Robert I de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale (ca. 1078 – 1141/1142) was an early 12th century Norman baron and knight, the first of the Bruce dynasty of Scotland and England. A monastic patron, he is remembered as the founder of Gisborough Priory in Yorkshire, in present day Redcar and Cleveland, in 1119.[1]
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Nothing is known of Robert's father, except that he was a landowner in Normandy.[2] An early modern historiographical tradition that he was the son of a Norman noble named Robert I le Brus or de Brus who came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066 and died ca. 1094 has been found to be without basis.[2]
Modern historians contend that Robert may have come from Brix, Manche, near Cherbourg in the Cotentin Peninsula, and came to Britain after King Henry I of England's conquest of Normandy (i.e.: at the same time as Alan fitz Flaad, ancestor of the Stuart Royal Family). David fitz Malcolm (after 1124 King David I of Scotland), was present in France with King Henry and was granted much of the Cotentin Peninsula. It is suggested that Robert de Brus's presences and absences at Henry's court coincide with David's.
Robert de Brus went to Scotland, where the new King, David, made him Lord of Annandale in 1124,.[3] although there is scant evidence that this Robert took up residence on his Scottish estates.
After the death of King Henry, David turned against Henry's successor, King Stephen. As a result Robert de Brus and King David parted company, with Robert bitterly renouncing his homage to David before taking the English side at the Battle of the Standard.[4]
Robert is said to have married twice: (1) Agnes, daughter of Geoffrey Bainard, Sheriff of York and (2) Agnes, daughter and heiress of Fulk de Pagnall, Lord of Carleton, North Yorkshire[5][6]
There were two sons, but it is unclear by which spouse:
| Preceded by New Creation |
Lord of Annandale 1113 x 1124-1138 |
Succeeded by Robert II de Brus |