duke of Normandy Robert Curthose

Robert Curthose, duke of Normandy (c. 1050-1134), the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was designated as heir to Normandy before 1066. Any hopes Robert may have had of obtaining England were, however, dashed by his father's death-bed bequest in 1087. Two attempts in 1088 and 1101 to wrest the kingdom from his brothers William II and Henry I failed and in 1106 he was himself ousted from the duchy by Henry after the battle of Tinchebrai. He was thereafter kept in prison until his death. His heroic contribution to the First Crusade shows him as a redoubtable warrior capable of prospering in a great military enterprise. His nickname, literally ‘Short Boots’, is said to have been conferred by his father.