}; 1115) was Count of Troyes and of Meaux from 1047 to 1066, then Count of Aumale from 1069 to 1115. He was later also known as the count of Champagne and as Eudes II of Troyes.

Biography

Odo was the son of Stephen II of Troyes and Meaux, and Adele. He was still a minor at the death of his father, and his uncle

Theobald III of Blois Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans. The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Tybal ...

acted as regent of Troyes. In 1060, Odo married Adelaide of Normandy, daughter of Robert I, Duke of Normandy and widow of Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu, Lord of Aumale and

Lambert II, Count of Lens Lambert II, Count of Lens (died 1054) was a French nobleman. He was likely born circa 1030. This would put his death age at about 24 years old. He was the son of Eustace I, Count of Bologne and of Maud of Louvain (daughter of Lambert I of Louvain ...

. After the death of Enguerrand's only daughter Adelaide, her mother Adelaide of Normandy became her heir and hence through his marriage Odo acquired the title Count (or Earl) of Aumale in Normandy ''

Jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title ''suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could becom ...

'' (by right of his wife). Adelaide (sometime called Adeliza) was also sister of William the Conqueror, and Odo accompanied his brother-in-law in the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

(1066).

then seized Odo's counties in the Champagne region, One version states William I, for his services in the conquest gave Odo Holderness in Yorkshire. Another proposes that the Lordship of Holderness was granted to William's sister Adelaide, in 1087, and Odo became Earl of Holderness by right of his wife. Odo was, with Alan Rufus and Roger of Poitou, one of the commanders of the army sent by King William II to besiege William de St-Calais at Durham Castle after the Rebellion of 1088, and who signed St-Calais's guarantee of personal safety. Odo was implicated in a plot to place his son

Stephen of Aumale Stephen of Aumale (–1127) was Count of Aumale from before 1089 to 1127, and Lord of Holderness. Life He was son of Odo, Count of Champagne, and Adelaide of Normandy, countess of Aumale, sister of William the Conqueror.George Edward Cokayne, ''Th ...

on the English throne. Stephen was the first cousin of brothers William Rufus, King of England and Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy. Stephen was apparently not put on trial himself as he may have been out of the king's reach in Normandy. Odo was imprisoned in 1095. Odo lost his English lands for his complicityC. Warren Hollister, 'Magnates and Curiales in Early Norman England', ''Viator'', Vol. 8, No. 1 (1977), p. 70 but they were restored to Stephen two years after the death of William Rufus.

Family

Odo had one son with Adelaide: Stephen, Count of Aumale (died 1127). In 1902 Richard Langrishe published a paper in which he put forward the theory that Odo was the primogenitor of the Irish family of Le Gras (Grace). This amended an older theory that Raymond FitzGerald (died 1185/1198) was the primogenitor. However, Richard Roach (1970) upheld the older proposition, but more recently M. T. Flanagan (2004) disagreed with Roach because FitzGerald had no known legitimate heirs.

Notes

References

* * * * * * *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Odo, Count Of Champagne 1040s births 1115 deaths 11th-century French people 12th-century French people Counts of Troyes Year of birth uncertain House of Blois William II of England