Stephen Henry was the count of Blois and Count of Chartres. He led an army during the First Crusade, was at the surrender of the city of Nicaea, and directed the siege of Antioch. Returning home without fulfilling his crusader vows, Stephen joined the crusade of 1101. Making his way to Jerusalem, he fought in the Second Battle of Ramla, where he was captured and later executed.
Marie of France was a Capetian princess who became Countess of Champagne by her marriage to Henry I of Champagne. She ruled the County of Champagne as regent during Henry I's absence from 1179 to 1181; during the minority of their son Henry II from 1181 to 1187; and during Henry II's absence from 1190 to 1197. She was the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France.
Henry I, known as the Liberal, was count of Champagne from 1152 to 1181. He was the eldest son of Count Theobald II of Champagne, who was also count of Blois, and his wife, Matilda of Carinthia.
Theobald III was Count of Champagne from 1197 to his death. He was designated heir by his older brother Henry II when the latter went to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade, and succeeded him upon his death. He cooperated closely with his uncle and suzerain King Philip II of France. He died young, and was succeeded by a posthumous son, Theobald IV, while his widow, Blanche of Navarre, ruled as regent.
Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements theod- "people" and bald "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans.
Blanche of Navarre was Countess of Champagne by marriage to Theobald III, Count of Champagne, and regent of Champagne during the minority of her son Theobald I of Navarre between 1201 and 1222.
Theobald III of Blois was count of Blois, Meaux and Troyes. He was captured in 1044 by Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou, and exchanged the County of Touraine for his freedom. Theobald used his nephew's involvement with the Norman invasion of England to gain authority over the County of Champagne. He died in 1089.
The County of Champagne, was a medieval territory and feudal principality in the Kingdom of France. It developed on the rich plains between Paris and the border of the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th century. It became an economic hub of northern France and an international trade center in part due to the trade fairs instituted by Count Theobald II, and steady land clearing led to economic and urban growth. Count Henry the Liberal established the city of Troyes as the county's capital and expanded the state. The court of Champagne under Count Henry and Countess Marie saw a proliferation of literary authors. In the 13th century, Count Theobald III, Countess Blanche, and Count Theobald IV oversaw a centralization of the state. The county is noted for its support to the crusades and monastic foundations, especially those of the Cistercians, which originated within its borders. From 1234 the count of Champagne was also the king of Navarre, and the marriage of Queen Joan I of Navarre with King Philip IV of France led to the county being absorbed into the royal domain of the kings of France in the 14th century.
Odo II was the count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Champagne, Beauvais and Tours from 1004 and count of Troyes and Meaux from 1022. He twice tried to make himself a king: first in Italy after 1024 and then in Burgundy after 1032.
Odo was count of Troyes and of Meaux from 1047 to 1066, then count of Aumale from 1069 to 1115. He was later also known as the count of Champagne and as Eudes II of Troyes.
Reginald II of Bar was a Count of Bar and Lord of Mousson from 1149 till his death. He was the son of Reginald I, Count of Bar and lord of Mousson, and Giselle of Vaudémont.
The House of Blois was a noble family that arose in the Kingdom of West Francia in the early 10th century, and whose prominent members were often named Theobald.
Matilda of Carinthia was a daughter of Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia and his wife Uta of Passau. She married Theobald II, Count of Champagne in 1123.
Adele of Valois (Adèle/Adélaïde) was a daughter of Ralph IV of Valois and Adele of Bar-sur-Aube.
The Collegiate Church of Saint-Étienne or Collégiale Saint-Étienne was a collegiate church dedicated to Saint Stephen founded in Troyes, France, in 1157 by Henry I, Count of Champagne. He intended it to become a mausoleum in which the grandeur of the House of Blois would be displayed, but that did not happen. The church was demolished during the French Revolution.
Hugh was a French knight and Benedictine monk, abbot of monasteries in England and France.
Lagny Abbey was a monastery situated in the present-day commune of Lagny-sur-Marne in the department of Seine-et-Marne in France, in the eastern suburbs of Paris. It was founded in 644, refounded about 990 and after well over a millennium of existence was seized by the state at the French Revolution.
Counts who reigned over the county of Meaux include:
Ermengarde of Provençe, was Countess of Auvergne in her own right, and Countess of Blois via her marriage to Odo II, Count Blois which occurred before 1005. Ermengarde was his second wife. She was the daughter of William IV, Count of Auvergne-Provençe, and potentially with Humberga or Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou. Her children included William; Berta of Chartres, Duchess of Brittany then Countess of Maine; Theobald III, Count of Blois; and Stephen, Count of Troyes & Meaux.
