Robert Burdet, Prince of Tarragona (c. 1118-1130)

As a native of Cullei, near Rabodanges (Orne) in the vicinity of the abbey of St Evroult, his history is known and reported by Orderic Vitalis. At the request of Oldegar, Bishop of Barcelona, during the Councils of Reims and Toulouse (1118), Robert went to Spain to take part in the struggle against the Saracens. He took Tarragona and was given the title of prince of this town by the bishop. He gave homage for his principality to the bishop in 1129 and his successors held it against the Saracens, but also against the rising power of Barcelona. Ultimately the descendants of Robert Burdet withdrew to Majorca in 1171. They give us an example of the Norman adventurers who were successful, like the Hautevilles, in carving out for themselves a ‘kingdom in the sun’.