The House of Blois () is a lineage derived from the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

nobility, whose principal members were often named

Theobald 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 ...

(''Thibaud'', ''Thibault'', ''Thibaut'' in French).

History

Heirs of the

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

s of Blois, the House of Blois accumulated the counties of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Troyes, Meaux — as successors of Herbertians — etc., then the county of Champagne, and finally the kingdom of Navarre. The family was founded by Theobald the Old in the year 906. When

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...

was greatly threatened by the vast collection of territories in the person of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

, he chose a wife from the House of Champagne (

Adela of Champagne Adela of Champagne (french: Adèle; c. 1140 – 4 June 1206), also known as Adelaide, Alix and Adela of Blois, was Queen of France as the third wife of Louis VII. She was regent of France from 1190 to 1191 while her son Philip II participate ...

) as a counterpoise to Angevin power. The senior line of the House of Blois became extinct with the death of

Joan I of Navarre Joan I (14 January 1273 – 31 March/2 April 1305) ( eu, Joana) was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne from 1274 until 1305; she was also Queen of France by marriage to King Philip IV. She founded the College of Navarre in Paris in 130 ...

, wife of Philip IV of France, in 1305. Champagne and Navarre passed to the Capetian dynasty. 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 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 ...

through his daughter

Adela of Normandy Adela of Normandy, of Blois, or of England (c. 1067 – 8 March 1137),LoPrete, Kimberly. "Adela of Blois." ''Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia.'' Ed. Margaret Schaus. New York: Routledge, 2006. 6–7. also known as in Roman ...

.David Crouch. ''The Reign of King Stephen, 1135-1154,'' Pearson Education, Harlow, England, 2000. A branch of the family was established in Sancerre by

Stephen I of Sancerre 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 (although William, the ...

, a younger son 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 ...

. This branch became extinct at the death of Margaret of Sancerre in 1418 or 1419.

Rulers

Genealogy

* Theobald the Old, Viscount of Blois **

Theobald I, Count of Blois Theobald I (913–975), called the Trickster (known as ''le Tricheur'' –meaning “cheater”– in French), was first Viscount of Blois and Viscount of Tours, and then from 956, Count of Blois, Chartres and Châteaudun, as well as Count of ...

*** Hugh, Archbishop of Bourges *** Odo I, Count of Blois ****

Theobald II of Blois Theobald II, Count of Blois (Thibaut II; c. 983 – 11 July 1004) was the eldest son and heir of Odo I, Count of Blois, and Bertha of Burgundy. The stepson of Robert II of France, he became Count of Blois, Châteaudun, Chartres and Reims after t ...

****

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 ...

*****

Theobald III, Count of Blois Theobald III of Blois (French: ''Thibaut'') (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 w ...

******

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 ...

******* William, Count of Sully ******** Henry de Sully, Abbot of Fécamp *******

********

Henry I, Count of Champagne Henry I (December 1127 – March 16, 1181), 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. Biography Henry ...

*********

Henry II, Count of Champagne Henry II of Champagne (or Henry I of Jerusalem) (29 July 1166 – 10 September 1197) was count of Champagne from 1181 to 1197, and king of Jerusalem from 1192 to 1197 by virtue of his marriage to Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem. Early life Henry ...

*********

Theobald III, Count of Champagne Theobald III (french: Thibaut; 13 May 1179 – 24 May 1201) was Count of Champagne from 1197 to his death. He was designated heir by his older brother Henry II when the latter went to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade, and succeeded him upon his ...

**********

Theobald I of Navarre Theobald I (french: Thibaut, es, Teobaldo; 30 May 1201 – 8 July 1253), also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne (as Theobald IV) from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous ...

***********

Theobald II of Navarre Theobald II or ''Thibaud'', es, Teobaldo (6/7 December 1239 – 4/5 December 1270) was King of Navarre and also, as Theobald V, Count of Champagne and Brie, from 1253 until his death. He was the son and successor of Theobald I and the second N ...

***********

Henry I of Navarre Henry the Fat (Basque: ''Henrike I.a, Gizena'', French: ''Henri le Gros'', Spanish: ''Enrique el Gordo'') (c. 1244 – 22 July 1274) was King of Navarre (as Henry I) and Count of Champagne and Brie (as Henry III) from 1270 until his death. E ...

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Theobald V, Count of Blois Theobald V of Blois (1130 – 20 January 1191), also known as Theobald the Good (french: Thibaut le Bon), was Count of Blois from 1151 to 1191. Biography Theobald was son of Theobald II of Champagne and Matilda of Carinthia. Although he was the ...

*********

Louis I, Count of Blois Louis I of Blois (1172 – 14 April 1205) was Count of Blois from 1191 to 1205. He is best known for his participation in the Fourth Crusade and later prominent role in the Battle of Adrianople Early life He was the son of Theobald V and Alix ...

********** Theobald VI, Count of Blois *********

Margaret, Countess of Blois Margaret of Blois (French: ''Marguerite''; died 1230) was ''suo jure'' Countess of Blois in France from 1218 to 1230. From 1190 to 1200, she was the countess consort of the County of Burgundy and then regent for her daughters from 1200 until 1208. ...

********

William White Hands William of the White Hands (french: Guillaume aux Blanches Mains; 1135–1202), also called William White Hands, was a French cardinal. William was born in Brosse, Île-de-France, France. He was a son of Theobald the Great, Count of Blois ...

********

********* William I, Count of Sancerre ********** Louis I, Count of Sancerre *********** John I, Count of Sancerre ************ Stephen II, Count of Sancerre ************ John II, Count of Sancerre ************* Louis II, Count of Sancerre ************** John III, Count of Sancerre *************** Margaret, Countess of Sancerre **************

Louis de Sancerre Louis de Sancerre (1341 or 1342 – 6 February 1402; aged 60-61) was a Marshal of France and Constable of France during the Hundred Years' War. Early life Sancerre was born as the second son of count Louis II de Sancerre and Béatrix de R ...

, Constable of France ************** Robert, Lord of Menetou ************** Theobald, Lord of Sagonne ************** Stephen, Lord of

Vailly-sur-Sauldre Vailly-sur-Sauldre (, literally ''Vailly on Sauldre'') is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography A farming village situated on the banks of the Sauldre river, about northeast of Bourges at the ...

************ Theobald, Bishop of

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

************ Louis, Lord of Sagonne *********** Robert, Lord of Menetou-Salon ********* Stephen II, Lord of Châtillon-sur-Loing, Grand Butler of France ********** Stephen III, Lord of Châtillon-sur-Loing *******

Stephen, King of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 unti ...

********

Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne Eustace IV (c. 1129/1131 17 August 1153) ruled the County of Boulogne from 1146 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Stephen of England and Countess Matilda I of Boulogne. When his father seized the English throne on Henry I's death in ...

********

William I, Count of Boulogne William I (11 October 1159) (french: Guillaume de Boulogne) was Count of Boulogne and Earl of Surrey ''jure uxoris'' from 1153 until his death. He was the second son of Stephen, King of England, and Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne. William marr ...

******* Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester ****** Philip, Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne ******

Odo V Odo V was Count of Troyes and of Meaux, including Vitry-le-François, from 1089 to his death, in 1093.Theodore Evergates, ''The Aristocracy in the County of Champagne, 1100-1300'', (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007), 7. Son of Theobald III an ...

, Count of Troyes ******

Hugh, Count of Champagne Seal Hugh ( 1074 – c. 1125) was the Count of Champagne from 1093 until his death. Hugh was the third son of Theobald III, Count of Blois and Adele of Valois, bearing the title Count of Bar-sur-Aube. His older brother Odo IV, Count of Troyes, di ...

******* Eudes I of Champlitte (disowned by father) ********

Odo II of Champlitte Odo II of Champlitte, (died May 1204 at the Siege of Constantinople) was the first son of Odo or Eudes I of Champlitte and a grandson of Hugh, Count of Champagne, although Hugh disowned Odo I. At an assembly at Citeaux, Odo, and his brother Willi ...

********

William of Champlitte William I of Champlitte (french: Guillaume de Champlitte) (1160s-1209) was a French knight who joined the Fourth Crusade and became the first prince of Achaea (1205–1209).Longnon 1969, p. 239.Evergates 2007, p. 220. Early years and the Fourth ...

, 1st prince of Achaea ***** Stephen II, Count of Troyes and Meaux ******

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 ...

*******

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; ...

, Count of Aumale ********

William le Gros, 1st Earl of Albemarle William le Gros, William le Gras, William d'Aumale, William Crassus (died 20 August 1179) was Earl of York and Lord of Holderness in the English peerage and the Count of Aumale in France. He was the eldest son of Stephen, Count of Aumale, and hi ...

** Richard, Archbishop of Bourges

Arms

References

, - , - {{Royal houses of Navarre

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 ...

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 ...

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

Navarrese monarchs Navarrese royal houses

History

Rulers

Genealogy

Arms

See also

References