At the same time, however wretched may have been his material position, by the very fact that he was king the Capetian[1] had a situation of moral preponderance. The tie of vassalage which bound all the great feudatories of the kingdom to him was not merely a theoretical bond; apart from cases of rebellion they do not, as a rule, fail to fulfil their duties as vassals when called on. We have already seen the Duke of Burgundy and the Count of Nevers come in 1080 and do personal service in Philip I's campaign against Hugh, lord of Le Puiset. In the same way, about 1038 we find the Count of Flanders furnishing troops to the king to suppress the revolt of Hugh Bardoux. When the siege of Dol was about to be undertaken in 1076, the Duke of Aquitaine was required to supply troops. Besides this, in the royal armies contingents of Aquitanians, Burgundians and Champenois are constantly found.
Nor do the great lay and ecclesiastical dignitaries fail to attend in large numbers at the great royal assemblies. If one of them is prevented from coming he sends his excuses, makes known the reasons which hinder him from attending when convoked, and prays that his excuses may be favourably received. "I beg of thee, my lord," writes the Bishop of Chartres to King Robert in 1018, "be not angry that I did not come to Paris to thy court, on Sunday last. I was deceived by the messengers who told me that thou wouldst not be there that day, and that I was summoned to the consecration of a bishop of whom I knew nothing whatsoever. As, on the other hand, I had received no letter on the subject of this consecration, either from thee or from my archbishop, I abstained from attending. If I have committed a fault it arises from my having been misled. My pardon will, I hope, be easily obtained from the royal piety, since even from the point of view of justice the fault is a venial one. With my whole heart I assure thee of my attachment hoping that thou wilt deign to continue to me thy confidence."
1 Genealogy of Capetian kings after Hugh Capet (cf. p. 75):
Odo I=(1) Bertha (2)=(1) Robert I the Pious (2)=Constance C. of Blois d. of Conrad 996-1031 d. of William Ct. of Provence K. of Burgundy Hugh Co-regent d. 1025 Henry I Anne 1031-1060 | of Russia Bertha (1) Philip I (2)=(2) Bertrada (1) d. of 1060-1108 of Moutfort Florence C. of Holland Louis VI the Fat 1108-1137 Adela in. (1) Richard III D. of Normandy (2) Baldwin V C. of Flanders Hugh I D. of Burgundy abd. 108 d. 1003 Pulk Rechin Hugh-Adelaide C. of Anjou Robert D. of Burgundy d. 1075 Odo (Eudes) I Borel 1 Heary d. 1066 d. 1101 heiress of Ver- manduis D. of Burgundy d. 1102 Henry First Count of Portugal d. 1112
- ↑ 1
