Adela OF NORMANDY (1062?-1137)

	Adela of Normandy, Countess of Blois

Individual Events and Attributes

Marriage

	Theobald IV, Count of Blois & Champagne

Individual Note

Adela of Normandy also known as Adela of Blois and Adela of England (c. 1062 or 1067 – 8 March 1137?) was, by marriage, Countess of Blois, Chartres, and Meaux. She was a daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. She was also the mother of Stephen, King of England and Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester.

Family

Her birthdate is generally believed to have been between 1060 and 1064; however, there is some evidence she was born after her father's accession to the English throne in 1066. She was the favourite sister of King Henry I of England; they were probably the youngest of the Conqueror's children. Adela was a high-spirited and educated woman, with a knowledge of Latin.

Marriage

She married Stephen Henry, son and heir to the count of Blois, sometime between 1080 and 1084, probably in 1083. Stephen inherited Blois, Chartres and Meaux in 1089, and owned over 300 properties, making him one of the wealthiest men of his day. He was a pious and revered leader who managed huge areas of France which he inherited from his father and added to by his sharp administrations. He was, essentially a king in his own right. Stephen-Henry joined the First Crusade, along with his brother-in-law Robert Curthose. Stephen's letters to Adela form a uniquely intimate insight into the experiences of the Crusade's leaders. The Count of Blois returned to France in 1100 bringing with him several cartloads of maps, jewels and other treasures, which he deposited at Chartres. He was, however, under an obligation to the pope for agreements made years earlier and returned to Antioch to participate in the crusade of 1101. He was ultimately killed in an ill-advised charge at the Battle of Ramla. There are many rumors of his cowardice and defection under fire, though some claim these rumors to be the fabrication of later historians. Stephen-Henry was often referred to as "le Sage," and was a great patron of Troubadours and writers.

Issue

Adela and Stephen's children are listed here as follows. Their birth order is uncertain.

William, Count of Sully married Agnes of Sully (d. aft 1104) and had issue

Odo of Blois, aka Humbert. died young

Theobald II, aka Thibaud IV Count of Champagne

Lithuise of Blois (d. 1118) married Milo I of Montlhéry(Divorced 1115)

Stephen of Blois {King of England}

Lucia-Mahaut, married Richard d'Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester. Both drowned on 25 November 1120

Philip (d. 1100) Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne

Agnes of Blois, married Hugh de Puiset and were parents to Hugh de Puiset

Alix of Blois (d. 1145) married Renaud III of Joigni (d.1134) & had issue

Eléonore of Blois (d. 1147) married Raoul I of Vermandois (d.1152) & had issue they were divorced in 1142

Henry of Blois b.1101- d. 1171 oblate child raised at Cherite sur Loire (Cluny Abbey) 1103

Regent

Adela filled in as regent for her husband's duties during his extended absence as a leader of the First Crusade (1095–1098). He returned to Blois and ruled his vast holdings until he was asked to fulfill an earlier pledge to defend Jerusalem. He was killed in an ill-advised battle charge at Ramalah in 1101 during this second expedition. Adela again acted as regent after her husband's death. Orderic Vitalis praises her as a "wise and spirited woman" who ably governed her husband's estates and her own. Her combined estates 1102-1110 nearly exceeded the wealth of the King of France at that time.

Adela, a devout Benedictine sympathizer, employed several high-ranking tutors to educate her children including troubadour poets, as well as Peter Abelard and Peter of Morlait. Her youngest son, Henry, was conceived during the single year Stephan was in France between crusading duties. At two years of age Henry was pledged to the Church at Cluny, Chreit sur Loire as an Oblate child. Henry turned out to be a great genius, who went on to be appointed Abbot of Glastonbury and Bishop of Winchester which eventually made him far more powerful than the king and wealthier than anyone in England. In that capacity he sponsored hundreds of constructions including bridges, canals, palaces, forts, castles and whole villages. In addition, Bishop Blois built dozens of abbeys and chapels and sponsored books including the treasured Winchester Bible.

Adela quarrelled with her eldest son William, who was described by unsympathetic authors, as: "deficient in intelligence as well as degenerate". Recent research indicates that he was boisterous and prone to violent bouts of temper but was not degenerate or retarded. Adela appointed his younger brother Theobald to replace him as heir in 1107. Her son Stephen moved to London in 1111 to join his uncle's court and became the favorite of his uncle King Henry I (Beauclerc). Upon Beauclerc's death in Normandy, Stephan Blois seized the English throne. He was crowned King when his cousin (stepsister) Empress Mathilda failed to act quickly. This action lead to numerous battles and an era known as "The Anarchy."

Adela retired to Marcigny Convent in 1120. Later that same year, her daughter Lucia-Mahaut, was drowned in the wreck of the White Ship alongside her husband. Adela lived long enough to see her son Stephen on the English throne, and took pride in the ascension of her youngest child Henry Blois to the bishopric of Winchester. She died on 8 March 1137 in Marsilly, Poitou-Charentes, France.[1]

NOTE:

1 LoPrete, Kimberly, Adela of Blois. Four Courts Press, Dublin.

SOURCES:

LoPrete,Kimberly. "The Anglo-Norman Card of Adela of Blois", Albion 22 (1990)

LoPrete, Kimberly. "Adela of Blois and Ivo of Chartres: Piety, Politics, and the Peace in the Diocese of Chartres", Anglo-Norman Studies 19

Parsons, John Carmi. Medieval Mothering (New Middle Ages), 1996

LoPrete, Kimberly. Adela of Blois: Countess and Lord, C.1067-1137, Dublin: Four Courts (2007)³

Sources