RIOM
. Founded in the 5th century by St. Amable, Riom (Puy-de-Dôme) was a sleepy town
clustered around its church until Philip II Augustus made it his administrative capital for
Auvergne in the early 13th century. In 1360, Riom passed with the rest of Auvergne to
John, duke of Berry, who built a magnificent castle here that has since disappeared, but
for its chapel. It was in this 14th-century Sainte-Chapelle, with its beautiful stained glass,
that John married Jeanne de Boulogne in 1389 and, in 1410, the poet Charles d’Orléans
wed Bonne d’Armagnac. The much-restored collegiate church of Saint-Amable (begun
1160) has preserved its Romanesque 12th-century nave and transept in Auvergnat style.
The nave has a pointed barrel vault without cross-arches; its bay arches are likewise
pointed. Above the groin-vaulted aisles are galleries that open onto the nave through twin
arcades. The Gothic choir, of the early 13th century, shows Parisian influence. The
church of Notre-Dame-du-Marthuret is notable for its Flamboyant Gothic façade as well
as for a beautiful 15th-century sculpture, Our Lady with Child and Bird, within.
William W.Kibler/William W.Clark
Gauchery, Paul. “Riom.” Congrès archéologique (Moulins, Nevers) 80(1913):144–73.
ROADS
. See TRAVEL
ROBERT (COUNTS OF FLANDERS)
. Name of three counts of Flanders. Robert I the Frisian (r. 1071–93), the younger son of
Count Baudouin V, usurped the countship from his nephew Arnulf III in 1071. Robert
had married the widow of Count Florence I of Holland and Frisia, hence his nickname.
Robert quickly repaired his diplomatic fences by marrying his stepdaughter, Bertha, to
King Philip I of France, who had supported Arnulf III, and by supporting Philip against
William of Normandy and England. Robert I and his son Robert II (r. 1093–1111)
extended their influence in the bishopric and city of Cambrai, detaching the diocese of
Arras from it in the interests of having a purely Flemish archbishopric outside the empire.
The first significant evidence of the Flemish central administration comes from the period
of Robert I, with the attachment of the chancery to the provostship of the church of Saint-
Donatien of Bruges.
Robert II, known as Robert of Jerusalem for his participation in the First Crusade,
became an active church reformer under the influence of his wife, Clementia, whose
The Encyclopedia 1511