Richard the Fearless

Courtesy of Wikipedia.

He was born to William I of Normandy, princeps or ruler of Normandy, and Sprota. He was also the grandson of the famous Rollo.He was about 10 years old when his father was killed on 17 December 942. His mother was a Breton concubine captured in war and bound to William by a Danish marriage. William was told of the birth of a son after the battle with Riouf and other Viking rebels, but his existence was kept secret until a few years later when William Longsword first met his son Richard. After kissing the boy and declaring him his heir, William sent Richard to be raised in Bayeux. After William was killed, Sprota became the wife of Esperleng, a wealthy miller; Rodulf of Ivry was their son and Richard's half-brother.
When his father died, Louis IV of France seized Normandy, installed the boy Richard in his father's office, then placed him in the care of the count of Ponthieu. The king then split the lands, giving lands in lower Normandy to Hugh the Great. Louis kept Richard in confinement at Lâon, but he escaped with the assistance of Osmond de Centville, Bernard de Senlis (who had been a companion of Rollo of Normandy), Ivo de Bellèsme, and Bernard the Dane (ancestor of families of Harcourt and Beaumont).

In 946, Richard agreed to "commend" himself to Hugh, Count of Paris. He then allied himself with the Norman and Viking leaders, drove Louis out of Rouen, and took back Normandy by 947. In 962 Theobald I, Count of Blois attacked Rouen, Richard’s stronghold, but his army was defeated by the Normans and retreated never having crossed the Seine. Lothair king of the West Franks stepped in to prevent any further war between the two.

Afterwards, and until his death in 996, Richard concentrated on Normandy itself, and participated less in Frankish politics and petty wars. In lieu of building up the Norman Empire by expansion, he stabilized the realm, and united his followers into a cohesive and formidable principality.

Richard used marriage to build strong alliances . His marriage to Emma connected him to the Capet family. His wife Gunnor, from a rival Viking group in the Cotentin, formed an alliance to that group, while her sisters form the core group that was to provide loyal followers to him and his successors. His daughters provided valuable marriage alliances with powerful neighboring counts as well as to the king of England.
He also built on his relationship with the church, restoring their lands and insured the great monasteries flourished. His reign was marked by an extended period of peace and tranquility.

Reference: Richard I, Duke of Normandy by Wikipedia.

This is my connection to Richard I, Duke of Normandy: Kyong-Mi Arcala → Thomas James Arcala Sr. my father → Lenore Evelyn Barron his mother → Harvey Joseph Barron her father → Suzanne Ouellette his mother → Norbert Ouellette her father → Jean-Baptiste Ouellette, IV his father → Geneveva Ouellette his mother → Jean-Baptiste Ouellette her father → François Ouellette his father → Marie-Thérèse Mignault dite Chatillon his mother → Marie-Louise Cloutier her mother → (Xainte) Dupont her mother → Paul-Michel DuPont her father → Denis DuPont his father → Charles Dupont his father → Charles Louis du Pont his father → Francois du Pont his father → Jean du Pont L'Abbe, II his father → Herve du Pont-L'Abbe, VIII his father → Herve du Pont-L'Abbe, VII his father → Hervi du Pont-L'Abbe, VI his father → Hervé V du Pont-l'Abbé his father → Mahut de Leon his mother → Jeanne de Montmorency her mother → Jeanne de Longueval her mother → Anne de Meulan, dame de Croissy her mother → Amaury II de Meullent (de Meulan), Seigneur de La Queuë her father → Amaury I de Meulan, seigneur de Gournay his father → Agnes de Montfort-l'Amaury, comtesse de Meulan his mother → Amaury III de Montfort, comte d'Evreux her father → Agnes d'Évreux his mother → Richard I, Count of Evreux her father → Robert d'Evreux, Archbishop of Rouen his father → Richard I, 'The Fearless', Duke of Normandy his father