A Potted History of Mortain

Mortain was, in the Middle Ages, the head of an important county (comté), reserved for the reigning house of Normandy.  Around 1027 it was established for Robert, who was probably an illegitimate son of Richard I of Normandy. He was succeeded by William Warlenc ("the waning") who was probably his son. In or about 1049 Duke William took it from William Warlenc and bestowed it on his half-brother, Robert, henceforth known as "Count of Mortain," whose vast possessions in England after the Conquest (1066) gave name to "the small fees of Mortain," which owed less feudal service than others. Robert was succeeded as count by his son William, Count of Mortain, who rebelled against Henry I, was captured at the battle of Tinchebrai (1106) and forfeited his possessions.

Some years later, Henry bestowed the comtéship on his nephew Stephen, who became king in 1135. On Stephen's death (1154) his surviving son William became count of Mortain, but when William died childless in 1159 the title was resumed by Henry II. On the accession of Richard I (1189) he granted it to his brother John, who was thenceforth known as count of Mortain until he ascended the throne (1199). With his loss of Normandy the comté was lost, but after the recapture of the province by the House of Lancaster, Edmund Beaufort, a grandson of John of Gaunt, was created count of Mortain and so styled till 1441, when he was made earl of Dorset.

In August 1944, Mortain was the site of an important battle between the German and American forces. Over a period of six nights the 30th Infantry Division fought valiantly (with one radio with dying batteries) against the German Panzer counter-attack of Operation Lüttich, to preserve the breakout established in Operation Cobra. Famed author J.D. Salinger fought alongside the American forces - an experience in which his daughter claims led to post-traumatic syndrome.

Mortain the Home of William the Conquerors Brother

(Mostly from Wikipedia)

Robert, Count of Mortain 1055-1095

Robert, Count of Mortain "his character stands out in honourable distinction from those of his brothers, neither surrounded by the "guilty glory" of the King, nor blackened by the baseness of the Bishop."

Robert was the son of Herluin de Conteville and Herleva of Falaise, he was full brother to the infamous Odo of Bayeux; he was also a half-brother to William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy and later king William I of England: Herleva was mother of both. The exact year of Robert's birth is unknown, although it is generally regarded that Odo was the elder of the two, and that Robert was probably not more than a year or so younger than his sibling.

His name first appears in or about the year 1049 when he was made Count of Mortain in the Cotentin, in place of one William Warlenc, who had been banished by Duke William on suspicion of treason. The suspicion being that this William Warlenc was a grandson of Duke Richard I and therefore a potential rival to William the Bastard.

Five years later Robert was to be found supporting William against the French King Henri I's invasion of Normandy, although he does not appear to have taken part in the famous victory of the battle of Mortemer. He was however present at the council of Lillebonne in 1066, held to discuss the Duke's planned conquest of England when Robert agreed to contribute 120 ships to the invasion fleet. Robert was thus one of the undoubted Companions of the Conqueror, who fought at William's side at the battle of Hastings where he commanded a company of knights from the Cotentin, although he seems to have played no heroic role at the battle.

Robert's contribution to the success of the invasion was however regarded as fairly significant by William who awarded him a large share of the consequent spoil. He was granted the rape of Pevensey in Sussex and a total of 549 manors scattered across the country; 54 in Sussex, 75 in Devon, 49 in Dorset, 29 in Buckinghamshire, 13 in Hertfordshire, 10 in Suffolk, 99 in Northumberland, 196 in Yorkshire, and 24 in other counties. Indeed, his possessions in England were larger than those of any other follower of William.  However the greatest concentration of his landed wealth was in Cornwall (where he held a further 248 manors at the time of the compilation of the Domesday book, together with castles of Launceston and Trematon) although these Cornish estates were not granted to him until after 1072 when Brian of Brittany decided to return home. His position of authority in the south west has therefore led many to consider him as the Earl of Cornwall, although it appears uncertain as to whether he was formally created as such.

His one public act after the conquest took place in 1069, when together with his cousin and namesake Robert of Eu, he led an army against a force of Danes who had landed at the mouth of the Humber and laid siege to York. As the Norman forces approached the Danes decided to retreat to the Fens where they fancied they would be safe. The two Roberts however surprised the Danes whilst they were being entertained by the disaffected natives and ""pursued them with great slaughter to their very ships"".

After that there is little mention of Robert (who may well have spent much of his time in Normandy) until he appears at the deathbed of William I in 1087 pleading for the release of his brother Odo who had been imprisoned for revolt earlier in 1082. It is said that William was reluctant to accede to the request, believing that Odo was an incorrigible rogue. As it happens William was right, for as soon as the Conqueror was dead, Odo was soon fermenting a revolt against the Conqueror's successor William Rufus, and promoting the claims of Rufus' brother and rival Robert Curthose. Odo persuaded his brother to join in the rebellion which proved a failure. But whilst Odo was exiled to Normandy by William Rufus, Robert of Mortain was excused punishment and pardoned, most probably because his extensive English estates meant that it was worthwhile for the king to gain his support.

Nothing is known of Robert's life afterwards; it seems that he died sometime between the accession of William Rufus and the year 1103, by which time his son William, Count of Mortain had most certainly succeeded him, most probably sometime around the year 1095.

Robert was married to Matilda, daughter of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, In 1082 they founded a collegiate Church in their Castle of Mortain, under the guidance of their chaplain Vitalis, abbot of Savigny. Robert also made grants to Fleury and Marmoutier . He had a son William, who forfeited Mortain after the battle of Tinchebrai, and possibly a son Nigel .  His three daughters; Agnes who married André de Vitry, Denise, married in 1078 to Guy, 3rd Sire de La Val; and Emma of Mortain, the wife of William IV of Toulouse.

He is described by William of Malmesbury as “a man of a heavy, sluggish disposition, but no foul crimes are laid to his charge. He had evidently the courage of his race, and his conduct as a commander is unassociated with any act of cruelty. Scandal has not been busy with his name as a husband. No discords are known to have disturbed his domestic felicity."