Family of Henry I + and Marie + of FRANCE

Husband:	Henry I + (1127-1181)
Wife:	Marie + of FRANCE (1145-1198)
Children:	Henry II (1166- )
	Marie + of CHAMPAGNE (1171-1204)
	Scholastique of CHAMPAGNE ( -1219)
	Theobald (1179- )
Status:	Divorced
Marriage	1164	France

Husband: Henry I +

Name:	Henry I +
Sex:	Male
Father:	Thibaud IV(II) + (1088-1152)
Mother:	Mathilde + (1097-1160)
Birth	1127	Champagne, Dardogne, Aquitaine, France
Occupation		Count of Champagne
Death	16 Mar 1181 (age 53-54)	Troyes, Aube, Champagne, France

Wife: Marie + of FRANCE

Name:	Marie + of FRANCE
Sex:	Female
Father:	Louis VII + (1119-1180)
Mother:	Eleanor of AQUITAINE (1121-1204)
Birth	1145	France
Occupation		Countess of Champagne
Title		Princess of France
Death	11 Mar 1198 (age 52-53)

Child 1: Henry II

Name:	Henry II
Sex:	Male
Birth	1166

Child 2: Marie + of CHAMPAGNE

Child 3: Scholastique of CHAMPAGNE

Name:	Scholastique of CHAMPAGNE
Sex:	Female
Death	1219

Child 4: Theobald

Name:	Theobald
Sex:	Male
Birth	1179

Note on Husband: Henry I +

Henry I of Champagne (died March 17, 1181), known as "the Liberal", was count of Champagne from 1152 to 1181. He was the eldest son of Count Thibaut II of Champagne (who was also Count Thibaut IV of Blois) and his wife, Matilda of Carinthia.

 

Henry took part in the Second Crusade under the leadership of Louis VII of France. He carried a letter of recommendation from Bernard of Clairvaux addressed to Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine Emperor; he is listed among the notables present at the assembly held by Baldwin III of Jerusalem at Acre on 24 June 1148.

 

On his father's death, Henry chose to take Champagne, leaving the family's older holdings (including Blois, Chartres, Sancerre, and Chateaudun) to his younger brothers. At the time this may have been surprising, for the other territories were richer and better developed. Henry must have foreseen the economic possibilities of Champagne, and it is during his rule that the county achieved its high place as one of the richest and strongest of the French principalities.

 

Henry established orderly rule over the nobles of Champagne, and could fairly reliably count on the aid of some 2,000 vassals, which just by itself made him a power few in France could equal. This order in turn made Champagne a safe place for merchants to gather, and under the count's protection the Champagne Fairs became a central part of long-distance trade and finance in medieval Europe.

 

In addition, the count's court in Troyes became a renowned literary center. Walter Map was among those who found hospitality there. The scholar Stephen of Alinerre was among Henry's courtiers, becoming chancellor of the county in 1176.

 

In 1179 Henry went to Jerusalem again with a party of French knights including his relatives Peter of Courtenay (brother of Louis VII) and Philip of Dreux, bishop of Beauvais. Henry returned towards Europe by the land route across Asia Minor, and was captured and held to ransom by Kilij Arslan II, Seljuk sultan of Rüm. The ransom was paid by the Byzantine Emperor and Henry was released, but died soon afterwards.

 

In 1164, Henry married Marie of France, Countess of Champagne, daughter of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

 

They had four children:

 

Scholastique of Champagne (died 1219), married William IV of Macon

Henry II (1166–1197)

Marie of Champagne (died 1204), married Baldwin I of Constantinople

Theobald (1179–1201)

He was succeeded by their eldest son Henry. After Henry became king of Jerusalem, the younger son Theobald became count.

Note on Wife: Marie + of FRANCE

Marie of France (or Marie Capet), Countess of Champagne (1145 – March 11, 1198) was the elder daughter of Louis VII of France and his first wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.

 

Marie's younger sister was Alix of France.

 

She was an older paternal half-sister to Marguerite of France, Alys, Countess of the Vexin, Philip II of France and Agnes of France. She was also an older maternal half-sister to William IX, Count of Poitiers, Henry the Young King, Matilda, Duchess of Saxony, Richard I of England, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, Leonora of England, Joan of England and John of England.

 

[edit] BiographyMarie's parents' marriage was annulled in 1152, and custody of Marie and her sister, Alix, was awarded to their father, King Louis. Their mother, Eleanor, married Henry, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy, later King Henry II of England, and so left France. In 1160, when her father, King Louis, married Adele of Champagne, he betrothed Marie and Alix to Adele's brothers. After her betrothal, Marie was sent to the abbey of Avenay in Champagne for her education.

 

In 1164, Marie married Henry I, Count of Champagne. They had four children:

 

Henry II of Champagne (1166–1197)

Marie of Champagne (died 1204), married Baldwin I of Constantinople

Theobald III of Champagne (1179–1201)

Scholastique of Champagne (died 1219), married William IV of Macon

Marie was left as Regent for Champagne when Henry I went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While her husband was away, Marie's father died and her half-brother, Philip, became king. He confiscated his mother's dower lands and married Isabelle of Hainaut, who was previously betrothed to Marie's eldest son. This prompted Marie to join a party of disgruntled nobles—including Queen Adele and the archbishop of Reims -- in plotting against Philip. Eventually, relations between Marie and her royal brother improved. Her husband died soon after his return from the Holy Land. Now a widow with four young children, Marie considered marrying Philip of Flanders, but the engagement was broken off suddenly for unknown reasons.

 

After Henry I's death in 1181, Marie acted as regent until 1187 when her son, Henry, came of age. However, Henry II also went on Crusade and so Marie was regent from 1190 to Henry's death in 1197. She retired to the nunnery of Fontaines-les-Nones near Meaux, and died there in 1198.

 

Marie is remembered today mainly for her role in the heresy that was the target of the Albigensian Crusade. She was also a patron of literature, including Andreas Capellanus, who served in her court, and Chrétien de Troyes. She was literate in French and Latin and maintained her own library. A deep affection existed between Marie and her half-brother Richard I of England, and his celebrated poem J'a nuns hons pris, lamenting his captivity in Austria, was dedicated to her.