Stephen III of Blois

Stephen II Henry (c. 1045 – May 19, 1102), (in French, Étienne Henri), Count of Blois and Count of Chartres, was the son of Theobald III, count of Blois, and Garsinde du Maine.

Count Stephen was one of the leaders of the First Crusade, often writing enthusiastic letters to Adela about the crusade's progress. He returned home in 1098 during the lengthy siege of Antioch, without having fulfilled his crusading vow, which would have been completed only if he had made it all the way to Jerusalem. He was pressured by Adela into making a second pilgrimage, and along with others who faced the same pressures after returning home prematurely, he joined the minor crusade of 1101. In 1102, Stephen was killed in battle at the age of 57, at the Battle of Ramla.

In about 1080, in Chartres, France, Stephen married Adela of Normandy, a daughter of William the Conqueror. Their eldest son, Guillaume, was disinherited, supposedly for mental weakness; he was made Count of Chartres instead. Blois then passed to the second son, Theobald. Their third son Stephen of Blois became King of England after Henry I of England died without a male heir and the English did not think Henry I's daughter Empress Matilda a suitable ruler because of her sex. Stephen and Adela's youngest son was Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester. A daughter, Mahaut of Blois, perished in the White Ship disaster with her husband Richard d'Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester. Other daughter Lithuaise of Blois married Milon of Troyes, viscount of Troyes. 125

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Theobald II of Champagne (1090-1151), also known as Theobald The Great, was Count of Champagne from 1125 to 1151, as well as count of Blois and of Chartres (from 1102). He held Auxerre, Maligny, Ervy, Troyes, and Châteauvillain as fiefs from Eudes II, Duke of Burgundy. He was the son of Stephen, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy, and the elder brother of King Stephen of England. Although he was the second son, Theobald was chosen as heir over his elder brother, Guillaume, who was weak mentally.

In 1123 he married Matilda of Carinthia, daughter of Engelbert II of Carinthia. King Louis VII of France became involved in a war with Theobald by permitting Count Raoul I of Vermandois and seneschal of France, to repudiate his wife, Theobald's niece, and to marry Petronilla of Aquitaine, sister of the queen of France. The war, which lasted two years (1142-1144), was marked by the occupation of Champagne by the royal army and the capture of Vitry, where many persons perished in the burning of the church.

Pierre Abélard sought asylum in Champagne during Theobald II's reign. Theobald II was also Theobald IV, Count of Blois.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobald_II_of_Champagne

Daughter Adele: Adèle de Champagne (c. 1140 – June 4, 1206) was the daughter of Theobald II of Champagne and Matilda of Carinthia.

She was the third wife of Louis VII of France, with whom she had two children:

Dieudonné, the future Philippe Auguste (born August 21, 1165), the only male heir of Louis VII

Agnes of France (1171 - after 1207)

She was active in the political life of the kingdom, along with her brothers Henry I of Champagne, Theobald V of Blois, and William, archbishop of Reims. Henry and Theobald were married to daughters of Louis VII and his first wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. She and her brothers felt their position threatened when the heiress of Artois, Isabelle of Hainaut, married Adèle's son, Philippe. Adèle formed an alliance with Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy and Count Philip of Flanders, and even tried to interest Frederick Barbarossa. War broke out in 1181, and relations became so bad that Philippe attempted to divorce Isabelle in 1184.

Although her power decreased after the accession of Philippe in 1180, she acted as regent of the kingdom in 1190 while Philip was away on the Third Crusade. She returned to the shadows when he returned in 1192 but participated in the founding of many abbeys.

She died on June 4, 1206, and was buried in the church of Pontigny Abbey near Auxerre. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad%C3%A8le_of_Champagne