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 served as regent of the County of Champagne three times: during Henry I's absence from 1179-1181; during the minority of their son Henry II from 1181–1187; and during Henry II's absence from 1190-1197. The daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France, she was the sister of Alice of France and the half-sister of: William IX, Henry the Young King, Richard I, Geoffrey of Brittany, Matilda of England, Eleanor of England, Joan of England, John of England; Margaret of France, Alys of France, Agnes of France, Philip II of France; and the stepdaughter of Henry II of England, and Constance of Castile, and Adela of Champagne.
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 I, also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous as a trouvère, and was the first Frenchman to rule Navarre.
Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements theod- "people" and bald "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans.
Hugh was a French noble who was the first Count of Champagne. He was known for donating the valley that was used as the site for the Clairvaux Abbey and going on several pilgrimages to the Holy Land. During his second visit, Hugh de Paynes, a knight in his service, stayed in Jerusalem and established the Knights Templar. Hugh later gave up his wealth and lands to join the Templar Order.
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.
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.
Stephen II of Troyes, sometimes called Etienne, was a Count of Troyes and Meaux from 1037 to 1047. He was the son of (Eudes) Odo II, Count of Blois and, Chartres, Champagne, Troyes and Meaux, and of Ermengarde of Auvergne.
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.
The War of the Succession of Champagne was a war from 1216 to 1222 between the nobles of the Champagne region of France, occurring within that region and also spilling over into neighboring duchies. The war lasted two years and de facto ended in 1218, but did not officially end until Theobald IV reached the age of majority in 1222, at which point his rivals abandoned their claims.
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.
