Thomas (1195 – 20 May 1217),

Count of Perche The county of Perche was a medieval county lying between Normandy and Maine. It was held by an independent line of counts until 1226. One of these, Geoffroy V, would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before the assembled for ...

, was the son of

Geoffrey III, Count of Perche Geoffrey III (died 5 April 1202) was the count of Perche from 1191 until his death. He was the son of Count Rotrou IV of Perche, and Matilda, daughter of Count Theobald II of Champagne, and Matilda of Carinthia. He accompanied his father to the ...

, and Matilda of Saxony, daughter of

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, and

Matilda of England Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...

. 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 Enguerrand III de Boves, Lord of Coucy (c. 1182 – 1242) was a medieval French nobleman. The eldest son and successor of Ralph I, Lord of Coucy (c. 1134 – 1191) and Alix de Dreux,M. A. Pollock, ''Scotland, England and France After the Loss o ...

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 barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...

against King

John Lackland John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

, 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 (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...

. 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 Hugh II, Count of Rethel (died 1227) was a son of Manasses IV and his wife, Matilda of Kyrburg. In 1199, he succeeded his father as Count of Rethel. In 1191, he married Felicitas (d. 1257), the daughter of Simon of Broyes.Theodore Evergates, ''A ...

, and Felicitas, daughter of Simon of Broyes. This union produced no children. His widow remarried

Garnier de Traînel Garnier de Traînel (or Traisnel; died 14 April 1205) was the bishop of Troyes from 1193 until his death. He took part in the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) and in the founding of the Latin Empire. A younger son of Garnier I, lord of Pont-sur-Sei ...

, Seigneur de Marigny. Following Thomas's death in 1217, King

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...

gained control of the castles of

Moulins-la-Marche Moulins-la-Marche is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Orne department The following is a list of the 385 communes of the Orne department of France. The communes cooperate in the f ...

, Bonsmoulin, and

Bellême Bellême () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. The musicologist Guillaume André Villoteau (1759–1839) was born in Bellême, as was Aristide Boucicaut (1810-1877), owner of ''Le'' ''Bon Marché'', the world's first de ...

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

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

, succeeded him as the Count of Perche.

Notes

References

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