Odo II () ( 985 – 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 Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

, Châteaudun,

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

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

and

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city 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 inhabita ...

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 Theobal ...

(as Odo IV) and

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 ...

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

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

after 1024 and then in

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') 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. ...

after 1032.

Life

Born around 983, Odo II was the son of Odo I of Blois and Bertha of Burgundy. 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, Europäische S ...

. After her death in 1005, and as she had no children, Richard II of Normandy demanded a return of her

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

: half the county of

Dreux Dreux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise (river), Blaise, a tributary of the Eure (river), Eure, about 35 km north of Cha ...

. 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, Countess of Auvergne, daughter of Robert I of Auvergne and Ermengarde of Provence. Defeated by Fulk III of Anjou and Herbert I of Maine at the Battle of Pontlevoy 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 Vien ...

. 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 or Rheims (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese w ...

, and Theodoric I, Duke of Lorraine. Due to an alliance between the king and the Emperor Henry II he was forced to relinquish the county of Rheims to the archbishop. He was offered the crown of Italy 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 successive Monarchy, kingdoms centered in the historical region of Burgundy during the Middle Ages. The heartland of historical Burgundy correlates with the border area between France and Switze ...

on the death of Rudolph III. He retreated in the face of a coalition of the Emperor Conrad II and the new king of France, Henry I. In 1037 he took advantage of Conrad II's absence in Italy to invade the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

, but he died in the rout after being defeated by the forces of Gothelo I, Duke of Lorraine, 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 Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, 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 ...

. # Bertha, 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 ...

, and second Hugh IV, Count of Maine

References

Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odo 02, Count of Blois 980s 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