Theobald II of Champagne
Encyclopedia
Count of Blois
The County of Blois was originally centred on Blois, south of Paris, France. One of the chief cities, along with Blois itself, was Chartres. Blois was associated with Champagne, Châtillon , and later with the French royal family, to whom the county passed in 1391...
and of Chartres
Chartres
Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...
as Theobald IV from 1102 and was Count of Champagne
Count of Champagne
The Counts of Champagne ruled the region of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the county of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I was the first to officially use the title "Count of Champagne". When Louis became King of France in 1314, upon the death of his father Philip...
and of Brie as Theobald II from 1125.
He held Auxerre
Auxerre
Auxerre is a commune in the Bourgogne region in north-central France, between Paris and Dijon. It is the capital of the Yonne department.Auxerre's population today is about 45,000...
, Maligny
Maligny
Maligny may refer to:*Maligny, Côte-d'Or, a commune in the French region of Bourgogne*Maligny, Yonne, a commune in the French region of Bourgogne...
, Ervy, Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, and Châteauvillain
Châteauvillain
Châteauvillain is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France.-Geography:The Aujon flows north-northwestward through the western part of the commune and crosses the village.-See also:*Communes of the Haute-Marne department...
as fiefs from Eudes II, Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
. He was the son of Stephen II, Count of Blois
Stephen II, Count of Blois
Stephen II Henry , Count of Blois and Count of Chartres, was the son of Theobald III, count of Blois, and Garsinde du Maine. He married Adela of Normandy, a daughter of William the Conqueror around 1080 in Chartres...
and Adela of Normandy
Adela of Normandy
Adela of Normandy also known as Adela of Blois and Adela of England was, by marriage, Countess of Blois, Chartres, and Meaux. She was a daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders...
, and the elder brother of King Stephen of England
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
. Although he was the second son, Theobald was appointed above his older brother William
William, Count of Sully
William, Count of Sully, also known as William the Simple was Count of Blois and Count of Chartres from 1102 to 1107, and jure uxoris Count of Sully. William was the eldest son of Stephen-Henry, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy, daughter of William the Conqueror...
. Several historians have painted William as mentally deficient, but this has never been substantiated. That said, we know that his mother found him stubbornly resistant to control and unfit for wide ranging comital duties. Theobald had no such problems.
Theobald accompanied his mother throughout their realm on hundreds of occasions and, after her retirement to Marcigney in 1125, he administered the family properties with great skill. Adela died in her beloved convent in 1136, the year after her son Stephen was crowned king of England.
King Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
became involved in a war with Theobald by permitting Count Raoul I of Vermandois and seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, to repudiate his wife Eléonore of Blois
Eléonore of Blois
Eleanor of Blois was a daughter of Stephen II, Count of Blois, and of Adela of Normandy. She married Raoul I of Vermandois and became mother of Hugh II of Vermandois , count of Vermandois and of Valois, then monk in 1160...
, Theobald's sister, and to marry Petronilla of Aquitaine
Petronilla of Aquitaine
Petronilla of Aquitaine was the daughter of William X of Aquitaine and Aenor of Châtellerault. She was the sister of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was Queen consort of England...
, sister of the queen of France. The war, which lasted two years (1142–1144), was marked by the occupation of Champagne
Champagne, France
Champagne is a historic province in the northeast of France, now best known for the sparkling white wine that bears its name.Formerly ruled by the counts of Champagne, its western edge is about 100 miles east of Paris. The cities of Troyes, Reims, and Épernay are the commercial centers of the area...
by the royal army and the capture of Vitry-le-François
Vitry-le-François
Vitry-le-François is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. It is located on the Marne River and is the western terminus of the Marne-Rhine Canal.- History :In 1142, Louis VII invaded Champagne and seized Vitry-le-François...
, where many persons perished in the deliberate burning of the church by Louis. French teacher Pierre Abélard, who became famous for his love affair with and subsequent marriage to his student Héloïse, sought asylum in Champagne during Theobald II's reign. Abelard died at Cluny Abbey in Burgundy, a monastery supported by the Thebaudians for many centuries.
In 1123 he married Matilda of Carinthia
Matilda of Carinthia
Matilda of Carinthia was the daughter of Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia and his wife Uta of Passau . She was married to Theobald II, Count of Champagne...
, daughter of Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia
Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia
Engelbert II from the House of Sponheim was Margrave of Istria and Carniola from sometime between 1101 and 1107 until 1124...
.
Their children were:
- Henry I of ChampagneHenry I of ChampagneHenry I of Champagne , known as "the Liberal", was count of Champagne from 1152 to 1181. He was the eldest son of Count Thibaut II of Champagne and his wife, Matilda of Carinthia....
- Theobald V of Blois
- Adèle of ChampagneAdèle of ChampagneAdèle of Champagne , also known as Adelaide and Alix, was the third wife of Louis VII of France and the mother of his only male heir, the future Philip II...
, married King Louis VII of FranceLouis VII of FranceLouis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England... - Isabelle of Champagne, married 1. Roger of Apulia d. 1148 & 2. William Gouet IV d. 1170
- Marie of Champagne, married Eudes II, Duke of BurgundyEudes II, Duke of BurgundyEudes II of Burgundy was Duke of Burgundy between 1143 and 1162. Eudes was the eldest son of duke Hugh II and Matilda de Turenne. He married Marie de Champagne, daughter of Theobald II, Count of Champagne and Matilda of Carinthia...
, became Abbess of Fontevrault later in life. - William White HandsGuillaume aux Blanches MainsGuillaume de Blois , called Guillaume aux Blanches Mains , or Guillaume de Champagne, was a French Cardinal.He was born in Brosse, Île-de-France, France...
, 1135–1202, Archbishop of ReimsArchbishop of ReimsThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750...
1176–1202, CardinalCardinal (Catholicism)A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
1179 - Stephen I of SancerreStephen I of SancerreStephen I , first Count of Sancerre and third son of Count Theobald II of Champagne, inherited the county of Sancerre on his father's death, when his eldest brother Henry received Champagne and his elder brother Theobald Blois and Chartres...
1133–1191, Count of SancerreSancerreSancerre is a medieval hilltop town , commune and canton in the Cher department of central France overlooking the Loire River. It is noted for its wine.-History:...
and Crusader, died at the Siege of Acre - Agnes of Champagne (d. 1207), Dame de Ligny married Renaut II of Bar (d. 1170).
- Margaret of Champagne nun at Fontevrault