Theobald V of Blois (1130 – 20 January 1191), also known as Theobald the Good (french: Thibaut le Bon), was

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: ...

from 1151 to 1191.

Biography

Theobald was son of

Theobald II 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, Tyb ...

and

Matilda of Carinthia Matilda of Carinthia (Mathilde of Sponheim; died 13 December 1160 or 1161) was a daughter of Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia and his wife Uta of Passau. She married Theobald II, Count of Champagne in 1123. Her children with Theobald were: * Henry I, ...

. Although he was the second son, Theobald inherited Blois (including

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 ...

), while his elder brother,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

got the more important

county of Champagne The County of Champagne ( la, Comitatus Campaniensis; fro, Conté de Champaigne), or County of Champagne and Brie (region), Brie, was a historic territory and Feudalism, feudal principality in France descended from the early medieval kingdom of ...

. Theobald first married Sybil of Chateaurenault, which made him ''

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 becom ...

'' Lord of Chateaurenault. Next, in 1164, he married

Alix of France Alice of France (french: Alix; July/August 1150 – 1197/1198) was countess consort of Blois by marriage to Theobald V, Count of Blois. She was regent of Blois during the absence of her spouse in 1190-1191, and regent during the minority of Loui ...

, daughter of

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 ...

and his first wife

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

. According to medieval Jewish sources, in 1171 Theobald was responsible for orchestrating the first

blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...

in continental Europe. His alleged Jewish mistress

Pulcelina of Blois Pulcelina of Blois (died 1171) was a Jewish woman, mistress and/or moneylender to the count Theobald V of Blois. According to the chronicle, Pulcelina was a Jewish woman with great influence over Theobald V, which created envy among the local elit ...

unsuccessfully attempted to prevent him. As a result of a church-sponsored trial, 30 or 31 members of the Jewish community were burned at the stake. Theobald lived primarily in Chartres and had its city walls renovated. After joining his brother

and a number of other nobles in opposing the young king

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

, he reconciled with the king and supported him on the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

. He arrived in the summer of 1190 in the Holy Land and died on 20 January 1191, during the

Siege of Acre Siege of Acre may refer to: * Siege of Acre (1104), following the First Crusade *Siege of Acre (1189–1191), during the Third Crusade * Siege of Acre (1263), Baibars laid siege to the Crusader city, but abandoned it to attack Nazareth. *Siege of A ...

Family

Theobald and Alix had seven children: #Theobald, d. young #Philip, d. young #Henry, d. young #

Louis I 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 A ...

(d. 1205) #Alix, Abbess of

Fontevrault The Royal Abbey of Our Lady of Fontevraud or Fontevrault (in French: ''abbaye de Fontevraud'') was a monastery in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in the former French duchy of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou. It was founded in 1101 by the i ...

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, married Walter of Avesnes, later Countess of Blois #

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, married John II, lord of Oisy and Montreuil, later countess of Chartres

References

External links

Counts of Blois

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blois, Theobald V of Theobald V Theobald V Blois, Theobald V, comte de 1130 births 1191 deaths