Sir Richard the Niger (illegitimate)

FMG: Normandy Dukes (25 Dec 2021) Chapter 1. Dukes of Normandy 911-1106

Mistress (1): ---. The name of Duke Robert's first mistress is not known. It is likely that this was the Duke's first relationship which produced offspring considering the likely birth date range of their daughter (see below).

Mistress (2): ---. According to Orderic Vitalis, Duke Robert's [second] mistress was the "beautiful concubine of an old priest near the frontier with France" whom Robert met during his exile after his rebellion in 1079. She was acknowledged by Duke Robert as the mother of his two sons after she "publicly carried the red-hot iron and escaped without the least burn"[309].

Duke Robert had one illegitimate daughter by Mistress (1):
c) daughter ([1072/78]-). Orderic Vitalis records that "Rodbertus dux" married "filiam suam…de pellice" to "Heliæ filio Lamberti de Sancto Sidonio", and granted him "Archas cum Buris et adjacente provincia"[337]. Her birth date range is estimated on the assumption that she was in her early teenage years when she married. m ([1087/90]%29 [as his first wife,] HELIE de Saint-Saëns, son of LAMBERT de Saint-Saëns & his wife --- (-after 1128). Comte d’Arques, de iure uxoris.
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Duke Robert had two illegitimate children by Mistress (2):
d) RICHARD ([1079/80]-killed in the New Forest before Aug 1100). His parentage is stated by Orderic Vitalis[338]. Florence of Worcester records that "suus fratruelis Ricardus comitis…Normannorum Rotberti filius" had also been killed in the New Forest a short time before, killed by an arrow shot by one of his knights, when recording the death of his paternal uncle William II King of England[339]. William of Malmesbury records that "Richard son of Robert earl of Normandy" was killed in the New Forest "by a wound in the neck, or as some say, from being suspended by the jaws on the branch of a tree as his horse passed beneath it"[340]. Orderic Vitalis also specifies that the accident occurred in the New Forest[341].
e) GUILLAUME ([1079/80]-killed in battle Jerusalem [1111]). His parentage is stated by Orderic Vitalis[342]. He left for Jerusalem after his father's defeat in 1106. Albert of Aix records the participation of "Willelmum…filium Roberti Normannorum principis" at the siege of Sidon, at which he was ordered to Jerusalem for reinforcements by King Baudouin I before leading a major attack on Arab positions in the trans-Jordan area, dated to [Aug 1108][343]. Albert of Aix records that he was placed in command of Tortosa after the town was captured by Bertrand Count of Tripoli in [1110][344]. Albert of Aix records that "…Willelmus…filius comitis Nortmannorum, dominium habens civitatis Tortosæ…" joined the campaign against the Turks who marched against Antioch, dated to [1110/11] from the context[345].
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Find a Grave "Sir Richard 'The Niger' de Hill Capetian"

Citing Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, City of Winchester, Hampshire, England
Son of Sir Knight Robert "Curthose" de Normandie, Duke of Normandy and Agnes de Ribemont, Duchess of Normandie
His parentage is stated by Orderic Vitalis
Joined his father and brother in the First Crusade 1096–1099 at 17 Years old. He was already a trained Knight and a skilled fighter as his father had taught him. He fought with honor and returned home.
Killed on a hunting trip while on his honeymoon in Hampshire, England.
Florence of Worcester records that "suus fratruelis Ricardus comitis de Normannorum Rotberti filius" had also been killed in the New Forest a short time before, killed by an arrow shot by one of his knights, when recording the death of his paternal uncle William II King of England
William of Malmesbury records that "Richard son of Robert earl of Normandy" was killed in the New Forest "by a wound in the neck, or as some say, from being suspended by the jaws on the branch of a tree as his horse passed beneath it"
Orderic Vitalis also specifies that the accident occurred in the New Forest
After the death of Richard, the first son of Duke Robert, William of Tortosa, joined a Crusade with his father and perished in the same (The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis, edited and translated by Marjorie Chibnall,Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1978, Vol 3, pp. 259-260).
Taking the name to "Hill" was an English translation of his mother's line: de Ribemont, which means "ribbon of hills".
His lineage can be ascertained by the laws of heraldry at the time displayed in the boy's arms. People could not legally bear heraldry without approval from the crown. So, at some point he was granted arms revealing a claim of royal lineage. There were granted Two Battle Axes to represent his father and grandfather's royal battles as well as the Spear that Robert used to kill the Saracean King (showing his descent from Robert).

Born: 1079 Château de Falaise, Normandie, France
Died: May 1100 New Forest, Hampshire, England
Father: Robert "Curthose" de Normandie, Duke of Normandie
Mother: Agnes de Ribemont, Duchess of Normandie
Wed: 1097 Château de Falaise, Calvados, Normandie, France
Wife: Lady Beatrice de Vermandois
Born: 1082 Valois, Bretagne, France
Died: 1130 Château de Falaise, Calvados, Normandie, France
Father: Count Hugues I "the Great" de Vermandois
Mother: Countess Adelaide de Vermandois
Son: Sir Knight William de Hill b. 1098 Château de Falaise, Calvados, Normandie, France
Son: Bishop Oseberre de Hill b. 1100 Château de Falaise, Calvados, Normandie, France