3Theobald I (913 - 978), called
the Cheat(
er) or
the Trickster (le Tricheur), was the first
count of Blois,
Chartres, and
Châteaudun from 960, and
Tours from 945.
Theobald was initially a vassal of
Hugh the Great,
Duke of France. Around 945, he captured King
Louis IV to the benefit of Hugh. In return for freedom, the king granted him the city of
Laon. He took the title of "count" in Tours. He seized Chartres and Châteaudun and remarried his sister to
Fulk II of Anjou. In 958, he met Fulk in
Verron and the two described themselves as "governor and administrator [of the] kingdom [of Neustria]" and comites Dei gratia ("counts by the grace of God").
Theobald's sister married
Alan II of Brittany and Theobald governed the duchy during the minority of her son
Drogo. Thus, Theobald extended his influence all the way to
Rennes.
In 960, he began opposing
Richard I of Normandy and entered into a long war with the
Normans. In 961, he attacked
Évreux. The Normans responded by attacking
Dunois. In 962, he launched an assault on
Rouen which failed. The Normans burned Chartres in response. He took control of the fortresses of
Saint-Aignan in the
Loir-et-Cher,
Vierzon, and
Anguillon in
Berry.
During the minority of
Hugh Capet, he reinforced Chartres and Châteaudun. Around 960, he built
Saumur. By his death, he had built a vast power on the
Loire, dominating central France.
His daughter Emma brought him the county of
Provins, nucleus of the later
county of Champagne.
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Europaische Stammtafeln Band II Tafel 42.