House of Blois
The House of Blois (French: [blwa]) is a lineage derived from the Frankish nobility, whose principal members were often named Theobald (Thibaud, Thibault, Thibaut in French).
House of Blois House of Champagne | |
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Arms of the House of Blois | |
Country | France Navarre England |
Founded | 906 |
Founder | Theobald the Old, Viscount of Blois |
Final ruler | Joan I of Navarre |
Titles |
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Estate(s) | Blois, Champagne, Navarre, England, Sancerre, Boulogne, Aumale |
Dissolution | 1305 |
Cadet branches |
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History
Heirs of the viscounts of Blois, the House of Blois accumulated the counties of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Troyes, Meaux — as successors of Herbertians — etc., then the county of Champagne, and finally the kingdom of Navarre. The family was founded by Theobald the Old in the year 906.
When Louis VII of France was greatly threatened by the vast collection of territories in the person of Henry II of England, he chose a wife from the House of Champagne (Adela of Champagne) as a counterpoise to Angevin power.
The senior line of the House of Blois became extinct with the death of Joan I of Navarre, wife of Philip IV of France, in 1305. Champagne and Navarre passed to the Capetian dynasty.
King Stephen I of England, 1135–1154, was both a member of the House of Blois and the last Anglo-Norman King, being the grandson of William the Conqueror through his daughter Adela of Normandy.[1]
A branch of the family was established in Sancerre by Stephen I of Sancerre, a younger son of Theobald II, Count of Champagne. This branch became extinct at the death of Margaret of Sancerre in 1418 or 1419.
Rulers
Ruler | Born | Reign | Death | Ruling part | Consort | Notes | |
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Theobald I the Trickster | 913 | 928-975 | 975 | Blois | Luitgarde of Vermandois four children |
Founder of the family. Until 1041, the count of Blois is also the Count of Tours. | |
Odo I | 950 | 975-996 | 12 March 996 | Blois | Bertha of Burgundy 983 six children |
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Theobald II | c.985 | 996-1004 | 11 July 1004 | Blois | Unmarried | Left no heirs, he was succeeded by his brother Odo. | |
Odo II/I | 983 | 1004-1037 | 15 November 1037 | Blois | Maud of Normandy 1003/4 no children Ermengarde of Auvergne c.1005 three/four children |
Seized Champagne for himself, without royal approval, but kept these territories. | |
1022-1037 | Troyes & Meaux (Champagne) | ||||||
Stephen II | ? | 1037-1047 | 1047 | Troyes & Meaux (Champagne) | Adele one child |
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Odo II | 1040 | 1047-1066 | 1115 | Champagne | Adelaide of Normandy c.1060 one child |
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1069-1115 | Aumale | ||||||
Theobald III | 1012 | 1037-1089 | 1089 | Blois | Gersende of Maine one child Adele of Valois four children |
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1066-1089 | Champagne | ||||||
Odo III | 1062 | 1089-1093 | 1093 | Champagne | Unmarried | Left no children, and he was succeeded by his brother Hugh. | |
Stephen Henry | c.1045 | 1089-1102 | 19 May 1102 | Blois | Adela of Normandy c.1080 Chartres eleven children |
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Hugh | 1074 | 1093-1125 | 1125 | Champagne | Constance of France 1094 one child Isabelle of Burgundy 1110 one child? |
In 1125, after his death, his domains joined Blois. | |
Theobald IV/II the Great | 1090 | 1102-1152 | 10 January 1152 | Blois | Matilda of Carinthia 1123 ten children |
He was also Count of Champagne from 1125. | |
1125-1152 | Champagne | ||||||
Stephen | c.1070 | 1115-1127 | 1127 | Aumale | Hawise de Mortimer c.1100 four children |
His father-in-law supported him in his claimancy for the throne of England. | |
William the Fat | ? | 1127-1179 | 20 August 1179 | Aumale | Cicely FitzDuncan, Lady of Skipton c.1130 eleven children |
He was also made Earl of York. Left his domains in Aumale to his only daughter, Hawise. | |
Henry I the Liberal | December 1127 | 1152-1181 | 16 March 1181 | Champagne | Marie of France 1159 four children |
First son of Theobald II/IV, inherited Champagne. | |
Theobald V the Good | 1130 | 1152-1191 | 20 January 1191 | Blois | Sybil of Chateaurenault no children Alix of France 1164 seven children |
Second son of Theobald II/IV, inherited Blois. | |
Hawise | ? | 1179-1194 | 11 March 1214 | Aumale | William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex c.1180 no children William de Forz c.1190 one child Baldwin of Bethune 1196 one child |
Ruled together with her husbands. In 1194, Philip II of France took Aumale to royal domain. | |
Aumale was annexed to the Kingdom of France | |||||||
Henry II | 29 July 1166 | 1181-1190 | 10 September 1197 | Champagne | Isabella I of Jerusalem 6 May 1192 two children |
Left Champagne in Crusade and established there as king consort of Jerusalem. Left the regency to his mother. | |
Marie of France (regent) | 1145 | 1190-1197 | 11 March 1198 | Champagne | Henry I, Count of Champagne 1159 four children |
Established the patched lands of Champagne as an unified territory. With the death of Henry II in Jerusalem, she passed the county to her youngest son, Theobald. | |
Louis I | 1172 | 1191-1205 | 14 April 1205 | Blois | Catherine, Countess of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis 1184 three children |
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Theobald III | 13 May 1179 | 1197-1201 | 24 May 1201 | Champagne | Blanche of Navarre 1 July 1199 Chartres one child |
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Blanche of Navarre (regent) | 1177 | 1201-1222 | 13 March 1229 | Champagne | Theobald III, Count of Champagne 1 July 1199 Chartres one child |
Regent for her son. Protected him in the War of the Succession of Champagne, and also through her, he would inherit the Kingdom of Navarre. | |
Theobald IV/I the Troubadour | 30 May 1201 | 1222-1234 1234-1253 |
8 July 1253 | Champagne Champagne & Navarre |
Gertrude of Dagsburg 1220 (annulled 1222) no children Agnes of Beaujeu 1222 one child Margaret of Bourbon 12 September 1232 six children |
Posthumous son of Theobald III, inherited Navarre from his uncle in 1234. | |
Theobald VI | 1190 | 1205-1218 | 16/22 April 1218 | Blois | Mathilde of Alençon c.1210 no children Clemence de Roches no children |
Left no heirs. He left the county to his paternal aunt, Margaret. He also left a small county around Chartres to another of his aunts, Isabelle. | |
Margaret | 1170 | 1218-1230 | 12 July 1230 | Blois | Hugh of Oisy no children Otto I, Count of Burgundy 1192 two children Walter II of Avesnes two children |
Left the county to his daughter from Walter of Avesnes, Marie. | |
Margaret of Bourbon (regent) | 1217 | 1253-1256 | 12 April 1256 | Champagne | Theobald I of Navarre 12 September 1232 six children |
Regent for her son. | |
Theobald V/II | 1238 | 1256-1270 | 4 December 1270 | Champagne & Navarre | Isabella of France 6 April 1255 no children |
Left no children. He was succeeded by his brother. | |
Henry III/I | 1244 | 1270-1274 | 22 July 1274 | Champagne & Navarre | Blanche of Artois February 1269 Melun two children |
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Blanche of Artois (regent) | 1248 | 1274-1284 | 2 May 1302 | Champagne & Navarre | Henry I of Navarre February 1269 Melun two children Edmund Crouchback 3 February 1276 Paris three children |
Regent for her daughter, Joan. | |
Joan I | 14 January 1273 | 1284-1305 | 31 March/2 April 1305 | Champagne & Navarre | Philip IV of France 16 August 1284 seven children |
Genealogy
- Theobald the Old, Viscount of Blois
- Theobald I, Count of Blois
- Hugh, Archbishop of Bourges
- Odo I, Count of Blois
- Theobald II of Blois
- Odo II, Count of Blois
- Theobald III, Count of Blois
- Stephen, Count of Blois
- William, Count of Sully
- Theobald II, Count of Champagne
- Henry I, Count of Champagne
- Theobald V, Count of Blois
- William White Hands
- Stephen I of Sancerre
- William I, Count of Sancerre
- Louis I, Count of Sancerre
- John I, Count of Sancerre
- Stephen II, Count of Sancerre
- John II, Count of Sancerre
- Louis II, Count of Sancerre
- John III, Count of Sancerre
- Margaret, Countess of Sancerre
- Louis de Sancerre, Constable of France
- Robert, Lord of Menetou
- Theobald, Lord of Sagonne
- Stephen, Lord of Vailly-sur-Sauldre
- John III, Count of Sancerre
- Louis II, Count of Sancerre
- Theobald, Bishop of Tournai
- Louis, Lord of Sagonne
- Robert, Lord of Menetou-Salon
- John I, Count of Sancerre
- Louis I, Count of Sancerre
- Stephen II, Lord of Châtillon-sur-Loing, Grand Butler of France
- Stephen III, Lord of Châtillon-sur-Loing
- William I, Count of Sancerre
- Stephen, King of England
- Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester
- Philip, Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne
- Odo V, Count of Troyes
- Hugh, Count of Champagne
- Eudes I of Champlitte (disowned by father)
- Odo II of Champlitte
- William of Champlitte, 1st prince of Achaea
- Eudes I of Champlitte (disowned by father)
- Stephen, Count of Blois
- Stephen II, Count of Troyes and Meaux
- Odo, Count of Champagne
- Stephen, Count of Aumale
- Odo, Count of Champagne
- Theobald III, Count of Blois
- Richard, Archbishop of Bourges
- Theobald I, Count of Blois
Arms
See also
House of Blois | ||
Preceded by House of Normandy |
Ruling house of England 1135–1154 |
Succeeded by House of Plantagenet |
References
- David Crouch. The Reign of King Stephen, 1135-1154, Pearson Education, Harlow, England, 2000.