Hugh III, Seigneur of Le Puiset ( French: ''Hugues III du Puiset'') (d. 1132 in Palestine), son of Éverard III, Seigneur of Puiset and Viscount of Chartres, and Adelaide, Countess of Corbeil. Count of Corbel. Hugh's father took part in the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

and died in Palestine in 1099 while Hugh was still a child. His uncle Hugh II was regent of Puiset before going to the Holy Land in 1106, becoming Count of Jaffa (as Hugh I of Jaffa). Hugh was tutored by

Theobald of Étampes Theobald of Étampes ( la, Theobaldus Stampensis; french: Thibaud or Thibault d'Étampes; born before 1080, died after 1120) was a medieval schoolmaster and theologian hostile to priestly celibacy. He is the first scholar known to have lectured at ...

, a 12th-century scholar and theologian who was one of the first lecturers at Oxford. As Lord of Puiset, he oppressed and plundered neighboring lands, sparing neither churches nor monasteries. With impunity and wanting to increase his fortune, he attacked the county of

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 ...

, which was then in the dowry of his future mother-in-law

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 ...

, mother 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 ...

. The latter tried to send troops subdue the turbulent vassal, but without success. He then appealed to

King Louis VI Louis VI (late 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat (french: link=no, le Gros) or the Fighter (french: link=no, le Batailleur), was King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Chronicles called him "King of Saint-Denis". Louis was the first member ...

. The king summoned a council in Melun, where the Archbishop of Sens and the bishops of Orleans and Chartres testified against Hugh. Since the charges were powerful, the king decided to intervene, but knowing that Hugh had a powerful army, he proceeded with caution. In 1111, Louis summoned Hugh to his court, but the latter refrained from appearing and was condemned by default. Meanwhile, with the consent of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, he had a fortress built at Toury, close to Le Puiset, administered by his secretary

Suger Suger (; la, Sugerius; 1081 – 13 January 1151) was a French abbot, statesman, and historian. He once lived at the court of Pope Calixtus II in Maguelonne, France. He later became abbot of St-Denis, and became a close confidant to King Lo ...

. When the work was finished, the royal host was summoned and laid siege to the Puiset fortress. Hugh was unable to resist, the castle was taken and set on fire, and the lord was captured and imprisoned at Château-Landon. Shortly afterwards, his maternal uncle, Eudes, Count of Corbeil died, naming Hugh as his sole heir. He succeeded in negotiating the surrender of Corbeil to the king in exchange for his liberation. Taking advantage of a journey from the king to Flanders, he rebuilt an army and attacked Toury, aided by the lords of Montlhéry and Theobald II who were quarreling with the king. Warned, the King, who was not far from Paris, returned promptly and defeated the soldiers of Hugh under the walls of Toury. They fled but regrouped at Puiset, where they began to erect a new castle. In 1118, the third and final siege of the Puiset castle occurred as Louis attacked again and Hugh found himself again imprisoned. During this siege, Hugh killed his great-uncle

Anseau of Garlande Anseau (also Anselm) de Garlande (1069–1118), son of Guillaume I de Garlande and his wife Havoise, grand son of Adam de Garlande. His titles included: Count of Rochefort-en-Yvelines, Seigneur of Gournay-sur-Marne, and Pontault and Berchères. D ...

. In 1104, Hugh married Agnès of Blois (d. 1129), daughter of

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 ...

, and Adela of Normandy (and so sister of

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 ...

). Hugh and Agnès had three children: * Éverard IV, Viscount of Chartres * Bouchard, Archdeacon at Orleans and Chancellor of the Bishop of Chartres *

Hugh de Puiset Hugh de Puiset ( c. 1125 – 3 March 1195) was a medieval Bishop of Durham and Chief Justiciar of England under King Richard I. He was the nephew of King Stephen of England and Henry of Blois, who both assisted Hugh's ecclesiastical ca ...

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

. Hugh III was eventually freed from imprisonment and went to fight in the Holy Land where he died in 1132.

References

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hugh 03 of Le Puiset Christians of the First Crusade 1132 deaths 12th-century French people