woman Adela of Normandy , Princess of England‏‎, daughter of William I "The Conqueror" King of England and Matilda (Maud) of Flanders‏.
Born ‎± 1062 at Rouen, Seine-Inferieure, Normandy, France, died ‎ Mar 8, 1136/37‎, approximately 74 years

Adela, French AD

Married ‎± 1080 at Breteuil, Eure, Normandy, France (approximately 22 years married) to:

man Stephen "Le Sage" Comte de Champagne & "@N51846@" Blois‏‎, son of Theobald III Comte de "@N51880@" Blois , (I) de Champagne and Gersende du Maine‏.
Born ‎± 1046 at Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Orleanais/Centre, France, died ‎ May 27, 1102 at Ramlah, Palestine (on Crusade of 1101)‎, approximately 56 years, 1st married/ related to: Unknown Mistress, ‎2nd marriage to: Adela of Normandy , Princess of England

Ancestral Roots has Stephen as son by the 2nd wife Alix, giving no marriage date for Theobald & Alix, nor birth date for Stephen.

------------------------

The following information was supplied in a post-em by Curt Hofemann, curt_hofemann@yahoo.com:

Stephen "Le Sage" Count of Champagne & Blois

Mother: Alix de Crepi b: ABT. 1020 in Vexin, Normandy, France

The identity of his mother seems to be in debate:

I think... (the mother of Stephen) should be Gersende of Maine, Thibaut III's 1st wife. Stephen Henry was born in 1046 and Thibaut and Gersende did not separate until 1048. ES II:46 gives these dates and mistakenly indicates Stephen Henry to be the son of Gundrada. Also see M Bur *La formation du comte de Champagne* (Nancy, 1977), 199, 214-15 where Stephen Henry is stated to be the son of Gersende. [Ref: Richard Borthwick 30 Jan 1998 message to Gen-Medieval] note: I don't know why he refers to as Stephen as Stephen "Henry". As far as I know, middle names didn't come into use until centuries later... Curt

Research note 1: mother: Alix de Crepi [Ref: Weis AR7 137:23]

Research note 2: mother: Gundrada [Ref: Moriarty p117, Paget p58, Watney p110]

Regards,
Curt

Note: the separation between Thibaut/Theobald and Gersende maybe didn't officially happen until 1048, but I have a child of Gersende's 2nd husband who looks to be b. abt 1045.

Children:

1.
man William "Simple" de Champagne , Sire de Sully‏‎
Born ‎± 1080 at Champagne, France, died ‎before 1150‎

The following information was supplied in a post-em by Curt Hofemann, curt_hofemann@yahoo.com:

aka: Guillaume de 'Simplex' de Blois, Seigneur de Sully
simplex = simple (minded). Burke's Peerage 1919 p24 says he was "an imbecile".

Count of Chartres, j.u. Sire de Sully [Ref: Paget p10]
Lord of Salejo, Sire De Sully [Ref: Moriarty, Turton] (I think "Sire" should be "Seigneur" & unable to locate "Salejo" which looks Spanish, not French. Also, in French is there a differentiation of Lord vs Sire?... Curt)

brother of King Stephen [Ref: CP V:155]

died before 1150 [Ref: ES II:46, ES III:110]

Regards,
Curt
2.
man Theobald IV Comte de "@N51844@" Blois , (II) de Champagne‏
Born ‎ 1093 at Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Orleanais/Centre, France, died ‎± Jan 10, 1151/52 at Lagny-sur-Marne, Seine-et-Marne, Ile-de-France, France‎, approximately 58 years

Theobald IV, also called THEOBALD THE GREAT, French Thibaud le Grand (b. 1093 - d. c. 10 Jan 1152, Lagny-sur-Marne, France), count of Blois and of Chartres (from 1102) and count of Champagne (from 1125) as Theobald II. He was the grandson of Theobald III of Blois. Theobald IV reunited Champagne with Blois and thus again made his house a threat to the royal domains of France from both east and west. He became, in effect the second person of France, alternatively the ally and the enemy of Louis VI and Louis VII. He helped his brother Stephen become king of England (1135). The countship was at the zenith of its power. [Encyclopaedia Britannica]
3.
woman Maud de Blois‏‎
Born ‎± 1095 at Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Orleanais/Centre, France, died ‎ Nov 25, 1120 at Sinking of the White Ship (Blanche Nef)‎, approximately 25 years
4.
man Stephen I de Blois King of England‏
Born ‎± 1097 at Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Orleanais/Centre, France, died ‎ Oct 25, 1154 at Dover, Kent, England‎, approximately 57 years, buried ‎ at Count of Blois

[Source: Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1995]

Stephen, future king of England, was born about the year 1096. His mother was Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror, and heir to all his strength of will and temper. His father was Stephen Count of Blois and Chartres, a boastful character who had made himself the laughing stock of Europe by running away from the siege of Antioch after having been made commander-in-chief there.

Adela's two favored sons, Stephen and Henry, were both to find their fortunes in England. Henry, a Cluniac monk, quickly accumulated Glastonbury, the richest abbey, and Winchester, the second richest diocese in England, and set out on his career of financial wizardry and ecclesiastical statesmanship. A man of rare power, vision and tact, he was infinitely more attuned to great responsibilities than his brother.

Stephen had a ready charm, and his gay and seemingly open nature made him a great success at court. His uncle Henry I loaded favours on him: he was given estates in England of some half a million acres, and made a favourable marriage to the rich heiress of the Count of Boulogne. Matilda was to be both a loyal and an able wife.

In 1136 Henry died, and though he had made all his barons swear fealty to his daughter Matilda before his death, Stephen now moved speedily to get himself accepted as King in England. His brother swayed the Church to his side, the Londoners were bought with a substantial grant of privileges, and the Norman barons were persuaded that a woman ruler of well-known arrogance and intractability, married to the leader of the Normans' traditional enemies, the Angevins, would be no good prospect for England.

Stephen's dash and promises carried him through for a while, but quickly enough people discovered his faults: he was tricky, changeable, often stupidly weak; he simply could not be relied upon, nor could he trust others. In 1139 Matilda landed, and her bastard brother Robert of Gloucester opened the West to her. During the next eight years she was to win defectors from Stephen's bad government.

In 1141, at Lincoln, Stephen's barons deserted him in battle, and he fell prisoner to Matilda. But she proved as unhappy a mistress as Stephen had been master, and many people were glad when Robert of Gloucester was captured by Stephen's Queen at the rout of Winchester, and Matilda was forced to release Stephen to get him back.

Many barons favoured this dual situation in which they could bargain for their services, and live as war-lords. Castles sprung up all over the land, and in many parts a dreadful anarchy reigned, so that many people openly declared that Christ and his Saints were asleep, and the Devil ruled.

Matilda's son Henry had twice invaded and been repulsed in 1147 and 1149, but when he came again in 1153 he was backed by a tremendous accumulation of continental power. The death of Stephen's son Eustace prompted him to negotiate with the young Duke, and he was encouraged in this by the urgings of the Church and of the Norman barons who wished to regain their continental estates now under Henry's control. So Matilda's son was made heir, and for a further year Stephen ruled, in peace at last, until his death in October 1154. He was buried in his abbey of Faversham.