Odo I (c. 950 – 12 March 996), Count of Blois

Count of Blois

The County of Blois was originally centred on Blois, south of Paris, France. One of the chief cities, along with Blois itself, was Chartres. Blois was associated with Champagne, Châtillon , and later with the French royal family, to whom the county passed in 1391...

, Chartres, Reims, Provins, Châteaudun, and Omois, was the son of Theobald I of Blois

Theobald I of Blois

Theobald I , called the Cheat or the Trickster , was the first count of Blois, Chartres, and Châteaudun from 960, and Tours from 945....

 and Luitgard

Luitgarde of Vermandois

Luitgarde of Vermandois was a daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois. She first married William I of Normandy, and following his death in 942, married Theobald I of Blois in 943.-Children:They had four children:*Theobald...

, daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois. He received the title of count palatine

Count palatine

Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...

, which was traditional in his family, from King Lothair

Lothair of France

Lothair , sometimes called Lothair IV, was the Carolingian king of West Francia , son of Louis IV and Gerberga of Saxony.-Regency:...

.

Like his relations, the counts of Vermandois, he remained faithful to the Carolingians against the Capetians

House of Capet

The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. As rulers of France, the dynasty...

. Following the war between his father and Odalric

Odalric, Archbishop of Reims

Odalric was made Archbishop of Reims in 962. He was from a Lotharingian family and claimed to descend from Bishop Arnulf of Metz.-Sources:*Annals of Flodoard of Reims...

, Archbishop of Reims

Archbishop of Reims

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750...

, over the castle of Coucy

Coucy

Coucy is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Coucy-la-Ville, in the Aisne département, very close to* Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique, in the Aisne département, location of:** Château de Coucy...

, he received the castle to hold it from the archbishop.

In the 970s, in the wars for control of Brittany, he subjugated the county of Rennes

Rennes

Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...

, Duke Conan I affirmed the rights of his family in the region. Around 977, his father died and he succeeded in his counties.

In 988, he assisted Charles of Lorraine

Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine

Charles of Lorraine was the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony and younger brother of King Lothair. He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne...

 in taking Laon

Laon

Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-History:The hilly district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance...

. In 991, he abandoned the Lorrainers at Dreux

Dreux

Dreux is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-History:Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum...

 and besieged Melun

Melun

Melun is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Located in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, Melun is the capital of the department, as the seat of an arrondissement...

, belonging to Bouchard the Venerable, a vassal of Hugh Capet. Hugh, with Richard I of Normandy

Richard I of Normandy

Richard I of Normandy , also known as Richard the Fearless , was the Duke of Normandy from 942 to 996; he is considered the first to have held that title.-Birth:He was born to William I of Normandy, ruler of Normandy, and Sprota...

 and Fulk Nerra, assembled against him and he had to lift his siege.

Near 995, he enterred into a war against Fulk, who was already at war with Conan of Brittany. Odo allied with his brother-in-law William IV of Aquitaine

William IV of Aquitaine

William IV , called Fierebras or Fierebrace , was the Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 963 to his retirement in 990.William's father, William III, abdicated to the abbey of Saint-Cyprien in Poitiers and left the government to...

 and Baldwin IV of Flanders. Even his old enemy, Richard of Normandy joined in the war on Fulk. In the winter of 995 – 996, they besieged Langeais, but the arrival of the forces of the king forced their retreat.

Family

He married (c. 983) Bertha of Burgundy

Bertha of Burgundy

Bertha of Burgundy was the daughter of Conrad the Peaceful, King of Burgundy and his wife Matilda, daughter of Louis IV, King of France and Gerberga of Saxony. She was named for her father's mother, Bertha of Swabia.She first married Odo I, Count of Blois in about 983...

, daughter of King Conrad of Burgundy

Conrad of Burgundy

Conrad the Peaceful was the king of Burgundy from 937 until his death. He was the son of King Rudolph II, the first king of a united Burgundy and Bertha of Swabia...

 and Matilda of France

Matilda of France

Matilda of France was Queen of Burgundy as the wife of King Conrad. A Carolingian, she was born in 943 to King Louis IV of France and his wife, Gerberga of Saxony....

. Their children were:

• Robert (died between 980 and 996)
• Theobald II
  Theobald II of Blois
  Theobald II, Count of Blois was the eldest son and heir of Odo I, Count of Blois, and Bertha of Burgundy.He became Count of Blois, Châteaudun, Chartres and Reims after the death of his father in 996. He left no heirs; on his death, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Odo II, Count of Blois....
  
   (c. 985–1004)
• Odo II
  Odo II, Count of Blois
  Odo II , Count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Provins, Rheims, and Tours from 1004 and Count of Troyes and Meaux from 1022, was the son of Odo I of Blois and Bertha, daughter of Conrad of Burgundy...
  
   (c. 990–1037)
• Thierry (died 996)
• Agnes, married Viscount Guy of Thouars
• Roger