William II (died 1226),

Count of Perche The county of Perche was a medieval county lying between Normandy and Maine (province), Maine. It was held by an independent line of counts until 1226. One of these, Geoffroy V, would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before ...

and

Bishop of Châlons A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, son of

Rotrou IV, Count of Perche Rotrou IV (1135-1191), was the Count of Perche. He joined Louis VII of France in a war against Henry II of England, in which he lost lands to the English. Rotrou later went on crusade with Philip II of France and died after the Siege of Acre in 1191 ...

, and Matilda of Blois-Champagne, daughter of

Theobald II, Count of Champagne 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 ...

, and

Matilda of Carinthia Matilda of Carinthia (Mathilde of Sponheim; died 13 December 1160 or 1161) was a daughter of Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia and his wife Uta of Passau. She married Theobald II, Count of Champagne in 1123. Her children with Theobald were: * Henry I, ...

, daughter of

Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia Engelbert II (died 13 April 1141), a member of the House of Sponheim, was Margrave of Istria and Carniola from about 1103/07 until 1124. In 1123, he succeeded his elder brother Henry as Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona which he held until ...

. William began his career as treasurer and provost of the Church of St. Martin of Tours, and was elected Bishop of Chalons in 1215, consecrated in 1216. The following year he succeeded his nephew Thomas, as Count of Perche, who was killed in the Battle of Lincoln. As count-bishop, William was a valuable advisor to the Kings of France and was listed among those by Pope Honorious III to participate in the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

. His death in February 1226 would leave the question of the succession to the

County of Perche The county of Perche was a medieval county lying between Normandy and Maine. It was held by an independent line of counts until 1226. One of these, Geoffroy V, would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before the assembled forc ...

unresolved for years., has him dying in 1233. He left money to his cousin, Countess

Isabelle of Chartres Isabelle of Blois or Elizabeth of Blois (died 1248 or 1249) was the lady of Amboise by marriage and from 1218 until her death the countess of Chartres in her own right. She founded three Cistercian houses for nuns. Twice widowed, she was succeed ...

, for the "support of the poor".

References

Sources

* * * {{s-end 1226 deaths Counts of Perche