Robert, Duke of Normandy, surnamed the Devil; the younger son of Duke Richard II. by his marriage with Judith, a daughter of Count Godfrey of Brittany. In 1027 he succeeded his elder brother, Richard III. The first years of his government were employed in bringing his rebellious vassals into subjection. In 1034 his fleet was wrecked off Jersey while on its way to England to support his nephews Alfred and Edward against Canute. He concluded a truce with Canute, by which the two princes were promised half of England. In 1033 he set out to visit the holy places, and subsequently made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem on foot. While returning he died suddenly in Nicaea in Asia Minor (1035). William the Conqueror was his son.
Entry from Everybody's Cyclopedia,
1912.