Theobald III of Blois (French: ''Thibaut'') (1012–1089) was count of

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

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.

Inherits Blois

Theobald was son of

Odo II, Count of Blois Odo II () (983 – 15 November 1037) was the count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Beauvais and Tours from 1004 and count of Troyes (as Odo IV) and Meaux (as Odo I) from 1022. He twice tried to make himself a king: first in Italy after 1024 a ...

and Ermengarde of Auvergne. Upon his father's death in 1037, Theobald inherited amongst others the counties of Blois,

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

, Chartres. Châteaudun and

Sancerre Sancerre () is a medieval hilltop town (ville) and commune in the Cher department, France overlooking the river Loire. It is noted for its wine. History Located in the area of Gaul settled by the powerful Celtic (Gaule Celtique) tribe, the B ...

, and also in

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, ...

Château-Thierry Château-Thierry () is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition at ...

Provins Provins () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Known for its well-preserved medieval architecture and importance throughout the Middle Ages as an economic center and a host of annu ...

and St. Florentin. His brother

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

inherited the counties of Meaux, Troyes and

Vitry-le-François Vitry-le-François () is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. It is located on the river Marne and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Canal. Vitry-le-François station has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Stras ...

. By 1044,

Geoffrey Martel Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the ...

, the Count of Anjou, was besieging Tours and Theobald responded by attempting to relieve the city. They met in battle at Nouy and Theobald was captured and had to give up the county of

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 Vien ...

in order to regain his freedom. From then on the centre of power for the House of Blois moved to Champagne. In 1054, Theobald recognized the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III as his liege which precipitated a meeting at Ivois between Henry I and the emperor. Theobald found ways to become close to the royal court again and gained political influence and began calling himself, Count Palatine.

Gains Champagne

Theobald's nephew,

Odo, Count of Champagne }; 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 Adel ...

joined the army of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

and participated in the Norman conquest of England. Theobald used his nephew's absence and his own influence at court to gain control over Odo's possessions in Champagne. He had gained a position of considerable power, which increased when he married the daughter of

Ralph IV of Valois Ralph IV (french: Raoul; born 1025, died 1074) was a northern French nobleman who amassed an extensive array of lordships lying in a crescent around the Île-de-France from the border of the Duchy of Normandy in the northwest to Champagne in the s ...

. From 1074 onward, he left his son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

in control of Blois, Châteaudun and Chartres.

Death

Following Theobald's death in 1089, Philip I, King of France, was able to arrange for Blois and Champagne to be divided between Theobald's sons.

Family and children

Theobald's first wife Gersent of Le Mans, daughter of

Herbert I, Count 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 ...

, who bore him one child: #

Stephen, Count of Blois Stephen Henry (in French, ''Étienne Henri'', in Medieval French, ''Estienne Henri''; – 19 May 1102) 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 direc ...

His second wife Alix de Crepy (Adela) or

Adele of Valois Adele of Valois (''Adèle/Adélaïde'') was a daughter of Ralph IV of Valois and Adele of Bar-sur-Aube. She married firstly Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois and they had: # Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois # Odo I, Count of Vermandois She was a ...

, daughter of

and Adélaide of

Bar-sur-Aube Bar-sur-Aube (, literally ''Bar on Aube'') is a commune and a sub-prefecture in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of France. Surrounded by hills and Champagne vineyards, the city is traversed by the river Aube, from which it derive ...

, bore four children: #Philip, who became

bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne 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 ...

# Odo, who inherited possessions in Champagne (Troyes). He died in 1093, leaving the possessions to his brother Hugh. # Hugh, who became the first to be called count of Champagne.

References

Sources

* * * * * * House of Blois Theobald III Counts of Champagne Counts of Meaux Counts of Troyes Counts of Chartres Counts of Châteaudun Counts of Tours Counts of Reims Counts of Provins Counts of Château-Thierry Counts of Sancerre 1012 births 1089 deaths {{KingdomofFrance-stub