Rotrou III, Count of Perche

Rotrou III (bef. 1080 – [20 January/6 May] 1144), called the Great (le Grand), was the Count of Perche and Mortagne from 1099. He was the son of Geoffrey II, Count of Perch, and Beatrix de Ramerupt, daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier. He was a notable Crusader and a participant in the Reconquista in eastern Spain, even ruling the city of Tudela in Navarre from 1123 to 1131. He is commonly credited with introducing Arabian horses to the Perche, giving rise to the Percheron breed. By his creation of a monastery at La Trappe in memory of his wife, Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, in 1122 he also laid the foundations of the later Trappists.

Rotrou took part in the First Crusade, travelling with the army of the duke of Normandy, Robert Curthose. What influenced Rotrou in this regard were probably familial connexions. He was related to the Anglo-Norman aristocracy and the Perche was a march (border region) in southern Normandy. A sister was married to Raymond of Turenne, who was a fellow Crusader in the following of Raymond IV of Toulouse. His mother, Beatrix, was a sister of Ebles II of Roucy, who had campaigned in Spain in 1073, and Felicia, who married Sancho Ramírez, King of Aragon. A religious motivation cannot be discounted.

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