Summary of J. F. Andrews's Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown

Book excerpt: Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 In 1100, Robert, duke of Normandy, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, returned from the Holy Land. He was a hero of the First Crusade, and he was the recognized heir to the throne of England. But his joy was short-lived; as Robert neared his native Norman soil, the news reached him that the king of England was dead and that he had been beaten to the crown by a younger brother. #2 Robert was a very different man from his father. They had one physical similarity, in that they both had William’s burly physique and barrel chest, but Robert inherited his mother’s lack of height. He was given the nickname Curthose in his youth, an epithet that stuck for the rest of his life. #3 Robert, the son of William the Conqueror, was duke of Normandy. He had spent his youth fighting for the duchy, and he was not inclined to let the reins of power slip from his own grasp. He was welcomed both in Flanders and at the court of Philip I of France. #4 The union between England and Normandy had been created by William the Conqueror, who had married Robert’s aunt, but Robert felt aggrieved that he had not been given the greater title. Rufus, having inherited his father’s kingdom and his bellicose temperament, did not see why he should not have Normandy as well as England.