| Blanche of Navarre | |
|---|---|
 Countess Blanche on her seal | |
| Born | c. 1177 |
| Died | c.(1229-03-13)13 March 1229 |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | Theobald I of Navarre |
| House | Jiménez |
| Father | Sancho VI of Navarre |
| Mother | Sancha of Castile |
Blanche of Navarre (c. 1177–1229) wasCountess of Champagne by marriage toTheobald III, Count of Champagne, and regent ofChampagne during the minority of her sonTheobald I of Navarre between 1201 and 1222.[1]
She was the youngest daughter ofSancho VI of Navarre[2] andSancha of Castile,[3][4] who died in 1179, about two years after Blanche's birth. Her eldest brother,Sancho VII, succeeded their father and was the lastagnatic descendant of the first dynasty ofkings of Navarre, the Pamplona dynasty, dying childless. Her elder sisterBerengaria marriedRichard I of England. Blanche of Navarre was also cousins with Blanche of Castile, who later became the queen of France, and the two kept in contact.[5]
Blanche marriedTheobald III, Count of Champagne,[6] on 1 July 1199 atChartres, when she was 22-years-old and he was 20-years-old.
Theobald III died young on 24 May 1201, leaving her pregnant. When she gave birth to a son on 30 May 1201, he immediately became Theobald IV, Count of Champagne (Theobald I of Navarre). Blanche ruled the county asregent until Theobald turned 21 years old in 1222. The regency was plagued by a number of difficulties. Blanche's brother-in-law, countHenry II had left behind a great deal of debt. Henry was the elder son but had transferred the land to his younger brother, Theobald III.
Furthermore, their son Theobald IV's right to the succession of Champagne was challenged by Henry's daughterPhilippa and her husband,Erard I of Brienne, Count of Ramerupt and one of the more powerfulChampagne nobles. The conflict with the Briennes broke into open warfare in 1215, in what became known as theChampagne War of Succession, and was not resolved until after Theobald came of age in 1222. After the death of her husband, however, Blanche had taken immediate action to secure the county of Champagne for her son. She found King Philip at Sens and paid him homage, which was the first homage rendered by a countess.[7] She did this to maintain wardship and the right over her lands and in exchange she promised to not marry without the king's permission. Prince Louis then proclaimed in a letter to Jean of Brienne, that neither he nor King Philip would hear a challenge against Theobald IV's claim until he was twenty-one.[8] In this letter, Prince Louis also confirmed that Henry II did indeed transfer the land to his brother. At that time Theobald and Blanche bought out their rights for a substantial monetary payment. Blanche had also arranged the dowry of Henry II's elder daughterAlice of Champagne, when she married the youngHugh I of Cyprus. In the 1230s, in order to settle with Alice, Theobald IV had to sell his overlordship over the counties ofBlois,Sancerre, andChâteaudun toLouis IX of France.
With her regency completed, in 1222 Blanche withdrew to theCistercian convent of Argensolles, whose foundation she had funded herself, for her retirement.
Since some barons suspected Theobald for having a hand in the death ofLouis VIII (in November 1226),Blanche of Castile withdrew his invitation to the coronation of Louis IX and proffered it to Blanche instead.[9]
Blanche died on 13 March 1229, seven years after the end of her regency, at the age of 52. In her will she left 5 marks of gold to theCathedral of Reims, which was used to build a statue to contain the Holy Milk of the Virgin.[10]
After Blanche's death, her brother in retirement remained as King of Navarre and her son Theobald continued as Count of Champagne. Their eldest sister,Berengaria of Navarre, Queen of England (widow of Richard the Lionheart), died without issue in 1230, leaving Sancho as the sole surviving child of Sancho VI. When he died in 1234, Blanca's son Theobald IV of Champagne was recognized as the next King of Navarre. Theobald had married twice during Blanche's lifetime and had one daughter by the time of her death, who was also namedBlanche.
Blanche had two children with Theobald III of Champagne:
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