Robert II, Count of Artois

Robert II (September 1250 – 11 July 1302) was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant. He was a nephew of two kings; Louis IX of France and Charles I of Sicily. A capable military commander and administrator, Robert was involved in a number of conflicts involving the French Capetian dynasty, including the War of the Sicilian Vespers and the Franco-Flemish War. He died during the latter conflict while leading a French army at the Battle of the Golden Spurs. Quotes The constable, Raoul de Nesle, proposed a manœuvre by which the Flemings would have been turned, and cut off from Courtrai. But the king's cousin, the Count d'Artois, who commanded the army, brutally asked him, "Are you afraid of these rabbits, or have you any of their skin about you?" The constable, who had married one of the count of Flanders' daughters, felt the insult, and haughtily answered, "If your highness will ride even with me to-day, you will ride far enough!" Conversation before the Battle of the Golden Spurs (11 July 1302). Reported in Jules Michelet, History of France, tr. G. H. Smith (New York, 1845), vol. i, p. 356 See also Joan I of Navarre External links Category:1250s births Category:1300s deaths Category:Military leaders from France