and was guilty of some disorders, but by the mild treatment of his father was brought back to his duty. In 1022 Robert displayed his attachment to orthodoxy, by causing a council to assemble at Orleans for the purpose of enquiring into a heresy introduced from Italy, which had been embraced even by some distinguished ecclesiastics. It is said to have inculcated the rejection of the mysteries of religion as so many fables, and to have partaken of the tenets of the Manichees. Several of the culprits were burnt alive in the presence of the King and Queen, the latter of whom manifested the fury of her zeal by thrusting out an eye of one who had been her confessor, as he was led to execution. On the death of the Emperor Henry II. in 1024, an Italian party offered the Imperial crown and kingdom of Italy to Robert or his son, but the King had too much wisdom to involve himself in a war on such a prospect. In 1026 he had the misfortune to lose his eldest son Hugh, on which event he associated in the crown his next son Henry, notwithstanding the opposi tion of Constance, who preferred her son Robert. This unnatural mother then endeavoured to embroil the two brothers; and not succeeding, she persecuted them both, so that they withdrew from court, and broke out into open revolt. Robert was obliged to take up arms against them; but the interposition of an ecclesiastic effected an accommodation. Robert then employed his forces against some Burgundian nobles who had erected fortresses on their territories; and while thus occupied, was seized with an illness of which he died at Melun in 1030 or 1031, about the age of 60, after a reign of 33 years. This King was extremely beloved by his subjects on account of his mildness, justice, and piety. His fault was a too great facility of temper, which rendered him unable to resist the tyranny of his wife. When he bestowed a largess upon a domestic, he was accustomed to say "Take care that Constance does not know it!" and it has been seen how much he suffered her to disturb his family peace. As instances of clemency carried to excess, it is related, that a conspiracy against him having been discovered, and the guilty arrested, whilst the judges were drawing up their process, he caused them to receive the communion, and then himself eat with them, after which, he sent to tell the judges that he could not avenge himself of those whom his Lord had admitted to his table also, that having once observed a thief, who had gained access to his apart

ment on pretext of asking alms, cutting off part of a gold fringe, he bade him withdraw with what he had got, and leave the rest for his comrades. Mod. Univ. Hist. Millot.-A.

ROBERT I., King of Scotland, of the family of BRUCE, memorable as the restorer of the independence of his country, was grandson of that Robert Bruce who was the unsuccessful competitor with John Balio for the crown of Scotland. He was born in 1275» and appears in his youth to have served in the army of Edward I., to whom his father, Robert Bruce Earl of Carrick and Annandale, was attached. But the death of his father, who left him heir to his estates and pretensions, with that of John Baliol, whose son was a captive with the English, inspired him with high designs both for himself and his country, which was then in a state of subjection to Edward; and having left the English court, to which it is said his purposes had been betrayed, he arrived in Scotland about the close of 1305, with the resolution of declaring himself. The Scottish writers mention Comyn or Cumming Earl of Badenoch as the person who had given information against him; but whether this were the fact, or some other cause of quarrel rose between them, it is certain that at an interview at Dumfries, in February 1306, Bruce with his dagger stabbed Comyn, who was afterwards dispatched by one of his associates. This deed of violence could be justified only by greater daring; and Bruce immediately proceeded to seize the castle of Dumfries, to confine the English judges assembled there, to assert his claim to the crown, and summon all the friends of his family to his assistance. He was soon at the head of a body of troops, with which he penetrated as far as Perth, the English every where flying before him; and in March he was solemnly crowned at Scone in presence of some bishops and nobles, and a great number of gentlemen. The King of England, highly enraged at the news of these events, ordered all the forces of the northern counties to enter Scotland, and join the family of Comyn, in order to take vengeance on the rebel, as he was termed. In consequence of this command, the General Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, marched to Perth, where he surprised and defeated Bruce's troops at Methven in June, their leader himself escaping with difficulty. The broken remnant of his army was again routed by Lord Lorn, the nephew of Comyn; and Bruce, dismissing his few followers, was constrained to take refuge in an unfrequented isle of the Hebrides. His fa

mily and friends partook of his adverse fortune. Three of his brothers, and several of his principal adherents, were taken and executed as traitors; and his Queen, his daughter, and two sisters, were made captives and committed to prison.

Neither friends nor foes were acquainted with the fate of Bruce, when he suddenly appeared at his estate of Carrick, at the head of a small but resolute band, with which he surprized an English lord who had obtained a grant of that property; but on the approach of a detachment from the English army, he retreated to the Highlands. In the meantime, Edward was preparing for an expedition into Scotland with a force which was to reduce it to entire submission, and the cardinal legate at his court issued a solemn excommunication against Robert Bruce and all his partisans. The undaunted chief, however, again coming down from his mountains in the spring of 1307, with augmented force, gave a defeat to Aymer de Valence, and besieged the Earl of Gloucester in the castle of Ayr. He was soon after delivered from the most formidable of his foes by the death of Edward I., near Carlisle, as he was just upon the point of entering Scotland with a great army. His weak son, Edward II., though he obeyed his father's dying injunction of marching into Scotland, yet pursued the war with no vigour, and soon returned to England to join his favourite Gaveston. Robert, who had reduced the western counties, left them in charge of his gallant friend Sir James Douglas, and proceeded against his enemies in the north. A long illness with which he was attacked for some time impeded his progress, and he was besieged by the Comyns in one of his castles. His brother Edward, however, obtained various successes in the field; and at length Robert himself returned to action, and gave his foes a defeat at Old Meldrum. He afterwards made himself master of Inverness and the northern districts, and at length, having taken the castle of Forfar and the town of Perth, he brought the whole of Scotland, except a few fortresses, to acknowledge his authority.

Edward II. in the autumn of 1310, thought it necessary for his reputation to march into Scotland, and Robert prudently avoiding an engagement, he advanced to Linlithgow without opposition. The difficulty of subsisting his army, however, obliged him to return to Berwick, where he spent the winter. In the spring of the following year he sent his worthless favourite Gaveston to gather laurels

in Scotland, but he returned with no greater success than his master. The intestine troubles of his kingdom induced him to grant a truce to the Scotch, and Robert employed the interval of hostilities in consolidating his power, and regulating his civil government. In the beginning of 1314, there remained in Scotland only the castles of Stirling, Dunbar, and Berwick, in the hands of the English. Edward had now, after the death of Gaveston, reconciled himself with his discontented barons; and it was resolved that he should make an attempt to recover Scotland, with such a force as might overcome all resistance. At the head of the greatest army that had ever entered that country from England, he moved from Berwick in June 1314, and marched for Stirling to relieve its castle, then besieged by Robert in person. The Scotch army, much inferior in number to the English, but composed of veteran troops, awaited the approach of the enemy on the banks of the rivulet of Bannock, in the road to Stirling. In a skirmish of cavalry preceding the engagement, Robert displayed his strength and prowess by cleaving down to the chin with his battle-axe an opposite commander, of the family of Bohun. This was an omen of the success of the great battle of Bannockburn, in which, through the able disposition and conduct of Robert, the Scotch obtained the most decisive victory over the English that their annals boast, and established the independence of their country. Edward himself narrowly escaped; and the number of noble prisoners was such as to enable Robert to recover, by exchange, his wife, daughter, and sister, with several men of rank who had been the captives of Edward I. The King of Scotland followed up his success by an invasion of England, in which he ravaged the northern counties without opposition. He now thought himself strong enough to give the weak English government molestation in another quarter, and in 1315 he sent his brother Edward over with a body of troops to the north of Ireland, to assist the natives in freeing themselves from the dominion of England. Robert himself followed with a large reinforcement in 1316, but was compelled to return by famine; and his brother, after experiencing a variety of fortune, was defeated and slain in an engagement with the English near Dundalk.

The troubles in England prevented any effectual attempt to revenge the day of Bannockburn, and the papal influence was resorted to for mediating a peace between the two nations; but as the legates employed would not give

The

Robert the regal title, he rejected their proposals with scorn, and would not even consent to a truce. He was then engaged in preparations for the siege of the important town of Berwick, which, in 1318, he took, and afterwards made a destructive inroad as far as Yorkshire. In the following year Edward brought a great force for the recovery of Berwick, which he closely invested by land and sea. The Scotch made no attempt to relieve it, but Sir James Douglas penetrated into England as far as Yorkshire, where he defeated the Archbishop of York at the head of some new levies. siege of Berwick was at length deserted, and a truce for two years was concluded between the two countries. On its expiration, Edward, who had subdued his domestic enemies, resolved upon a new expedition into Scotland; and in 1522 advanced without opposition as far as Edinburgh, Robert having contented himself with carrying away all the provisions from the districts through which the enemy was to pass. Want of supplies obliged the English to return, whilst Robert with a chosen body of troops hung upon their rear, and cut off the stragglers. He even surprized part of the army, took the King's baggage, and pursuing him as far as York, carried devastation into that county. Both parties were now desirous of repose, and a truce for 13 years was concluded in 1323, which left Robert in full possession of Scotland, though it did not acknowledge him for the lawful King. About this time a conspiracy against Robert, headed by a powerful baron, Lord Soules, was discovered, and all who were concerned in it suffered as traitors: its grounds and objects are little known.

The deposition and death of Edward II., in 1327, gave occasion to a breach of the truce on the part of the King of Scotland, who seems not to have considered himself as bound to the new government. In reality, however, he was tempted by the disordered state of England to renew hostilities, for which he had been some time preparing. Young Edward III. was not a prince to suffer an insult without resistance and retaliation; and learning that the Scotch, under Douglas and Murray, were making dreadful ravages in Northumberland, he assembled a powerful army, and went in search of them. They, however, eluded all his attempts to bring them to action, and retired to their own country. Edward dismissed his army, and in the same year a peace was agreed upon between the two nations, by an article of which the King of England renounced all claim to supe

VOL. VIII.

riority over the kings or kingdom of Scotland; and thus the great object of Robert's reign, the independence of his country, was finally established. At the same time, his only son David, then five years of age, was contracted to Joan, Edward's sister. Robert was now nearly worn out with the cares and fatigues of his active life; and in 1329, at his castle of Cardross, he expired in the 54th year of his age and the 24th of his reign, leaving a name eternally memorable in the annals of his country, which he rescued by his courage and wisdom from a foreign yoke, and restored to its rank among nations. Hume. Henry. Univ. Hist.

- A.

ROBERT, King of Naples, son of Charles II., by the sister of Ladislaus King of Hungary, born in 1279, was Duke of Calabria at the time of his father's death in 1309. The succession was disputed between him and the son of his elder brother, Carobert King of Hungary, but the college of cardinals, (Naples being then considered as a fief of the holy see) decided in Robert's favour. He was crowned at Avignon, and through gratitude to the Pope, exerted himself to oppose the Ghibelline or imperial party in Italy, and allied himself with the Guelfs and Florentines. the Guelfs and Florentines. At this time the crown of Sicily was in possession of Frederic III. of Arragon, who, for his defence against the King of Naples, formed an alliance with the Emperor. Robert, though a wise. and prudent king, was ambitious to extend his dominion, and almost the whole of his reign was spent in fruitless attempts to conquer the island of Sicily. He also, during his contests with the imperialists, aggrandised himself in Lombardy, and for some time he held the sovereignty of great part of Romagna, Florence, Lucca, Ferrara, Pavia, Alessandria, Bergamo, Brescia, Genoa, Asti, and several other places. in Piedmont. He was the most potent prince in Italy in his age; but it is less on account of his political and military successes that he deserves commemoration, than because he was the greatest royal proficient in science and letters, and the most munificent patron of them, in the century in which he lived. Many of the early writers give their testimony to his merits in this respect; and Petrarch, in particular, in several parts of his writings is profuse in his praise. He represents him as surrounded with books even in the midst of the most important affairs of state; and has recorded an interview with him in which Robert solemnly affirmed that he valued letters more than his crown, and that if he were obliged to 4 D

renounce one of the two, he would more willingly part with his kingdom than his books. He was particularly conversant in philosophy and theology, was well versed in medicine, and an excellent orator: poetry he rather held in contempt, till his acquaintance with Petrarch, late in life, gave him more favourable ideas of it, and he lamented that he had so long neglected that species of literature. He requested Petrarch to dedicate to him his elaborate poem of Africa; and when that famous genius was about to receive the poetical laurel at the capitol of Rome, it was to King Robert that he applied in order to undergo before him the requisite preliminary examinations in learning. (See his article.) Robert, however, is said when a child to have been so slow of comprehension, that it was with the greatest difficulty he could be taught the elements of grammar; and it was not till his preceptor had interested him in Esop's Fables, that he exhibited any fondness for learning. Among his services to letters were the invitations he gave to the most eminent professors to occupy chairs in the University of Naples, and the pains he bestowed in collecting a royal library. Most of the learned men of his time were occasional visitors at his court, and were received by him with singular honour. Of his own compositions the only certain relic is a long Latin letter which he wrote to the Florentines in 1333, to console them for their losses in a dreadful inundation, which, from its religious cast, and the numerous citations of the Scriptures and fathers, might have proceeded rather from a preacher than a prince. The private character of this King was highly amiable, and the only fault with which he is taxed was a disposition to avarice, that grew upon him with his years. He had the misfortune of losing his only son, Charles, at the age of 31, on which occasion he exclaimed that the crown was fallen from his head. As this Prince left no male heirs, Robert negociated a marriage between his eldest grand-daughter Joan, and Andrew, Joan, and Andrew, second son of the King of Hungary, both of them children; and he settled the crown upon Joan, afterwards the too famous Queen of Naples. He died in January 1343, in the 64th year of his age, and 34th of his reign. Mod. Univers. Hist. Tiraboschi.-A.

ROBERT, CLAUDE, a French ecclesiastic and chronologist of some celebrity, was born at Cheslay, a village between Bar-sur-Seine and Tonnere on the borders of Burgundy, in the year 1564. From some seminary in the province just mentioned he went to pursue his

academical studies at Paris, where he obtained an exhibition in the college of Cambray. Having gone through his courses of philosophy and divinity with distinguished reputation, he acquired the esteem and confidence of M. Fremiot, president of the parliament of Dijon, who appointed him tutor to his son Andrew. As soon as he had been admitted to the degree of licentiate in canon law, he accompanied his pupil into Burgundy, where, in 1590, he was presented to a canonry of the Chapel-au-Riche at Dijon. Afterwards he travelled with his pupil through France, Flanders, Germany, and Italy. At Rome he was introduced to persons of the greatest distinction, and received several marks of esteem from the Cardinals Bellarmine, Baronius, and D'Ossat. It was in this city that he first conceived the plan of his "Gallia Christiana," concerning which he asked the opinion of Cardinal Baronius, who encouraged him to carry it into execution, by declaring that he knew of no person who was so well qualified for such an undertaking. Andrew Fremiot being afterwards promoted to the Archbishopric of Bourges, he prevailed with M. Robert to make one of his family, that he might still profit by his advice and learned conversation; and he employed him as his assistant in his pastoral visitations. At the Archbishop's request, M. Robert superintended the education of his nephew, James de Nuchéses, who was afterwards nominated Bishop of Chalons-sur-Saone; upon which event this prelate conferred a canonry of his cathedral upon his preceptor, and made him his archdeacon and grand-vicar. The Bishop was desirous of expressing his regard for our author, by collating him to other benefices; but M. Robert constantly refused any additional preferment. He discharged the duties of his appointments with the strictest fidelity, and died in the episcopal palace at Chalons in 1637, when about 73 years of age. The most considerable of his productions is entitled, "Gallia Christiana, in qua Regni Franciæ, Ditionumque vicinarum Diæceses, et in iis Præsules describuntur," published at Paris in 1626, in folio, with an appendix, prefaces, and chronological tables of the Popes and Antipopes, the Eastern and Western Emperors, the Kings of France and England, the councils of France, the indictions, &c. He left behind him materials for a second edition of this work, which were made use of by M. St. Marthe, whose new collections increased the work to three vols. folio. It was afterwards extended by the Benedictines to twelve vols, folio. For

ROBERT DE VAUGONDY, N., an excellent French geographer in the 18th century, was born at Paris in the year 1688. He was a diligent student in history as well as geography, and greatly improved the latter science by his knowledge of the former, as is sufficiently demonstrated by his various productions. He was made geographer in ordinary to the King, and died at Paris in 1766, at the age of 78. He had a son, who was for some time the assiduous companion of his labours, and who deservedly proved the heir both of his appointment and of his reputation. Our author's works consist of "An Introduction to Sanson's Geography," 1743, 8vo.; " An Abridgment of different Systems of the World," 1745, 16mo.; "Sacred Geography," 1746, in two vols. 12mo.; "The Use of the Globes," 1752, 12mo.; "A portable Atlas," in 4to.; and that grand performance, entitled, " Atlas Universel," published in 1756, consisting of an hundred and eight maps, upon a very large scale, engraved with the greatest neatness, as well as accuracy. From the title it appears, that his son was jointly concerned with our author in producing this work, to which is prefixed an historical preface, in six chapters, treating of the origin, progress, and present state of geography. Nouv. Dict. Hist.-M.

ROBERTI, JOHN, a noted professor of divinity among the Jesuits in the 17th century, was a native of St. Huberts in the Ardennes, where he was born in the year 1569. He commenced his academical studies at Liege, and continued them at Cologne, where, in the 23d year of his age, he entered into the society of Jesus. His proficiency in the various branches of learning is highly commended, particularly in the belles-lettres, divinity, and ecclesiastical history. Being appointed by his superiors professor of divinity, he was created doctor in that faculty at Mentz, and discharged the duties of his post with great reputation during a long succession of years, in that city, at Doway, at Treves, and at Wurtzbourg. He died at Namur in 1651, in the 82d year of his age. He was the author of a work which reflects honour on the attention paid by him to the study of scriptural learning and criticism, entitled, " Mysticæ Ezekielis Quadriga, hoc est, Evangelia Historiarum et Temporum Serie vinculata, Gr. et. Lat.," 1615, folio; "Nathanael Bartholemæus," 1619, 4to., in which his learning is employed on an

attempt to prove, that Nathanael and Bartholomew were only different names of the same apostle; "Historia S. Huberti, ultimi Tungrorum et primi Leodiensium Episcopi, cum notis, Paralipomenis, et Quæstionibus Hubertinis," 1621, 4to., which is a very curious work, and comprizes discussions of various interesting topics in ecclesiastical antiquities; "Vita S. Lamberti Tungrensis Episc. et Martyris," 1633, 8vo.; "Tractatus de magnetica Vulnerum Curatione," 1616, 12mo., which explodes the pretensions of Goclenius to cure all diseases by means of the loadstone; several controversial pieces against the Protestants; and other pieces, of which a list may be seen in Sotvelli Bibl. Script. Soc. Jes. Valerii Andrea Bibl. Belg. Moreri.-M.

ROBERTSON, WILLIAM, a learned and pious clergyman of the church of Ireland, in the 18th century, memorable for having resigned his preferments in consequence of a change in his sentiments on the subject of Trinitarian worship, was born at Dublin, October 16th, 1705. His father was a Scotchman, who carried on the linen manufacture in that city, and his mother an Englishwoman, of a very reputable family in the bishopric of Durham. Their son William was, from his childhood, of a very tender and delicate constitution, and was particularly affected by a great weakness in his eyes till he was twelve years of age, when he was sent to school. He was instructed in grammar-learning under the celebrated Dr. Francis Hutcheson, who then taught in Dublin, but was afterwards professor of philosophy in the University of Glasgow. In the year 1722, he removed to that University, where he continued till the year 1725, when he was admitted to the degree of M. A. His tutor was Mr. John Lowdon, professor of philosophy; and he attended the lectures of Mr. Ross, professor of humanity; of Mr. Dunlop, professor of Greek; of Mr. Morthland, professor of the Oriental languages; of Mr. Simpson, professor of the mathematics; and of Dr. John Simpson, professor of divinity. During the year 1725 a dispute revived, which had been frequently agitated before, between Mr. Sterling, the principal of the University, and the students, about the right of choosing the rector, whose office and authority bear some resemblance to those of the vice-chancellor of Oxford or Cambridge. In this dispute Mr. Robertson took part with his fellow-students, and was deputed by them, together with William Campbell, Esq., son of Campbell of Marmore, whose family has since