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Name:
Adela Princess Of England
 Relationship to Thomas Montague
Birth:
ABT 1062 Normandy, France
Father:
William I The Conqueror (King of England 1066-1087)
Mother:
Matilda de Flandre
Married:
Henri II Etienne Blois & Meaux 1080 Breteuil, Eure, Normandy, France
Children:
Married:
Henri Stephen "Le Sage" Count Of Champagne Blois ABT 1080 Breteuil, Eure, Normandy, France
Children:
M Blois
Born:
A Blois
Born:
Guillaume De Champagne
Born: ABT 1080 Blois, Loir-Et-Cher, France
Died: 1150
Theobald Blois
Born: ABT 1088 Of Blois, Loir-Et-Cher, France
Died: 10 JAN 1151/1152 Marne, Blois, France
Emma Of Blois
Born: ABT 1088 Blois, Loir-Et-Cher, France
Died: 1101
Philip Of Blois
Born: ABT 1092 Blois, Loir-Et-Cher, France
Died: DECEASED
Humbert De Champagne
Born: ABT 1094 Blois, Loir-Et-Cher, France
Died: Died Young
Stephen I De Blois King Of England
Born: ABT 1097 Blois, Loir-Et-Cher, Orleanais/Centre, France
Died: 25 OCT 1154 Dover, Kent, England
Maud Of Blois
Born: ABT 1097 Of Blois, Orleanais, France
Died: 25 NOV 1120 At Sea Off, Barfleur, Normandy, France
Lithuise Adela De Champagne
Born: ABT 1098 Blois, Loir-Et-Cher, France
Died: 1118
Henry (Bishop Of Winchester) Blois
Born: ABT 1099
Alix De Champagne
Born: ABT 1100 Blois, Loir-Et-Cher, France
Died: ABT 1145
Eleonore De Champagne
Born: ABT 1102 Blois, Loir-Et-Cher, France
Died: 14 OCT 1141
Death:
8 MAR 1136/1137 Marsigny, Charente-Maritim, France aged 74
Remarks:
Name Suffix: [Countess Of Bloise
Ancestral File Number: 8XJ0-3C
Adela, French ADÉLE (b. 1062?--d. 1137), daughter of William I the Conqueror of England and his wife, Matilda of Flanders, and mother of Stephen, king of England, whose right to the throne derived through her. She was married to Stephen, earl of Meaux and Brie, in 1080 at Breteuil. Upon the death of his father in 1090, her husband succeeded to the earldom of Blois and Chartres. She appears to have played an active role in the administration of her husband's lands, regularly witnessing his charters, took an active interest in civil and ecclesiasticalaffairs, and was instrumental in rebuilding the catherdral of Chartres in stone. Having inherited her father's appetite and ability to rule, she became regent in 1095 when she persuaded her popular but weak-willed husband to join the First Crusade to the Holy Land. Although in charge of the central funds of the Crusade, Stephen deserted at Antioch in 1098, understandably enough in face of overwhelming odds. Unfortunately for his reputation, the crusaders survived and succeeded in capturing Jerusalem in 1099. After Stephen's return home in 1099, Adela waged a sustained campaign of bullying and moral blackmail that extended into their bedroom where, between intercourse, she would urge Stephen to think of his reputation and return to the Holy Land. In the end, her nagging worked and Stephen departed east once more in 1101, to meet a satisfactorily noble deathat Ramlah in 1102. No longer a coward's wife but more congenially a hero's widow, Adela continued to rule Blois-Chartres during the minority of her sons. Anselm, her guest and teacher in 1097, was often entertained by her during 1103 and 1105 and she affected a temporary reconciliation between him and her brother,Henry I, who lavished patronage on her second son, Stephen, and appointed a third, Henry, bishop of Winchester, the richest see in England. In 1107 Adela entertained Pope Pascal during Easter and in the following year was hostess to Bohemund of Antioch. She made her son Theobald her successor in 1109, and persuaded him to join her brother Henry I against France in 1117. In 1120 she retired to the abbey of Marcigny-sur-Loire where she died in 1137. By all accounts a forceful personality, Adela's qualities were not uncommon among women artistocrats, although more often they found an outlet in the running of nunneries. Adela'ssecular career, as de facto ruler for more than a decade of one of the most powerful principalities of northern France, is exceptional testimony to the powerof breeding as well as to her own determination. She was a benevolent patroness of churches and monasteries. Although married to a French count and living tosee a son crowned king of England, she chose to be buried beside her mother atCaen under an inscription 'Adela, filia regis'. She was always the Conqueror'sdaughter. [Sources: Who's Who in Early Medieval England, Christopher Tyerman, Shepheard-Walwyn, Ltd., London, 1996; Encyclopædia Britannica CD, 1997]

Database: stanwardine   Bridge Family Tree
Contact: William Bridge   williambridge@stanwardine.com   www.stanwardine.com