As a young man, he participated in crusades in Prussia and The Holy Land. His uncle Robert III of Artois, which had English sympathies, made him journey in 1346 to Calais to meet Edward III of England, who was besieging the city. Robert made a good impression on the King.
In 1370, Robert requested Jean Froissart to write a recent chronicle of the history of England. On 20 August 1371, Robert fought for Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg and Brabant, commanding 2,000 men at the Battle of Baesweiler, but was defeated and released after paying a ransom. In 1373, Jean Froissart completed his first book of the Chronicles and dedicated it to Robert of Namur.
Marriage and Children
On 2 February 1354, Robert of Namur firstly married Isabella of Hainaut (1323–1361), sister of Queen Philippa of England and daughter of William I, Count of Hainaut and Joan of Valois.
On 4 February 1380, he secondly married Isabeau de Melun (died 1409). Both marriages remained childless, but Robert is said to have had 9 illegitimate children.
References
^Shaw, Wm. A. (1971). The Knights of England: A Complete Record from the Earliest Time to the Present Day of the Knights of All the Orders of Chivalry in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of the Knights Bachelors. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 4. OCLC247620448.