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Theobald I of Navarre
Theobald I (French: Thibaut, Spanish: Teobaldo; 30 May 1201 – 8 July 1253), also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne (as Theobald IV) from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous as a trouvère, and was the first Frenchman to rule Navarre.
Born in Troyes, he was the son of Theobald III of Champagne and Blanche of Navarre, the youngest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre. His father died less than a week before he was born, and Blanche ruled the county as regent until Theobald turned twenty-one in 1222. He was a notable trouvère, and many of his songs have survived, including some with music.
The first half of Theobald's life was plagued by a number of difficulties. His uncle, Count Henry II, had left behind a great deal of debt, which was far from paid off when Theobald's father died. Further, Theobald's right to the succession was challenged by Henry's daughter Philippa and her husband, Erard I of Brienne, Count of Ramerupt, and one of the more powerful nobles of Champagne.
The conflict with Erard and Philippa broke into open warfare in 1215 as the Champagne War of Succession, and was not resolved until after Theobald came of age in 1222. At that time he bought out their rights for a substantial monetary payment. Some years later, in 1234, he had to spend still more to buy off Philippa's elder sister Alice, Queen of Cyprus. The settlement of 1222 did not end Theobald's problems, for in the following years he antagonized Louis VIII.
Once he came of age Theobald personal rule was initially marked by a series of difficulties.
Theobald IV came into conflict with Louis VIII of France (1223–26) over the restrictive policies the new king tried to enforce on Jews in France. In his Etablissement sur les Juifs of November 8, 1223, Louis VIII declared that interest on Jews' debts should no longer hold good (though at the same time it also ordered that the capital should be repaid to the Jews in three years), that the debts due the Jews should be inscribed and placed under the control of their lords. The lords then collected the debts for the Jews, doubtless receiving a commission. Twenty-six barons accepted Louis VIII's new measures, but Theobald IV did not, since he had an agreement with the Jews that guaranteed their safety in return for extra income through taxation. Theobald IV and his mother had relied on this extra income during the Succession War of his minority. Champagne's capital at Troyes was where Rashi had lived a century before, and Champagne continued to have a prosperous Jewish population. Theobald IV's refusal to enact Louis VIII's new antagonistic policies towards the Jews enlarged a growing feud between the two men.
During the siege of Avignon in 1226, part of the Albigensian Crusade, due to his disagreements with the king, Theobald IV performed only the minimum service of 40 days and then went home. Louis VIII died of dysentery soon after he left, leading some to accuse Theobald IV of treachery. At the death of Louis VIII, Theobald's political situation was difficult: he had abandoned the king in his campaigns, there were rumors that he had poisoned him, and he was barred from the coronation of Louis IX (his mother Blanche went instead). At the beginning of the regency of Blanche of Castile, he abandoned a conspiracy against the French king, which also included Hugh X of Lusignan and Peter I of Brittany, and cemented a strong relation with the regent.
Strong rumors began to spread that Theobald IV was having an affair with Louis VIII's widow, the regent Blanche of Castile, for whom he composed a poetic homage. Queen Blanche and Theobald IV's father Theobald III were both grandchildren of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The first chronicler to report the rumors about a love affair between Theobald and Blanche was Roger of Wendover. Wendover claims that Theobald, "tormented by passion" for the queen, tried to poison King Louis VIII at the siege of Avignon. Matthew Paris adds a story that the French nobles goaded the young King Louis IX to challenge Theobald to a duel to avenge his father's death, but that Blanche put a stop to the duel. Theobald IV was becoming increasingly influential at court, and the other great counts of France were becoming resentful. It is possible that the rumors of an affair with the queen were indeed unfounded, and merely fabricated by other barons jealous of his position at court. In general, the other barons were jealous of the strengthened County of Champagne which had emerged from the Succession War, and now presented a major rival to surrounding areas.
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Theobald I of Navarre
Theobald I (French: Thibaut, Spanish: Teobaldo; 30 May 1201 – 8 July 1253), also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne (as Theobald IV) from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous as a trouvère, and was the first Frenchman to rule Navarre.
Born in Troyes, he was the son of Theobald III of Champagne and Blanche of Navarre, the youngest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre. His father died less than a week before he was born, and Blanche ruled the county as regent until Theobald turned twenty-one in 1222. He was a notable trouvère, and many of his songs have survived, including some with music.
The first half of Theobald's life was plagued by a number of difficulties. His uncle, Count Henry II, had left behind a great deal of debt, which was far from paid off when Theobald's father died. Further, Theobald's right to the succession was challenged by Henry's daughter Philippa and her husband, Erard I of Brienne, Count of Ramerupt, and one of the more powerful nobles of Champagne.
The conflict with Erard and Philippa broke into open warfare in 1215 as the Champagne War of Succession, and was not resolved until after Theobald came of age in 1222. At that time he bought out their rights for a substantial monetary payment. Some years later, in 1234, he had to spend still more to buy off Philippa's elder sister Alice, Queen of Cyprus. The settlement of 1222 did not end Theobald's problems, for in the following years he antagonized Louis VIII.
Once he came of age Theobald personal rule was initially marked by a series of difficulties.
Theobald IV came into conflict with Louis VIII of France (1223–26) over the restrictive policies the new king tried to enforce on Jews in France. In his Etablissement sur les Juifs of November 8, 1223, Louis VIII declared that interest on Jews' debts should no longer hold good (though at the same time it also ordered that the capital should be repaid to the Jews in three years), that the debts due the Jews should be inscribed and placed under the control of their lords. The lords then collected the debts for the Jews, doubtless receiving a commission. Twenty-six barons accepted Louis VIII's new measures, but Theobald IV did not, since he had an agreement with the Jews that guaranteed their safety in return for extra income through taxation. Theobald IV and his mother had relied on this extra income during the Succession War of his minority. Champagne's capital at Troyes was where Rashi had lived a century before, and Champagne continued to have a prosperous Jewish population. Theobald IV's refusal to enact Louis VIII's new antagonistic policies towards the Jews enlarged a growing feud between the two men.
During the siege of Avignon in 1226, part of the Albigensian Crusade, due to his disagreements with the king, Theobald IV performed only the minimum service of 40 days and then went home. Louis VIII died of dysentery soon after he left, leading some to accuse Theobald IV of treachery. At the death of Louis VIII, Theobald's political situation was difficult: he had abandoned the king in his campaigns, there were rumors that he had poisoned him, and he was barred from the coronation of Louis IX (his mother Blanche went instead). At the beginning of the regency of Blanche of Castile, he abandoned a conspiracy against the French king, which also included Hugh X of Lusignan and Peter I of Brittany, and cemented a strong relation with the regent.
Strong rumors began to spread that Theobald IV was having an affair with Louis VIII's widow, the regent Blanche of Castile, for whom he composed a poetic homage. Queen Blanche and Theobald IV's father Theobald III were both grandchildren of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The first chronicler to report the rumors about a love affair between Theobald and Blanche was Roger of Wendover. Wendover claims that Theobald, "tormented by passion" for the queen, tried to poison King Louis VIII at the siege of Avignon. Matthew Paris adds a story that the French nobles goaded the young King Louis IX to challenge Theobald to a duel to avenge his father's death, but that Blanche put a stop to the duel. Theobald IV was becoming increasingly influential at court, and the other great counts of France were becoming resentful. It is possible that the rumors of an affair with the queen were indeed unfounded, and merely fabricated by other barons jealous of his position at court. In general, the other barons were jealous of the strengthened County of Champagne which had emerged from the Succession War, and now presented a major rival to surrounding areas.