Odo II, Count of Blois
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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
Chartres
Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...
, Châteaudun
Châteaudun
Châteaudun is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of Eure-et-Loir.-Geography:Châteaudun is located about 45 km northwest of Orléans, and about 50 km south-southwest of Chartres, on the river Loir, a tributary of the...
, Provins
Provins
Provins is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.Provins, a town of medieval fairs, became a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 2001.-Administration:...
, Rheims, and Tours
Count of Tours
The counts of Tours were the medieval feudal suzerains ruling over the region of Touraine in France with their capital at Tours. The first known count of Tours was the famous Hugh of the Etichonen family. After three generations, the county passed to the equally famous Robert the Strong, father of...
from 1004 and Count of Troyes (as Odo IV) and Meaux
Meaux
Meaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located east-northeast from the center of Paris. Meaux is a sub-prefecture of the department and the seat of an arondissement...
(as Odo I) from 1022, was the son of Odo I of Blois and Bertha, daughter of 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...
. His career was spent in endless feudal warfare with his neighbours and suzerains, whose territories he tried to annex, and in a quest for a crown in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Burgundy. He was uncharacteristically warlike even for his era and he solidified a large principality on the Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
in central France by his aggressive policies.
His first wife was Matilda, a daughter of 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...
. After her death in 1006, Odo started a quarrel with his brother-in-law, Richard II of Normandy, over the dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
: part of the town 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...
. King Robert II
Robert II of France
Robert II , called the Pious or the Wise , was King of France from 996 until his death. The second reigning member of the House of Capet, he was born in Orléans to Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine....
, who had married Odo's mother, imposed his arbitration on the contestants in 1007, leaving Odo in possession of 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...
.
He tried to overrun the Touraine
Touraine
The Touraine is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, the Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher and Indre.-Geography:...
, but was defeated at the Battle of Pontlevoy
Battle of Pontlevoy
The Battle of Pontlevoy was fought on 6 July 1016 between the forces of Fulk III of Anjou and Herbert I of Maine on one side and Odo II of Blois on the other...
by Fulk III of Anjou
Fulk III of Anjou
Fulk III , called Nerra after his death, was Count of Anjou from 21 July 987 to his death. He was the son of Geoffrey Greymantle and Adelaide of Vermandois....
and Herbert I of Maine
Herbert I of Maine
Herbert I , called Wakedog or Evigilans Canis , was the count of Maine from 1015, the son and successor of Hugh III....
on 6 July 1016. War continued with Anjou and Odo attempted to take Saumur
Saumur
Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc...
in 1025 but failed.
In 1023, he seized control of Troyes after the death of his cousin Stephen I without heirs. From there he attacked Ebles
Ebles I of Roucy
Ebles I of Roucy was count of Roucy from 1000 to 1033 and archbishop of Reims from 1021 to 1033. His father was Giselbert, Count of Roucy and Reims....
, the 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...
, and Theodoric I
Thierry I, Duke of Upper Lorraine
Theodoric I was the count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine from 978 to his death. He was the son and successor of Frederick I and Beatrice, daughter of Hugh the Great, count of Paris, and sister to the French king Hugh Capet.His mother was the regent until 987...
, the duke of Lorraine. Only an alliance between the king and the Emperor Henry II could stop Odo. He was forced to relinquish the county of Rheims to the archbishop.
He was offered the crown of Italy
Iron Crown of Lombardy
The Iron Crown of Lombardy is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe. The crown became one of the symbols of the Kingdom of Lombards and later of the medieval Kingdom of Italy...
by the Lombard
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
barons, but the offer was quickly retracted in order not to upset relations with the king of France. In 1032, he invaded the Kingdom of Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...
on the death of Rudolph III
Rudolph III of Burgundy
Rudolf III of Burgundy was the last King of an independent Burgundy. He was the son of Conrad, King of Burgundy, and Matilda of France...
. He retreated in the face of a coalition of the Emperor Conrad II and the new king of France, Henry I
Henry I of France
Henry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians...
.
He died in combat near Bar-le-Duc
Bar-le-Duc
Bar-le-Duc, formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the préfecture . The department is in Lorraine in north-eastern France-Geography:...
during another attack on Lorraine. By his second wife, Ermengarde, daughter of Robert I of Auvergne, he had four children:
- Theobald IIITheobald III, Count of BloisTheobald III of Blois was count of Blois, Meaux and Troyes. He was son of Odo II, Count of Blois and Ermengarde of Auvergne....
, who inherited the county of Blois and most of his other possessions - Stephen IIStephen II of TroyesStephen II of Troyes , sometimes called Etienne, was a Count of Troyes and Meaux from 1037 to 1047. He was the son of Odo II, Count of Blois, Chartres, Rheims, Troyes and Meaux, and of Ermengarde of Auvergne....
, who inherited the counties of Meaux and Troyes in ChampagneChampagne (province)The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name... - Bertha, who married Alan III, Duke of BrittanyAlan III, Duke of BrittanyAlan III of Rennes was duke of Brittany, from 1008 to his death. He was son of Duke Geoffrey I and Hawise of Normandy. Alan married Bertha, daughter of Odo II, Count of Blois and had at least two children: Conan II, his successor, and Hawise of Brittany, who married Hoel of Cornwall.Alan III was...
. - Almodis, who married Geoffrey II of Preuilly