Odo II () (983 – 15 November 1037) was the

count of Blois Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

Châteaudun Châteaudun () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It was the site of the Battle of Châteaudun during the Franco-Prussian War. Geography Châteaudun is located about 45& ...

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

and

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

from 1004 and

count of Troyes 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. Count Theobald I ...

(as Odo IV) and

Meaux Meaux () is a commune on the river Marne in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is east-northeast of the centre of Paris. Meaux is, with Provins, Torcy and Fontainebleau, ...

(as Odo I) from 1022. He twice tried to make himself a king: first in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

after 1024 and then in

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

after 1032.

Life

Born around 983, Odo II was the son of Odo I of Blois and

Bertha of Burgundy Bertha of Burgundy (964 – 16 January 1010) was Queen of the Franks as the second wife of King Robert II. Bertha was the daughter of King Conrad of BurgundyStefan Weinfurter, ''The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition'', trans ...

. He was the first to unite Blois and Champagne under one authority although his career was spent in endless feudal warfare with his neighbors and suzerains, many of whose territories he tried to annex. About 1003/1004 he married Maud, a daughter of

Richard I of Normandy Richard I (28 August 932 – 20 November 996), also known as Richard the Fearless (French: ''Richard Sans-Peur''; Old Norse: ''Jarl Rikard''), was the count of Rouen from 942 to 996.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln ...

. After her death in 1005, and as she had no children,

Richard II of Normandy Richard II (died 28 August 1026), called the Good (French: ''Le Bon''), was the duke of Normandy from 996 until 1026. Life Richard was the eldest surviving son and heir of Richard the Fearless and Gunnor. He succeeded his father as the ruler of ...

demanded a return of her

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

: half the county of

Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granvi ...

. Odo refused and the two warred over the matter. Finally, King Robert II, who had married Odo's mother, imposed his arbitration on the contestants in 1007, leaving Odo in possession of the castle Dreux while Richard II kept the remainder of the lands. Odo quickly married, Ermengarde, daughter of . Defeated by

Fulk III of Anjou Fulk III, the Black ( 987–1040; fro, Foulque Nerra), was an early count of Anjou celebrated as one of the first great builders of medieval castles. It is estimated Fulk constructed approximately 100 castles, along with abbeys throughout the L ...

and

Herbert I of Maine Herbert I (died 13 April 1035), called Wakedog (from French ''Eveille-chien'', Latinized as ''Evigilans Canis''), was the count of Maine from 1017 until his death. He had a turbulent career with an early victory that may have contributed to his l ...

at the

Battle of Pontlevoy The Battle of Pontlevoy was fought on 6 July 1016 between the forces of Fulk III of Anjou and Herbert I of Maine on one side and Odo II of Blois on the other. It was one of the largest battles of early medieval France and was determining of the b ...

in July 1016, he quickly tried to overrun the

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vie ...

. After the death of his cousin Stephen I in 1019/1020, without heirs he seized Troyes, Meaux and all of Champagne for himself without royal approval. From there he attacked Ebles, the

archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims (traditionally spelt "Rheims" in English) ( la, Archidiœcesis Remensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese ...

, and

Theodoric I, Duke of Lorraine Theodoric I (c. 965 – between 11 April 1026 and 12 January 1027) was the count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine from 978 to his death. He was the son and successor of Frederick I and Beatrice, daughter of Hugh the Great, count of Paris, an ...

. Due to an alliance between the king and the

Emperor Henry II Henry II (german: Heinrich II; it, Enrico II; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler o ...

he was forced to relinquish the county of Rheims to the archbishop. He was offered the

crown of Italy A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

by the Lombard barons, but the offer was quickly retracted in order not to upset relations with the king of France. In 1032, he invaded the

Kingdom of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various states located in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The historical Burgundy correlates with the border area of France, Italy and Switzerland and includes the major modern cities of Geneva and ...

on the death of Rudolph III. He retreated in the face of a coalition of the

Emperor Conrad II Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

and the new king of France,

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

. In 1037 he took advantage of Conrad II's absence in Italy to invade the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following t ...

, but he died in the rout after being defeated by the forces of

Gothelo I, Duke of Lorraine Gothelo (or Gozelo) ( 967 – 19 April 1044), called the Great, was the duke of Lower Lorraine from 1023 and of Upper Lorraine from 1033. He was also the margrave of Antwerp from 1005 (or 1008) and count of Verdun. Gothelo was the youngest son of ...

, in the Battle of Bar-le-Duc.

Issue

Odo and his second wife, Ermengarde of Auvergne, had: # Theobald III, who inherited the county of Blois and most of his other possessions. # Stephen II, who inherited the counties of

and

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

. #

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

, who married first

Alan III, Duke of Brittany Alan III of Rennes (c. 997 – 1 October 1040) ( French: ''Alain III de Bretagne'') was Count of Rennes and duke of Brittany, by right of succession from 1008 to his death. Life Alan was the son of Duke Geoffrey I and Hawise of Normandy.Detlev Sc ...

, and second

Hugh IV, Count of Maine Hugh IV (died 25 March 1051) was Count of Maine from 1036 to 1051. Life Hugh was the son of Herbert I, Count of Maine,Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III T ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odo 02, Count of Blois 983 births 1037 deaths Counts of Blois Counts of Chartres Counts of Châteaudun Counts of Tours Counts of Reims Counts of Provins Counts of Troyes Counts of Meaux Military personnel killed in action House of Blois