obert II (of France), called Robert the Pious (970?-1031), king of France (996-1031), the son of King Hugh Capet, born in Orléans, and educated at Reims under the French scholar Gerbert, who later became Pope Sylvester II. In 996 Robert married, as his second wife, his cousin Bertha of Bourgogne. Two years later Pope Gregory V excommunicated him and annulled this marriage, which was considered incestuous by the church; in 1003 Robert submitted to the pope and married the daughter of the marquis of Provence, Constance of Arles, by whom he had four sons. He recognized Hugh, the eldest of these sons, as his successor. After Hugh's death in 1025, the other sons, aided by their mother, revolted; Robert was still fighting them at the time of his own death. Robert was called The Pious because of his humility and charity; he was also esteemed as a soldier and ruler. [Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia]

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