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Saturday, August 8, 2020

Comte Thibaut III de Champagne & Comtesse Blanche of Navarre

 47277592. Comte Thibaut III de Champagne & 47277593. Comtesse Blanche of Navarre

By 1179, Blanche born in Navarre, France, d/o 94555186. Sancho VI el Sabio, King of Navarre & 94555187. Sancha of Castile.

3/17/1181, Thibaut’s father Henry died before he was born.

1181, Thibaut born in Champagne, France, s/o 94555184. Henry I of Champagne & 94555185. Marie Capet.

1187, Frederick I refused to give Thibaut, count of Champagen, the heritage of Namur. (S) Medieval Empire, V1, 1898, P274.

1190, Thibaut’s older brother Henry II left for Jerusalem, leaving Champagne to Thibaut. Henry’s mother was acting regent.

9/1197, Henry II died in Jerusalem [he fell through a window].

3/1198, Thibaut’s mother died.

4/1198 at Melun, King Philip II confirmed Thibaut’s succession as Count of Champagne upon Thibaut’s homage for the feifs of Champagne and Brie.

1199, Thibaut purchased Nogent-sur-Seine with 11 enfeoffed knights.

[––Thibaut & Blanche––]

7/1/1199 at Chartres, Thibaut married Blanche. Thibaut invoked a parliament at Chartres to assess the dowry of Blanche. The kings of both England (King John, 23638784) and France (King Philip Augustus, 94555248) attended; as well as Adela (189110497), dowager Queen of France, and Berengeria, sister of Blanche (widow of King Richard I of England). (S) King John, Church, 2003, P188.

11/1199 at castle Écry-sur-Aisne, Count Thibaut of Champagne hosted a tournament which included Simon de Montfort, Walter of Brienne, and Geoffrey de Joinville seneschal of Champagne. (S) Pope Innocuent 3rd, Moore, 2003, P102.

11/28/1199, Thibaut, at a tournament at his castle of Ecri on the Aisne, pledged to join the 4th crusade. (S) The Chronicle, Villehardouin, 1829, P2.

1200, “We, Odo, duke of Burgundy, make known to all men, present and future, that we have received our relative and faithful subject, Theobald of Troyes, as our man for the land which his father, count Henry, held of our father, Hugo, duke of Burgundy, just as the his father, count Henry, was the man of our father.” [Thibaut did homage to the Duke of Burgundy.] (S) Source Book for Medieval History, Thatcher, 1905 P371.

5/24/1201, Thibaut, age 20, died at Troyes before leaving on crusade; Blanche pregnant with their son. Blanche went to King Philip and did homage for her wardship and dower [possibly the 1st homage ever performed by a countess.]

[––Blanche––]

1201, Blanche became regent of Champagne [until 1222.]

2/1202, King Philip directed Blanche to pay £250 to the Treasurer of the Temple. (S) Early History of Deposit Banking in Mediterranean Europe, V1, Russell, 1967, P81.

1203, Creditors demanded the Countess of Champagne [Blanche] seize the domains of William of Champlitte, who had mortgaged property and could not meet his debts to Jews.

1203, Blanche, countess of Champagne, transformed Count Henry I’s annual memorial dinners [founded in 1177] from a detailed menu to monetary donations to the chapter of Oulchy.

1204, Blanche and the duke of Burgundy signed a percursus agreement [that they would not keep each other’s serfs, but would mutually surrender them.]

1205, Blanche signed a percursus agreement with King Philip; Blanche complaining that the serfs of Champagne had left in great numbers and taken refuge in the king’s free city of Dixmont.

12/1205, Renier of Nogent-en-Bassigny declared that when his son married he would become a liegeman to Countess Blanche and the counts of Champagne.

4/1206, Thibaut I, count of Bar-le-Duc and Luxemburg, announces that he and Countess Blanche of Champagne have exchanged jurisdiction over their women who married men of the other lord. Thibaut agreed that the children from future intermarriages will belong to Blanch, but he retained jurisdiction over the children of his men and women who live in Champagne and marry among themselves. (S) Littere Baronum, Evergates, 2003, P44.

4/1206 at Provens, “I, Robert, count an lord of Dreux and Braine, … agreement between me and my dearest lady Blance, countess of Champagne, … house of Torcy … may not make it higher or encircle it until the countess’s son Thibaut reaches his majority. The countess has allowed me to build a fortress on my allodial land at Fere, …”

1206, Blanche, countess of Champagne, issued a decree that Jews could not charge more than 43% interest. (S) Medieval Jewish Civilization, Roth, 2003, P457.

1207, Blance, countess of Champagne, obliged to take over the debt of the monks of Saint-Benigne.

5/1208, “I, Simon, lord of Chateauvillan, make known … Count Thibaut … promised to assign me 30£ annual rent … since his death prevented the assignment of that revenue, his wife, my dearest lady Blanche, countess of Champagne, … assigned me the £30 …”.

1209, Blanche obtained the king’s promise to accept son Thibaut’s homage at age 21.

6/1210, Guy of Dampierre holding the castle of Beaufort and it entire castellany as collateral for 829£ with the consent of lady Blanche, countess of Champagne.

9/1211, Abbot Philippe and the chapter of Saint-Loup of Troyes transfer to their lady and advocate Blanche, countess of Champagne, the fief of Riel-les-Eaux. (S) Cartulary of Countess Blanche of Champagne, 2010, Evergates, P83.

1212, Blanche established procedures for daughters, rather than the closest male relative, to inherit castles and fortified residences if their fathers died without a son.

6/1213, Henry II’s daughter Philippa by his wife Isabel of Jerusalem challenged the right of succession to Champagne. [Philippa’s husband Erard of Brienne was from an important Champagne family.] Blanche countered with ecclesiastical support for declaring Henry II’s marriage invalid due to degree of relationship. Philippa settled for £5000 and a yearly stipend of £1200.

1214, The Lord of Ervy sold his rights over his Jews to the Countess of Champagne. (S) Church and the Jews, V1, Grayzel, 1966, P52.

1215, At the insistence of Blanche, King Philip accepted the homage of 14-year-old Thibaut.

1215, Blanche and Duke Eudes of Burgundy suspend travel between their lands.

8/1215, King Philip announced to Blanche, Countess of Champagne, that in the future, champions would not be allowed to fight with staffs whose lengths exceeded 3 feet. [Stick and cane fighting was commonly practiced in this time in France.] (S) Martial Arts of the World, V2, Green, 2010, P217.

1216, Civil war broke out in Champagne following the decision of the royal court of peers to confirm the succession of Thibaut IV.

1216, Blanche and Duke Eudes of Burgundy make an alliance to conquer Burgundy.

1216, With the support of Emperor Frederick II, Blanche’s army defeated those of Erard of Brienne, lord of Ramerupt, who was trying to take Champagne by force. Blanche then led her army to Nancy and burned the town. Blanche then invaded Joinville where she captured Erard.

1217, Blanche, the countess of Champagne, complained to Pope Honorius III about Peter de Corbeil, archbishop of Sens, and his suffragans [Blanche considered their jurisdictional claims over Jews to the exorbitant]. (S) Apostolic See and the Jews, V7, 1991, P109.

1218, Blanche guaranteed the fidelity to King Philip of Robert, bishop of Clermont. (S) On the Increase of Royal Power in France, Wilker, 1888, P101.

4/1219, “I, Simon of Clefmont, make known … because of evil advice I withdrew my fidelity and homage [in 1216] from nobele lady Countess Blanche and her son Thibaut, count of Champagne. … I quit to Countess Blanche and Thibaut the viscounty of Montigny … as well as all the domain I used to have in Ageville, … Be it known that I am their leigeman for 3 fiefs …”

1220, Blanche founded convent at Argensolles. [That year, B. Blanche, abbess of Argensol, gave up her life on the condition that she could ransom the life of her friend Blanche, countess of Champagne, queen of Navarre.] (S) A Dictionary of Saintly Women, V1, Dunbar, 1904, P125.

1/15/1221, “Pope Honorius III to the Abbot and Prior of St. Victor and to the Dean of the Church of Paris on behalf of our dear daughter in Christ, the noblewoman Blanche, Countess of Champagne, the following case …” [The Pope eventually found the case of 1217 against Peter de Corbeil to be in favor of Blanche.]

5/1222, Blanche’s son assumed his title; Blanche retired to the convent at Abbaye d’Argensolles.

1224, At the incorporation of Argensolles into the Cistercian Order, Blanche endowed the Abbey of Argensolles with strips of vineland, including one at Grauves. (S) A History of Champagne, Vizetelly, 1882, P127.

1226, Blanche left Argensolles in the summer while her son Thibaut IV was absent from the kingdom with the King of France.

11/8/1226, Louis IX succeeded his father as King of France; crowned at Reims.

2/24/1228, “I, Blanche, countess palatine of Troyes, and I Thibaut, count of Champagne and Brie, make known to all who will see the present letters …” [Agreement with Henry, Archbishop of Reims.]

3/12/1229, Blanche died.

(S) Epistolæ. (S) The Aristocracy of the County of Champagne, Evergates, 2007. (S) Feudal Society in Medieval France, Evergates, 1993. (S) Social France at the Time of Philip Augustus, Luchaire, 1912.

Family notes:

·         Fragments of the accounts of Blanche, countess of Champagne, exist for 1217–1219.

Child of Thibaut and Blanche:

i. Thibaut IV of Champagne (23638796), born 5/20/1201 in France.

11/1229, The first preserved document mentioning the Abbaye d’Argensolles by Thibaut naming his mother. (S) Annuaire-bulletin de la Société de l'histoire de France, Vs.7 à 8, Paris, Renouard, 1869, P.71.

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