Alice_of_France

Alice of France

Alice of France

Countess of Blois from 1164 to 1191

Not to be confused with Alys of France, Countess of Vexin.

Alice of France (French: Alix; July/August 1150 – 1197/1198) was countess consort of Blois by marriage to Theobald. She served as regent of Blois during Theobald's absence from in 1190–1191, and during the minority of their son Louis from 1191 until 1197. She was the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Life

Her parents' second child and daughter, [1] Alice was named after her aunt Petronilla of Aquitaine, known as "Alix". The birth of yet another daughter instead of a desperately needed son was the final nail in the coffin of Eleanor and Louis's marriage, which was annulled on 21 March 1152, when Alice was not 2 years old. She and Marie retained their legitimacy, and custody of the girls was awarded to the king. Eleanor married Henry, Duke of Normandy, just eight weeks later on 18 May.

Countess of Blois

In 1164, at age 14, Alice married Theobald, [2] who had previously attempted to abduct Alice's mother to force her into a marriage with him. Her sister Marie married Theobald's brother Henry I, Count of Champagne.

Alice died in 1197/98.

Issue

Alice and Theobald had seven children:

  1. Theobald (died 1187)[3]
  2. Louis I, Count of Blois[2]
  3. Henry (died 1185)[3]
  4. Philip (died 1202)[3]
  5. Margaret, Countess of Blois (d. aft. 1230), who married (1) Otto I, Count of Burgundy; (2) Gauthier II, Seigneur of Avesnes [2]
  6. Isabelle of Chartres
  7. Alice, Abbess of Fontevrault[2]

References

  1. [1]
    Kelly 1991, p. 126.
  2. [2]
    Berman 2018, p. 75.
  3. [3]
    Armstrong-Partida 2005, p. 79.

Sources

  • Armstrong-Partida, Michelle (2005). "Mothers and Daughters as Lords: The Countesses of Blois and Chartres". Medieval Prosopography. 26: 77–107.
  • Berman, Constance Hoffman (2018). The White Nuns: Cistercian Abbeys for Women in Medieval France. University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • Kelly, Amy Ruth (1991). Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings. Harvard University Press.
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