Thomas (1195 – 20 May 1217),

Count of Perche The county of Perche was a medieval county lying between Normandy and Maine (province), Maine. It was held by a continuous line of counts until 1226. One of these, Geoffroy III, would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before ...

, was the son of

Geoffrey III, Count of Perche Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (given name), including a list of people with the name Geoffrey or Geoffroy * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (musician) (born 1987), Canadi ...

, and Matilda of Saxony, daughter of

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty. Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...

, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, and

Matilda of England Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

. He died young. Only seven when his father died, Thomas became Count of Perche under the regency of his mother and her new husband Enguerrand III, Lord of Coucy.

Biography

In 1216, the English barons rebelled in the

First Barons' War The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as English feudal barony, barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against John of England, K ...

against King John Lackland, and offered the English crown to Louis VIII the Lion, King of France. The death of King John ended this arrangement and the crown went to Henry III, John's son. In the end, Louis VIII renounced the English crown, but in the interim fought the forces of

William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Anglo-Norman language, Norman French: ', French language, French: '), was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman during High Med ...

. In the decisive Battle of Lincoln of 1217, Thomas, the commander of the French forces, was killed. Thomas married Hélisende Rethel, daughter of Hugh II, Count of Rethel, and Felicitas, daughter of Simon of Broyes. This union produced no children. His widow remarried Garnier de Traînel, Seigneur de Marigny. Following Thomas's death in 1217, King

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

gained control of the castles of Moulins-la-Marche, Bonsmoulin, and

Bellême Bellême () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. It is classed as a Petites Cités de Caractère. The musicologist Guillaume André Villoteau (1759–1839) was born in Bellême, as was Aristide Boucicaut (1810–1877), ...

, which had been contested since 1182. Thomas’s uncle William, who was also

Bishop of Châlons A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, succeeded him as the Count of Perche.

Notes

References

* * * * {{s-end 1195 births 1217 deaths Counts of Perche People from Sandleford, Berkshire People of the Barons' Wars