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Abstract
This dissertation analyzes and edits the evidence and sources for the case of Robert of Artois, count of Beaumont-le-Roger (1287-1342). The brother-in-law of the first Valois king, Philip VI, Robert of Artois made three attempts to take the county of Artois away from his aunt, Mahaut, its countess. The last attempt, spanning the years from 1329 to 1337, showed Robert to be a desperate man, willing to commit the crimes of suborning false testimony and commissioning forgeries to prove his case. The discovery of these offenses and Robert's participation in them caused Philip VI to banish him from France and confiscate his estates in 1332. Robert eventually left the continent and presented himself at the court of Edward III of England, who was more than willing to harbor Philip VI's mortal enemy. In the conflict that would later be termed the Hundred Years War, Robert of Artois fought on the side of Edward III, against his brother-in-law Philip VI.
Robert of Artois' three attempts to become the count of Artois generated many documents: decrees, letters, confessions, depositions, and trial proceedings. Philip VI ordered these materials to be compiled and copied into registers, which were completed by five royal notaries after March 1337. At least eight of these books were created, although only two survive today. One is deposited in the Archives nationales in Paris, designated AN, JJ 20. The other is in the Bibliotheque nationale de France, ms. fr. 18437. These are not ordinary chancery registers, but rather deluxe, ornate manuscripts which narrate the conspiracy perpetrated by Robert of Artois and his ultimate downfall. This dissertation analyzes and edits these registers to make accessible the records of one of the most spectacular lawsuits ever tried in medieval France and to elucidate events in the early years of Philip VI's reign before the beginning of the Hundred Years War.
