ROBERTO, abbot of MOLESME, saint — The Flagellation, a miniature in the Psalter belonging to s. R., as shown by a note from the 12th century. It is a Psalter from Saint-Vaast of Arras, adapted for Cistercian use (late 11th century) — Dijon, Municipal Library, ms. 30, f. 8°.
He joined the archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, and Trier against King Venceslao, took part in his deposition, and was himself chosen to succeed him on 21 August 1400, undertaking to recover the Lombard lands enfeoffed by Venceslao to Gian Galeazzo Visconti. Having descended into Italy with the financial and diplomatic aid of Florence, he was defeated at Brescia on 24 October 1401 and abandoned the enterprise the following spring, renouncing the struggle in Lombardy and the imperial coronation. During the expedition he lacked the support of the Roman pope, Bonifacio IX, despite the fact that R. and the Rhenish archbishops recognized him against his rival in Avignon. But Bonifacio feared that, by antagonizing Venceslao and the Visconti, he would lose obedience in Bohemia and, above all, political security in Italy; nor did R. give the Pontiff the assurances he demanded, so as not to close off the possibility of an agreement with France. The death of Gian Galeazzo fostered an understanding between R. and Bonifacio and secured papal approval for the former in 1403. R. remained attached to the popes of Rome in the following years as well, and at the Council of Pisa, while in Germany his numerous adversaries abandoned obedience to Rome. He died on 18 May 1410.