- Theobald I of Blois
Theobald I (died
16 January between 975 and 978), called the Cheat(er) or the Trickster ("le Tricheur"), was the firstcount of Blois , Chartres, andChâteaudun from 960, andTours from 945.Theobald was initially a vassal of
Hugh the Great ,Duke of France . Around 945, he captured King Louis IV to the benefit of Hugh. In return for freedom, the king granted him the city ofLaon . He took the title of "count" in Tours. He seized Chartres and Châteaudun and remarried his sister toFulk II of Anjou . In 958, he met Fulk inVerron and the two described themselves as "governor and administrator [of the] kingdom [of Neustria] " and "comites Dei gratia" ("counts by the grace of God").Theobald's sister married Alan II of Brittany and Theobald governed the duchy during the minority of her son Drogo. Thus, Theobald extended his influence all the way to
Rennes .In 960, he began opposing
Richard I of Normandy and entered into a long war with theNormans . In 961, he attackedÉvreux . The Normans responded by attackingDunois . In 962, he launched an assault onRouen which failed. The Normans burned Chartres in response. He took control of the fortresses of Saint-Aignan in theLoir-et-Cher ,Vierzon , andAnguillon inBerry .During the minority of
Hugh Capet , he reinforced Chartres and Châteaudun. Around 960, he builtSaumur . By his death, he had built a vast power on theLoire , dominating central France.His daughter Emma brought him the county of
Provins , nucleus of the latercounty of Champagne .Family
His wife,
Luitgarde of Vermandois , was the widow ofWilliam I of Normandy . She married Theobald between 942 and 945 and bore him four children:*Theobald (d. 962)
*Hugh, Archbishop of Bourges (d. 985)
*Odo (d. 996),count of Blois
*Emma (d. 1003), marriedWilliam IV of Aquitaine
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