{{Infobox noble, type , name = Odo , title = Count of Champagne , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession =

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 ...

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 ...

, reign = 1047–1066 , tenure=, reign-type = , predecessor = , successor = , suc-type = , spouse =

Adelaide of Normandy Adelaide of Normandy (or Adeliza) ( 1030 – bef. 1090) was the ruling Countess of Aumale in her own right in 1069–1087. She was the sister of William the Conqueror. Life Born 1030, Adelaide was an illegitimate daughter of the Norman duke ...

, spouse-type = Spouse , issue = Stephen, Count of Aumale , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , styles = , titles = , noble family =

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, 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 mos ...

, house-type = , father = Stephen II of Troyes and Meaux , mother = Adele , birth_date = {{c. 1040 , birth_place = , christening_date = , christening_place = , death_date = 1115 , death_place = , burial_date = , burial_place = , religion = , occupation = , memorials = , website = , module = Odo (Modern {{langx, fr, Eudes; {{c. 1040 – 1115){{sfn, Bates, 2004 was

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 ...

and of

from 1047 to 1066, then count of Aumale from 1069 to 1115. He was later also known as the

count of Champagne 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 ...

and as Eudes II of Troyes.

Biography

Odo was the son of Stephen II of Troyes and Meaux, and Adele.{{sfn, Evergates, 1999, p=12 He was still a minor at the death of his father, and his uncle Theobald III of Blois acted as regent of Troyes.{{citation needed, date=February 2011 In 1060, Odo married

, daughter of

Robert I, Duke of Normandy Robert I of Normandy (22 June 1000– July 1035), also known as Robert the Magnificent and by other names, was a Norman noble of the House of Normandy who ruled as duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death in 1035. He was the son of Duke Ri ...

and widow of Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu, Lord of Aumale and Lambert II, Count of Lens.{{sfn, Bates, 2004 After the death of Enguerrand's only daughter Adelaide, her mother Adelaide of Normandy became her heir and hence through his marriage Odo acquired the title Count (or Earl) of Aumale in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

Jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

'' (by right of his wife).{{sfn, Langrishe, 1902, p=64-67 Adelaide (sometime called Adeliza) was also sister of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

,{{sfn, Bates, 2004 and Odo accompanied his brother-in-law in the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

(1066).{{sfn, Langrishe, 1902, p=64-67 Theobald III of Blois then seized Odo's counties in the

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 ...

region,{{citation needed, date=February 2011 One version states William I, for his services in the conquest gave Odo

Holderness Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

.{{sfn, Langrishe, 1902, p=64-67 Another proposes that the Lordship of Holderness was granted to William's sister Adelaide, in 1087, and Odo became Earl of Holderness by right of his wife. Odo was, with

Alan Rufus Alan Rufus, alternatively Alanus Rufus (Latin), Alan ar Rouz ( Breton), Alain le Roux ( French) or Alan the Red (c. 1040 – 1093), 1st Lord of Richmond, was a Breton nobleman, kinsman and companion of William the Conqueror (Duke William II o ...

and

Roger of Poitou Roger the Poitevin or Roger de Poitou (mid-1060s – before 1140) was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat possessing large holdings both in England and through his marriage in France during the early 12th century. He was the third son of Roger of Montg ...

, one of the commanders of the army sent by King William II to besiege William de St-Calais at

Durham Castle Durham Castle is a Norman castle in the city of Durham, England, which has been occupied since 1837 by University College, Durham after its previous role as the residence of the Bishops of Durham. Designated since 1986 as a cultural World Heri ...

after the

Rebellion of 1088 The Rebellion of 1088 occurred after the death of William the Conqueror and concerned the division of lands in the Kingdom of England and the Duchy of Normandy between his two sons William Rufus and Robert Curthose. Hostilities lasted from thre ...

, and who signed St-Calais's guarantee of personal safety. Odo was implicated in a plot to place his son

Stephen of Aumale Stephen (Étienne) of Aumale (–1127) was Count of Aumale from before 1089 to 1127, and Lord of Holderness. Life Stephen I was the only son of Odo, Count of Champagne, and Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale, daughter of Robert I, Duk ...

on the English throne. Stephen was the first cousin of brothers

William Rufus William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...

, King of England and

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose ( – February 1134, ), the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was Duke of Normandy as Robert II from 1087 to 1106. Robert was also an unsuccessful pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of England. The epithet "Curthose" ...

, Duke of Normandy. Stephen was apparently not put on trial himself as he may have been out of the king's reach in Normandy. Odo was imprisoned in 1095.{{citation needed, date=February 2011 Odo lost his English lands for his complicityC. Warren Hollister, 'Magnates and Curiales in Early Norman England', ''Viator'', Vol. 8, No. 1 (1977), p. 70 but they were restored to Stephen two years after the death of William Rufus.

Family

Odo had one son with Adelaide, Stephen, Count of Aumale (died 1127).{{sfn, Barlow, 1983, p=272 In 1902 Richard Langrishe published a paper in which he put forward the theory that Odo was the primogenitor of the Irish family of Le Gras (Grace).{{sfn, Langrishe, 1902, p=64-67 This amended an older theory that

Raymond FitzGerald Raymond (or Redmond) Fitz William Fitz Gerald (died 1185–1198), nicknamed ''Le Gros'' ("the Large"), was a Cambro-Norman commander during the Norman invasion of Ireland. Raymond was among the first of a small band of Norman knights who l ...

(died 1185/1198) was the primogenitor.{{sfn, Langrishe, 1900, p=319-324 However, Richard Roach (1970) upheld the older proposition, but more recently M. T. Flanagan (2004) disagreed with Roach because FitzGerald had no known legitimate heirs.{{sfn, Roach, 1970, p=180{{sfn, Flanagan, 2004

Notes

{{reflist

References

*{{Citation , last=Barlow , first=Frank , year=1983 , title=William Rufus , edition=illustrated , publisher=University of California Press , isbn=0-520-04936-5 , author-link=Frank Barlow (historian) , pag
272
} *{{cite ODNB , last=Bates , first=David , chapter-url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/20543 , chapter=Odo, earl of Kent (d. 1097) , title=

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, edition=online , date=Sep 2004 , accessdate=23 August 2010 , doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/20543 *{{cite book , title=Aristocratic Women in Medieval France , editor-first=Theodore , editor-last=Evergates , publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press , year=1999 *{{cite ODNB, last=Flanagan , first=M. T. , chapter=Fitzgerald, Raymond fitz William (d. 1189x92), title=

, edition=online , date=September 2004, accessdate=24 August 2010, doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/9582, chapter-url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/9582 *{{citation, last=Langrishe , first=Richard , title=The Origin of the Grace Family of Courtstown, County of Kilkenny, and of Their Title to the Tullaroan Estate , journal=The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland , series=5, volume=30 , date=31 December 1900, pages=319–324 , jstor=25507087, issue=4 *{{citation, last=Langrishe , first=Richard, title=The Origin of the Grace Family of Courtstown, County Kilkenny. (No 2), journal=The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, series=5, volume=32 , date=31 March 1902, pages=64–67 , jstor=25507186, issue=1 *{{citation , last=Roach , first=Richard , title=The Norman Invasion of Ireland, year=1970, publisher=Anvil Books, isbn=0-947962-81-6. {{s-start {{s-bef, rows = 2 , before = Stephen II {{s-ttl, title =

, years = 1047–1066 {{s-aft, rows = 2 , after = Theobald III {{s-ttl, title =

Count of Meaux 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 ...

, years = 1047–1066 {{s-end {{DEFAULTSORT:Odo, Count Of Champagne 1040s births 1115 deaths 11th-century French nobility 12th-century French nobility Counts of Troyes Year of birth uncertain House of Blois William II of England Jure uxoris counts