Counts of Blois
Count of Blois | |
---|---|
Lord of Avesnes (from 1241) | |
Status | Dissolved |
Extinction date | 1660 |
Seat(s) | Château of Blois |
During the Middle Ages, the counts of Blois were among the most powerful
This title of nobility seems to have been created in 832 by Emperor Louis the Pious for Count William, the youngest son of Adrian, Count of Orléans. Over a few decades, the county was gathered to the royal lands of France until the end of the 9th century, before being relegated to the status of viscount.
From its autonomy around 940 to the definitive integration to the
In 1397, the title was ceded by Count Guy II in the favor of Duke Louis I of Orléans, who was the second son of King Charles V. The very last hereditary count of Blois was his grandson, Duke Louis II, who annexed the county to the Crown lands of France when he was crowned King of France in 1498 under the name of Louis XII.
The title reappeared in 1626 when
Carolingian county (832–c.900)
It is likely, but not certain, that the title of count of Blois was granted before the year 832.
Portrait | Name | Reign | Other titles | Description |
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William of Orléans (died in 834) |
832–834 | None | Son of Count Adrian of Orléans, he was invested with the title of first Count of Blois by King Louis the Pious,[1] being his father's vassal. By 834, he allied with King Pepin I of Aquitaine so that the latter could recover his kingdom, which had been given to his half–brother, King Charles II.[2] The mission was successful, but William died, with no descendants. His brother Odo was appointed as his heir but died the same day. | |
Robert the Strong (c. 815 – Sept. 866) |
834–866 | Count of Nevers
|
Supposed son of Count Robert III of Worms and Waldrade, the last daughter of Count Adrian, who would have inherited the county as a dowry following the death of her two brothers and her husband in the war against King Charles II. He inherited the county of Orléans around 860 following the fall of Count William of Orléans, uncle of the previous one.[1] | |
Hugh the Abbot (died in 886) |
866–886 | Count of Nevers
|
Son of Count Conrad I of Auxerre and Adelaide of Tours, he was Robert the Strong's sworn enemy before his death, but he inherited his possessions and raised Robert's two orphaned sons, Odo and Robert I.[3] | |
Odo (died in 898) |
886–888 | Count of Anjou
|
Eldest son of King of the Franks by 888, he decided to pass on his other titles to his brother Robert I .
| |
Robert I (died in 923) |
888 – c. 900 | Count of Orléans
Count of Tours |
Younger brother of the previous one, he was not elected King when his brother died in 898. He focused on the counties of viscounts.[4]
|
Viscounts during the Robertian era (before 900–940)
Portrait | Name | Reign | Other titles | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Garnegaud (died after 906) |
before 896– after 906 | Count of Chartres
|
Garnegaud and his wife Helena have no known heirs. As the Thibaldians were present in Blois in the 920s, this would place Garnegaud's death in the 910s. | |
Theobald the Elder (c. 890 – died in 940) |
before 921–940 | Viscount of Tours | He was made Viscount of Tours in 909, then Viscount of Blois. He married Richilde. |
House of Blois (956–1230)
Portrait | Name | Reign | Other titles | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Theobald I of Blois, aka Theobald the Trickster (c. 910–977) |
940–977 | Son of Theobald the Elder and Richilde. He was a fathful vassal of Hugh the Great which entrusted him with a vast county around 940 including Tours, Blois, Chartres and Châteaudun. He married Countess Luitgarde of Vermandois. During the infancy of Hugh Capet (956–960), Theobald became autonomous and get close to the Carolingian King Lothair II. Theobald enforced many territories or build many fortresses like Vierzon, Sancerre, Chinon, Saumur, Beaugency, and Provins. | ||
Odo I of Blois (c. 950 – died in 996) |
977–996 | Count of Dreux
|
Second son of Carolingian Bertha of Burgundy .
| |
Theobald II of Blois (c. 983 – 11 July 1004) |
996–1004 | Elder son of Count Odo I, her reign was mainly supervized by his mother, who remarried King Robert II. The King took back Tours from Count Fulk III of Anjou, but Theobald died due to exhaustion on the way back from Rome in 1004, when he was 19. | ||
Odo II of Blois (c. 985 – 15 Nov. 1037) |
1004–1037 | Count of Troyes
|
Younger brother of Count Theobald II, he declared war to all his neighbors, and refused to give back his dowry (half of the county of Dreux) to Duke Richard II of Normandy. He continued to fight against Count Fulk III of Anjou, and finally won against him, but he was defeated in his turn in Pontlevoy by Count Herbert I of Maine. By 1022, he inherited the county of Troyes and Meaux from his cousin, and gathered the Blois-Champagne territory. Since he was also son of Bertha of Burgundy, he claimed his succession rights over the Kingdom of Arles from 1032 onwards, but he was killed next to Bar-le-Duc 5 years later. | |
Theobald III of Blois, or Theobald I of Champagne (c. 1019 – Sept. 1089) |
1037–1089 | Count of Troyes
Lord of Château-Thierry |
Elder son of Count Odo II, who transmitted him the county, but Theobald refused to recognize King Henry I's legitimacy. As a result, the King took the county of Tours back to give it to his ally, Count Geoffrey IV of Anjou, after the battle of Nouy of 1044. He gathered again his father's territories of Blois and Champagne by getting rid of his cousin, Count Odo, and established Champagne as a proper county. He married Gersent of Le Mans, the daughter of his father's foe.[5] | |
Stephen II of Blois, or Stephen Henry of Blois (c. 1045 – died in 1102) |
1089–1102 | Count of Meaux
Count of Reims |
Elder son of Count Theobald III, he married Adela of Normandy, who was actually William the Conqueror's daughter. Under his wife's influence, he was among the first noblemen in responding to Pope Urban II's call for the First Crusade. With other Counts, he fell out of favor when they left the Siege of Antioch, but Count Stephen found a more honorable death at the Second battle of Ramla of 1102. His second son was Stephen, King of England (1135–1154). | |
Theobald IV of Blois, or Theobald II of Champagne aka Theobald the Great (c. 1090/1095 – 10 Jan. 1152) |
1102–1152 | First son of King of England, who also called on him to become their Duke but, in the end, his brother Stephen was chosen in 1135. Instead, he turned the Champagne into a powerful county, and founded the Champagne fairs .
| ||
Theobald V of Blois aka Theobald the Good (1130 – died in 1191) |
1152–1191 | Count of Chartres
Count of Châteaudun |
When his father Count Theobald IV died, his territories were split between his sons, among which Theobald received the county of Blois and the Champagne was offered to Henry. Theobald tried to conquer Vendôme and took part of Henry the Young King's rebellion to reconquer Tours. He married Princess Alice and, as a consequence, entered into the royal family of France. With his nephew Count Henry II of Champagne, he joined the Third Crusade, but was killed during the Siege of Acre in 1191. | |
Louis I of Blois (1171 – 14 April 1205) |
1191–1205 | Son of Count Theobald V, whom he beneathed the county from. He married Lady Catherine of Clermont who was the heiress of the county of Clermont. He was also part of the Fourth Crusade, and was made in 1204 Duke of Nicaea, Anatolia. He was killed the following year, during the Battle of Adrianople, on April 14. | ||
Theobald VI of Blois (1190–1218) |
1205–1218 | Count of Clermont
|
Unique son of Lady Margaret and Lady Isabelle .
| |
Margaret of Blois (1170 – Sept. 1230) |
1218–1230 | Countess of Châteaudun | Third daughter of Count Theobald V and Princess Alice, she inherited the counties of Blois and Châteaudun when her nephew died. Her husband, Lord Walter II of Avesnes, was the jure uxoris Count during her life. |
House of Avesnes (1230–1241)
Title held by
Portrait | Name | Reign | Other titles | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mary of Blois (c. 1200 – 1241) |
1230–1241 | Countess of Bohain
Lady of Guise |
Daughter of Countess Margaret and Lord Walter II of Avesnes, she inherited all her parents' domains, and thus became Countess of Blois and Châteaudun, and Lady of Avesnes, Bohain, and Guise. She married Count Hugh I of St Pol who was the jure uxoris Count during her reign. |
House of Châtillon (1241–1397)
Title held by House of Châtillon.
Portrait | Name | Reign | Other titles | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
John I of Châtillon (died in 1279) |
1241–1279 | Lord of Avesnes
Lord of Guise |
Son of Countess Mary and Count Hugh, he was Count of Blois, then Count of Dunois and Chartres, and Lord of Avesnes and Guise. | |
Joan of Châtillon (c. 1253 – 29 Jan. 1292) |
1279–1292 | Daughter of county of Chartres to King Philip IV, and died a few years later. Her holdings were transmitted to her cousin, Hugh .
| ||
Hugh II of Châtillon (9 April 1258 – 1307) |
1292–1307 | Count of Châteaudun | Grandson of county of St Pol when he received that of Blois by 1292.
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Guy I of Châtillon (1298–1342) |
1307–1342 | Count of Châteaudun Lord of Fréteval Lord of Château-Renault |
Son of Count Hugh II and Béatrice of Dampierre, he was part of the beginning of the Hundred Years' War when it broke out in 1337, along with his brother-in-law, King Philip VI. | |
Louis II of Châtillon (1320–1346) |
1342–1346 | Count of Châteaudun Lord of Fréteval |
Son of Count Guy and Margaret of Valois, he beneathed the county of Blois and Dunois, but died during the battle of Crécy, in northern France. | |
Louis III of Châtillon (bef. 1340–1372) |
1346–1372 | Count of Count of Soissons
Lord of Fréteval |
Son of Count Louis I, he succeeded to his father when he was a child, so her mother was regent during his reign's first years. He died with no heirs and devolved by his wills the counties of Blois and Avesnes to his brother, John. | |
John II of Châtillon (1340–1381) |
1372–1381 | Count of Count of Soissons
Lord of Fréteval |
Brother of Count Louis II, he died with no heirs after losing the War of the Guelderian Succession. | |
Guy II of Châtillon (1346 – 22 Dec. 1397) |
1381–1397 | Count of Châteaudun Lord of Fréteval |
Brother of the two precedent Counts, he was born a few months after his fater's death. He inherited the counties of his brother John II and all his close family's remaining territories: Blois, Châteaudun, Soissons, and Avesnes. By 1360, he was taken prisionier by the English as a consequence of treaty of Brétigny. His release costed him the county of Soissons. In 1374, he married his cousin Marie of Namur, with whom he had a son, Lord Louis III, who died in 1391. Therefore, Guy took the decision the give his titles to Duke Louis I of Orléans (even though there were closer heirs in the House of Blois-Châtillon). From 1391 to his death, he remained the usufructuary count of Blois. |
House of Orléans (1397–1498, 1626–1660)
Even though the rights on the county were given to Duke Louis I of Orléans, Bloisian was not immediately integrated into the Crown Land. As a results, Dukes of Orléans also did hold the title of Count of Blois, until 1498 when Duke Louis II became King Louis XII.
Portrait | Name | Reign | Other titles | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Louis I of Orléans (13 March 1372 – 23 Nov. 1407) |
1397–1407 | Count of Angoulême
Count of Vertus |
Second son of apanage in 1392, then he received the full rights on Bloisian when Count Guy II died in 1397. He was assassinated on the Duke of Burgundy's order, John the Fearless .
| |
Charles of Orléans (24 Nov. 1394 – 5 Jan. 1465) |
1407–1465 | Count of Soissons
|
Son of the precedent one. After a journey in truce in 1444 which eventually would end up the Hundred Years' War .
| |
Louis II of Orléans, then Louis XII of France (27 June 1462 – 1st Jan. 1515) |
1465–1498 | King of France (after 1498)
|
Son of the precedent one. Born in the château of Blois, he went to Amboise when King Charles VIII died in 1498. He was immediately crowned under the name Louis XII. As a consequence, the duchy of Orléans came back to the Crown's lands, and the entire King's court moved to Blois. |
On August 6, 1626, after a failed conspiracy in Nantes, Duke Gaston reluctantly accepted to marry the wealthy lady Duchess Marie of Montpensier, as Cardinal Richelieu wanted him to do. As a gift, he received the duchies of Orléans and of Chartres, plus the county of Blois.
Portrait | Name | Reign | Other titles | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gaston of Orléans (24 April 1608 – 2 Feb. 1660) |
1626–1660 | Duke of Chartres
Lord of Montargis |
Second son of apanage once he married Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier in 1626.
|
When Gaston died, his
References
- ^ a b Merlet 1900, p. 14.
- ISBN 978-1271144358..
- ISBN 978-1271144358.
- ISBN 978-2-85944-572-0.
- ^ Evergates 1999, p. 11.
Sources
- Evergates, Theodore, ed. (1999). Aristocratic Women in Medieval France. University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Merlet, Rene (1900). Les Comtes de Chartres de Chateaudun et de Blois, aux IX et X siecles (in French). Impriemerie Garnier.