, and wanted to strengthen his position. In 1109, the king rallied a large host, with Melisende doing in kind, and sailed to Normandy, connecting with his troops there. Robert first marched to Mantes. The siege only lasted for a few weeks, until the king heard of Melisende and Jaufre, the Count of Vermandois rallying their troops at Abbeville to attack English soil and threaten Robert's seat of power. Robert then force marched the entire army north and attacked the queen's forces over the Somne.

The battle was difficult, and the king was knocked out with the entire right flank of the army routing. During this, Hamelin commanded the left flank of the Norman army and was forced to gradually retreat his men beyond the Somne under constant French attacks. The desperate fighting ended Robert the Younger organised a devastating cavalry charge with the remainder of the Norman knights. The young duke's skill in combat was proved when he smashed into the disorganised French left flank, forcing Jaufre to redirect his men to attempt to repel the Norman charge. Hamelin took advantage, rallied his men, and slowly pushed into the French flank. Under pressure, the French army routed entirely and the queen herself being captured in her camp. In the heavy fighting, Hamelin was severely injured, and went home to recover. In the aftermath, Melisende was forced to give up the Vexin under threat of losing her own life.

Second Expedition into Brittany

With the Battle of Abbeville, Robert had made a great show of force in Northern France. Among the Northern French, a landless Breton named Per de Cournouaille had a claim to the lands of King Hoel IV. Hamelin made contact with Per and offered him the king's aid in pressing his claim(or his if the king refused). Per accepted and Robert ultimately took up the opportunity to expand his influence in Brittany. An Anglo-Norman army of a few thousand large entered Brittany and laid siege to Nantes. Hoel managed to escape the siege and raised an army, only to be decisively defeated and captured when he attempted to relieve the city. Hoel was dragged before the walls of the city and ordered the garrison to surrender, at which point they did. Morale in the city collapsed, and the citizens were afraid of being slaughtered due to the resistance.

Per de Cournouaille would subsequently be given the entirety of the Upper Brittany region to rule over, centered around Nantes. On the contrary, Hoel would be dramatically weakened, and became susceptible to attack.

Height of Power (1111 - 1123)

Transitional Period

The shocking death of the king left Hamelin scrambling to be secured in his existing positions almost as soon as the coronation of Robert's teenage son, Robert the Blessed, was finished. The young king confirmed all of Hamelin's titles, even granting him the title of Regent in light of his father's surprising death. Hamelin's new title did not give him any extra authority,however it did grant him a significant amount more prestige and denoted an incredible amount of trust Hamelin was able to dominate the king's administration, and was even the face of the crown when Robert himself couldn't be. A flurry of new court positions were granted and gifts given by the king, and Hamelin remained Robert's favourite advisor. In fact, Hamelin's status as a cornerstone of his father's reign gave him more prestige in the young king's eyes than he had in his father's. Hamelin was never particularly popular with the clergy, however took advantage of his status to raise the prestige of both the king he was loyal to and himself in the first few months of Robert's reign.

Worryingly, many of the nobles of Northern England had been looking like they were going to break away from the crown. This fear was set aside when Hamelin personally visited each of them and got them to swear their loyalty to the crown. This security allowed the king to look outwards, thus early into Robert's reign, he attacked the Earl of Bath(and Count of Perche) for breaking away from the king's authority in the months before Robert Curthose's death. Bath was besieged and captured, with The Count of Perche eventually being destroyed totally. However, in a bad ambush near Bath, the count of Eu and Simon de Tottenham were captured by the count's forces. That was a humiliating defeat, and Hamelin was forced to spend the next year rescuing them. The ransom negotiation was difficult, however the Count finally gave them up when he came under attack from the more powerful Count of Anjou and needed funds to hire mercenaries, at risk of being destroyed by overwhelming mercenaries, both were ransomed. By early 1102, the new Royal regime was up and running and functioning well, with wide support among the Anglo-Norman nobility.

Consolidating the realm

In the last few years of his reign, King Robert experienced a great decline in power in Scotland, effectively due to nothing more than lethargy. He failed to come to the aid of his candidate for the crown after the death of Malcolm III the Cruel, thus leaving Scotland to become independent. Hamelin convinced the king to attack the Scots in order to install another potential candidate to the throne, Malcolm, the son of Malcolm the Cruel. Malcolm was already an old man and had an older brother named Duncan, however Duncan opted out, making Malcolm the literal only viable and willing candidate. The King that the Scottish nobles had elected was Angus a Muirebe, a man in his late 20s, who was known as a capable military commander. Nevertheless, the king marched north and, with a larger army and Hamelin by his side, crushed Angus at the battle of Dunblane, soon after installing Malcolm as Malcolm IV.

Administration

In 1114 - 1118, Hamelin was busy administrating the king's realm while he was off on war(capturing Clermont from Queen Melisende of France after winning the decisive battle of Saint-Valery), making many reforms. He ordered the rest of Simon de Tottenham(though he would be let go after paying a heavy fine) for plotting, and reformed the Anglo-Norman nobility, effectively just abolishing many of the titles of the king that had become redundant. He cultivated the king's relationship with Herbert of Northumberland, and ordered the arrest of Earl Ralf of Leeds(who was also released after paying a fine). In 1116, the King's younger brother Humbert, Earl of York, died, and Hamelin was given the County of Maine after the king took over his brother's lands, to avoid the Norman barons believing that the king was hoarding estates, it soon became his preferred title.

Holy War & Regency

Throughout his entire life, Robert — as hinted by his sobriquet, "the blessed" — was an extremely religious man. His personal piety and devotion to the church was universally praised by contemporaries, and he had personally gone on crusade. At the same time, Queen Melisende of the Franks had, for the last few years, been fighting a war in Iberia to conquer Valencia from the Muslim Dhunnunids. Thus King Robert wished to show his faith and devotion to god, and offered the queen his help. Melisende, for her part, was reluctant, but approved the aid. Hamelin, by contrast, was not a particularly religious man.

He observed service and celebrated religious holidays(at least in peacetime), but was not particularly zealous for the 11th century. Robert, nevertheless viewed Hamelin as having such high capability in war that his joining on the expedition was necessary. Thus Hamelin aided in the raising of ~5,000 men including 500 knights and travelled to Iberia to aid the French queen. However, Robert quickly heard of a Dhunnunid attack in Southern France, and — hoping to avoid the queen being forced to turn back — sailed to Marsan to repel them. As the Normans were offloading their supplies piecemeal, the Dhunnunid commander Adal ibn Aszellay suddenly attacked them. The Normans attempted to put up a strong defence, but they were outnumbered, unready, and undersupplied, and were routed. Hamelin managed to orchestrate an organised withdrawal even among the chaos, effectively saving the army, however every single other major commander in the army was captured.

Hamelin's succesful retreat allowed him to eventually rally the rest of the army under him, and they fled to the queen's forces at Valencia. Hamelin recognised the army was too weak and demoralised to effectively continue the campaign, and selected an Anglo-Norman knight named Oswulf d'Elmham to lead the army home while he rushed back to England to serve as regent. Hamelin now had one major task, secure the release of the king(with the rest of the captives being secondary). Months of negotiation ended in failure, however Robert would end up being released either way as the Dhunnunids lost the war. Ultimately, the war was a humiliating failure for both the crown and Hamelin personally, and the added stress may have contributed to his early death.

Last Years, Death, and Legacy

In 1121, King Robert began a war to install Aaron Ua Brian on the throne of Mumu. Hamelin defended the realm against resulting Irish raids, winning a decisive victory at the Battle of Pembroke, for which his reward was being allowed to construct a castle in the county of Warwick. Hamelin would suffer terrible injuries at Pembroke, however he ultimately died of a heart attack on the 13th of August, 1123, in Maine, where his final resting place would be. Hamelin's lands would be entirely given to his 15-year-old son, Mauger de Normandie(who would found the FitzHamelin dynasty), and his 5-year-old son, Gerald, would get the castle of Argentan as a tenant of his elder brother.

Hamelin grew to be effectively the most powerful tenant-in-chief of the English crown in the early 12th century, and had an immense effect on the reign of Robert Curthose, and an outsized effect on the reign of Robert the Blessed. In the 19th century, Historiography considered Hamelin to be a shrewd and pragmatic figure, who's extensive martial skill, gave him the eye of the kings of England, and allowed him to rise through the ranks. This has since become fairly controversial, with historian David A. Carpenter arguing that his rise of power can mostly be attributed to his relation to Robert Curthose as a boy.

In his own time, however, Hamelin was considered to be a skilled and capable advisor and military general. He was also seen as domineering and a man willing to do whatever it took to gain more influence in the king's circle. Hamelin's premature death sapped King Robert of a supporter and close advisor and left a power vacuum in the Anglo-Norman nobility, which was quickly filled by Robert, Count of Mortain, who leveraged his extensive lands in Normandy and England to earn a place in the King's Court. Robert's efforts to establish himself in the king's court led to a rivalry with Hamelin's son, Hamelin FitzRichard, Count of Maine. Hamelin's specific branch of the House of Normandy would split off to form the FitzRichard house.