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The House of Blois (French: [blwa] ) was a noble family that arose in the Kingdom of West Francia in the early 10th century, and whose prominent members were often named Theobald (Thibaud, Thibault, Thibaut in French).
This lineage came from Theobald the Elder, viscount of Tours before 908. Theobald became viscount of Blois before 922. Afterwards the House of Blois accumulated the counties of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun and as successors of Herbertians the counties of Troyes, Reims and Meaux - core of the County of Champagne, and finally the kingdom of Navarre.
The House of Blois-Champagne, which was founded by Theobold II in 1025, split into several branches. The House of Blois-Chartres, which was founded by Theobold V of Blois inherited the counties of Blois and Chartres and others in 1152. His descendants would hold the counties until the deaths of Margaret and Isabella, to which the branch became extinct in 1249. The House of Blois-Navarre, which was founded by Theobold I of Navarre, when he inherited the throne from his uncle, Sancho Garcés VI. This branch became the senior line later and eventually became extinct in 1305 with the death of Joan I of Navarre, wife of Philip IV of France. Champagne and Navarre passed to the Capetian dynasty. The House of Sancerre, which was founded by Stephen I, Count of Sancerre, a younger son of Theobold II, Count of Champagne. He inherited the county on his father’s death. This branch became extinct at the death of Margaret of Sancerre in 1418 or 1419. The final branch, the House of Lacarre, which was founded by Juan Enriquez, the illegitimate son of Henry I of Navarre.
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 Blois-Champagne (Adela of Champagne) as a counterpoise to Angevin power.
When William married the Lady of Sully, Adela, sometime after 1100. He became jure uxoris Count or Lord of Sully. This would make him establish a cadet branch in Sully. This branch would also form its own cadet branch, the House of Sully-Beaujeu, which was when Odo, the son of Gilles III, Lord of Sully, acquired the Lordship of Beaujeu.
Sometime during or past 1126, Odo I was taken over by his maternal family. He then became Lord of Champlitte, which he likely inherited from his mother, Isabella, or from the generosity of his uncle Renaud III, Count of Burgundy. [1] He in turn would establish a new cadet branch in Champlitte. This Branch would also establish its own branch, the House of Champlitte-Pontailler. Which was when William I, son of Odo I, acquired the Lordship of Pontailler.
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. [2]
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.
| Ruler | Born | Reign | Death | Ruling part | Consort | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theobald I the Trickster | 913 | 928-975 | 975 | Blois | Luitgarde of Vermandois four children | Founder of the Blois ruling dynasty. Until 1041, the counts of Blois were also the Counts of Tours. | |
| Odo I |  | 950 | 975-996 | 12 March 996 | Blois | Bertha of Burgundy 983 six children | |
| 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 | ||
| Odo II | 1040 | 1047-1066 | 1115 | Champagne | Adelaide of Normandy c.1060 one child | ||
| 1069-1115 | Aumale | ||||||
| Theobald III | 1012 | 1037-1089 | 1089 | Blois | Gersende of Maine one child Adele of Valois four children | ||
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| Theobald III | | 13 May 1179 | 1197-1201 | 24 May 1201 | Champagne | Blanche of Navarre 1 July 1199 Chartres one child | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
Stephen Henry was the Count of Blois and Count of Chartres. He led an army during the First Crusade, was at the surrender of the city of Nicaea, and directed the siege of Antioch. Returning home without fulfilling his crusader vows, Stephen joined the crusade of 1101. Making his way to Jerusalem, he fought in the Second Battle of Ramla, where he was captured and later executed.
Theobald the Great (1090–1152) was count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV from 1102 and was Count of Champagne and of Brie as Theobald II from 1125. Theobald held Auxerre, Maligny, Ervy, Troyes and Châteauvillain as fiefs from Odo II, Duke of Burgundy.
The Count of Champagne was the ruler of the County of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the County of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I was the first to officially use the title count of Champagne.
Henry I, known as the Liberal, was count of Champagne from 1152 to 1181. He was the eldest son of Count Theobald II of Champagne, who was also count of Blois, and his wife, Matilda of Carinthia.
Theobald I, also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous as a trouvère, and was the first Frenchman to rule Navarre.
Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements theod- "people" and bald "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans.
Hugh was the Count of Champagne from 1093 until his death.
Blanche of Navarre was Countess of Champagne by marriage to Theobald III, Count of Champagne, and regent of Champagne during the minority of her son Theobald I of Navarre between 1201 and 1222.
Theobald III of Blois (1012–1089) was count of Blois, Meaux and Troyes. He was captured in 1044 by Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou, and exchanged the County of Touraine for his freedom. Theobald used his nephew's involvement with the Norman invasion of England, to gain authority over the County of Champagne. He died in 1089.
The County of Blois was a feudal principality centred on Blois, south of Paris, France. It was created just after king Clovis I conquered Roman Gaul around AD 500. Between the 8th and the 13th centuries, it was amongst the most powerful vassal counties within the Kingdom of France, after having succeeded in surrounding the Capetian dynasty's lands of France since Blois annexed the Champagne.
Odo II was the count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Champagne, Beauvais and Tours from 1004 and count of Troyes and Meaux from 1022. He twice tried to make himself a king: first in Italy after 1024 and then in Burgundy after 1032.
Stephen I (1133–1190), Count of Sancerre (1151–1190), inherited Sancerre on his father's death. His elder brothers Henry Ι and Theobald V received Champagne and Blois. His holdings were the smallest among the brothers.
Matilda of Carinthia was a daughter of Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia and his wife Uta of Passau. She married Theobald II, Count of Champagne in 1123.
The War of the Succession of Champagne was a war from 1216 to 1222 between the nobles of the Champagne region of France, occurring within that region and also spilling over into neighboring duchies. The war lasted two years and de facto ended in 1218, but did not officially end until Theobald IV reached the age of majority in 1222, at which point his rivals abandoned their claims.
Margaret of Bourbon was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne from 1234 until 1253 as the third wife of Theobald I of Navarre. After her husband's death, she ruled both the kingdom and the county as regent for three years in the name of their son, Theobald II of Navarre.
William the Simple was Count of Blois and Count of Chartres from 1102 to 1107, and jure uxoris Count of Sully.
Counts who reigned over the county of Meaux include:
Odo/Eudes I de Champlitte the so-called Champenois, of the House of Blois and its cadet branch, the house of Champlitte. was Lord of Champlitte, Viscount of Dijon, and also a claimant to the title of Count of Champagne. He was the son of Hugh, Count of Champagne, Count of Champagne and Isabella of Burgundy, daughter of Stephen I, Count of Burgundy.
