Theobald III, Count of Blois
Theobald III, Count of Blois | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1012 |
| Died | 1089 |
| Noble family | House of Blois |
| Spouse(s) | Gersende of Maine Gundrada Adèle of Valois |
| Father | Odo II, Count of Blois |
| Mother | Ermengarde of Auvergne |
Theobald III of Blois (French: Thibaut) (1012–1089) was count of Blois, Meaux and Troyes. He was son of Odo II, Count of Blois[1] and Ermengarde of Auvergne.
Inherits Blois
Upon his father's death in 1037, Theobald inherited amongst others the counties of Blois,[1] Tours, Chartres. Châteaudun and Sancerre, and also in Champagne: Château-Thierry, Provins and St. Florentin. His brother Stephen inherited the counties of Meaux, Troyes and Vitry-le-François. By 1044, Geoffrey Martel, the Count of Anjou, was besieging Tours and Theobald responded by attempting to relieve the city.[2] They met in battle at Nouy and Theobald was captured and had to give up the county of Touraine in order to regain his freedom.[2] From then on the centre of power for the House of Blois moved to Champagne.
In 1054, Theobald recognized the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III as his liege which precipitated a meeting at Ivois between Henry I and the emperor.[3] Theobald found ways to become close to the royal court again and gained political influence and began calling himself, Count Palatine.[1]
Gains Champagne
Theobald's nephew, Odo, joined the army of William the Conqueror, participated in the Battle of Hastings and moved to England.[4] Theobald used his nephew's absence and his own influence at court to gain control over Odo's possessions in Champagne.[1] He had gained a position of considerable power, that increased when he married the daughter of Raoul de Valois. From 1074 onward, he left his son Henry in control of Blois, Châteaudun and Chartres.
Death
Following Theobald's death in 1089, Philip I, King of France, was able to arrange for Blois and Champagne to be divided between Theobald's sons.[1]
Family and children
Theobald's first wife Gersinde of Maine, daughter of Herbert I, Count of Maine, Count of Maine, bore him one child:
- Henry, who adopted the name of Stephen.
His second wife Alix de Crepy (Adela) or Adele of Valois,[5] daughter of Raoul III of Valois and Adélaide of Bar-sur-Aube, bore 3 children:
- Philip, who became bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne[5]
- Odo,[5] who inherited possessions in Champagne (Troyes). He died in 1093, leaving the possessions to his brother Hugh.
- Hugh,[5] who became the first to be called count of Champagne.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e The kingdom of the Franks to 1108, Constance Brittain Bouchard, The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. 4, Part 2, ed. David Luscombe, Jonathan Riley-Smith, (Cambridge University Press, 2004), 138.
- ^ a b Jim Bradbury, The Medieval Siege, (The Boydell Press, 1992), 63.
- ^ Stefan Weinfurter, The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), 107.
- ^ The Origin of the Grace Family of Courtstown, County Kilkenny. (No 2), Richard Langrishe, The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Fifth Series, Vol. 32, No. 1, [Fifth Series, Vol. 12] (Mar. 31, 1902), 64.
- ^ a b c d Theodore Evergates, The Aristocracy in the County of Champagne, 1100-1300, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007), 248.
- ^ Theodore Evergates, The Aristocracy in the County of Champagne, 1100-1300, 7.
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