Louis I, Count of Blois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Louis I of Blois (1172 – April 14, 1205) was count of Blois from 1191 to 1205. He was the son of Theobald V and Alix of France. His maternal grandparents were Louis VII of France and his first wife Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Louis promulgated a charter in 1196 abolishing serfdom in his domains. At the Tournament at Écry-sur-Aisne on 28 November 1199, Louis and his cousin Theobald III of Champagne were the first to respond to Pope Innocent III's call for a Fourth Crusade. He left France in 1202 and missed participating in the capture of Constantinople in 1204 as he was ill and had been for months. He was too ill to take part in the subsequent forays of his men into Asia Minor, where he had been created Duke of Nicaea, a title he never vindicated.
He had just recuperated when he died in the Battle of Adrianople against the forces of Kaloyan of Bulgaria. Louis chased the enemy too far and brought himself and the emperor Baldwin I of Constantinople into a trap.
He married Catherine, countess of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, who bore him 3 children:
- Raoul, who died young
- Jeanne, who died young
- Theobald VI of Blois (d. 1218)
| Preceded by Theobald V |
Count of Blois 1191–1205 |
Succeeded by Theobald VI |
| Preceded by Raoul I |
Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis with Catherine 1191–1205 |
