Count of Champagne

Original coat of arms of the county of Champagne.

The Count of Champagne was the ruler of the region of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the county of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I was the first to officially use the title "Count of Champagne".

When Sancho VII of Navarre died childless in 1234, his nephew Count Theobald IV of Champagne became also King of Navarre. The latter's greatgrandaughter Joan married King Philip IV of France. Upon Joan's death in 1305, her son Louis became the last independent count of Champagne, with the title merging into the royal domain upon his accession to the French throne in 1314. The Kingdom of Navarre, however, was not merged with the French Crown, so in 1328 Charles IV of France and I of Navarre was succeeded by Joan II in Navarre and Philip of Anjou in France.

The titular counts of Champagne also inherited the post of seneschal of France.

Counts and dukes of Champagne, Troyes, Meaux and Blois

Dukes of Champagne

In Merovingian and Carolingian times, several dukes of Champagne (or Campania) are known. The duchy appears to have been created by joining together the civitates of Rheims, Châlons-sur-Marne, Laon, and Troyes. In the late seventh and early eighth centuries, Champagne was controlled by the Pippinids; first by Drogo, son of Pippin of Herstal, and then by Drogo's son Arnulf.

• Lupus
• Vintronus
• Drogo (690–708)
• Arnulf

Counts of Meaux and Troyes

Counts of Troyes Aleran (820–852) Odo I (853–858 and 866–871) Rudolph I (858–866) Odo II (871–876) Robert I (876–886) Adalelm (886–894) Richard (894–921), also Duke of Burgundy Rudolph II (921–936), also Duke of Burgundy and King of France Hugh (936–952), also Duke of Burgundy Gilbert (952–956), also Duke of Burgundy

Counts of Meaux Louis (862–877), also King of Aquitaine and France Theodebert (877–888) Herbert I (896–902) Herbert II (902–943) Robert (943–967), in Troyes from 956

• Robert, II of Troyes (956–967)
• Herbert, III of Meaux, (967–995)
• Stephen I (995–1022)
• Odo, I of Meaux and III of Troyes (1022–1037), also Count of Blois
• Stephen II (1037–1048)
• Odo, II of Meaux and IV of Troyes (1048–1066)
• Theobald I (1066–1089), also Count of Blois

Counts of Troyes Odo V (1089–1093) Hugh I (1093–1102)

Counts of Meaux and Blois Stephen III Henry (1089–1102), also Count of Blois Theobald II (1102–1151), also Count of Blois, in Champagne from 1125

Counts of Champagne

• Hugh I (1102–1125)
• Theobald II (1125–1152)
• Henry I (1152–1181)
• Henry II (1181–1197)
• Theobald III (1197–1201)

Counts of Champagne and Kings of Navarre

• Theobald IV, also King Theobald I of Navarre (1201–1253)
• Theobald V, also Theobald II of Navarre (1253–1270)
• Henry III, also Henry I of Navarre (1270–1274)
• Joan (1274–1305), also Joan I of Navarre

• Louis (1305–1316), also Louis I of Navarre, became Louis X of France, in 1314, after which the title merged into the royal domain

References

• Evergates, Theodore. Feudal Society in the Baillage of Troyes under the Counts of Champagne, 1152-1284. ISBN 0-8018-1663-7
• Evergates, Theodore. Feudal Society in Medieval France: Documents from the County of Champagne. ISBN 0-8122-1441-2 (paperback), ISBN 0-8122-3225-9 (hardback)
• Evergates, Theodore. "The Aristocracy of Champagne in the Mid-Thirteenth Century: A Quantitative Description." Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 5. pp 1–18 (1974).

Further reading

• Sánchez-Marco, Carlos (2005), "Casa de Champagne (House of Champagne)", La Historia Medieval del Reyno de Navarra (The Medieval History of Navarre), retrieved 24 August 2010