War of the Succession of Champagne The War of the Succession of Champagne was a war from 1216 to 1222 between the nobles of the Champagne region of France , occurring within that region and also spilling over into neighboring duchies . The war lasted two years and " de facto " ended in 1218 , but did not officially end until Theobald IV reached the age of majority in 1222 , at which point his rivals abandoned their claims . Origins . In 1190 , Henry II , count of Champagne , left his county for the Crusades with his two uncles Philip II of France and Richard I of England ( Henry ' s mother was the daughter of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine , and thus half - sister to Philip via her father and to Richard via her mother ) . He made the barons of Champagne swear to pay homage to his brother Theobald if he should die on Crusade . In the Holy Land , Henry was crowned king of Jerusalem and - to reinforce his legitimacy - married for the second time to queen Isabella , second wife and widow of Conrad of Montferrat , despite the fact that her first husband ( from whom she had been forced to separate ) was still alive . Henry and Isabella had three daughters and no surviving sons and so , when Henry II died in 1197 , his brother inherited the county as Theobald III . Theobald III then died of a sudden illness four years later in 1201 while preparing to lead the Fourth Crusade , leaving his widow Blanche of Navarre nine months pregnant with their son Theobald IV , born after his father ' s death . In 1215 Henry II ' s third daughter Philippa of Champagne married a nobleman from Champagne living in the Holy Land . His name was Erard of Brienne - Ramerupt , and he was a cousin of John of Brienne , king of Jerusalem . It was he who gave Philippa the idea of claiming the county of Champagne . Blanche of Navarre , however , proved to be an incredibly strong and efficient regent , and had devoted herself for the past 15 years to ensuring the legal status of her son Theobald IV as rightful heir . Blanche was aided in securing her powerbase during the first few shakey years of her regency by the fact that so many lords and knights of the county , who might have posed a challenge to her , had left to fight on the Fourth Crusade from 1202 to 1204 . Queen Mother Adèle of Champagne ( who was Theobald III ' s aunt ) also took Blanche under her wing , giving Blanche vital counsel during the early years of her regency until Adèle ' s death in 1206 ( for the rest of her life , Blanche would make large monastic donations devoted to Adèle ' s memory ) . By 1216 , despite the fact that Erard rallied most of the local barons of the county against Blanche , she had built up such strong alliances with both King Philip II as well as Pope Innocent III that Erard never gained any official legal support for his claims . From the start of the conflict , Pope Innocent III began excommunicating rebel barons , negatively affecting their efforts . Further , while Theobald IV was still an underaged youth of 13 years , he had acquitted himself so valiantly in combat at the decisive Battle of Bouvines that King Philip II threw his full support behind him ( though this was also the culmination of over a decade of Blanche cementing an alliance with the monarchy , through financial ties and homage ) . Course . Beginning Maneuvers ( 1216 ) . Erard and Philippa landed in France in January 1216 . On their journey to Le Puy - en - Velay , Erard was arrested by agents of the king of France but managed to escape and get to Champagne . Erard and his supporters took up a position in Noyers , which Blanche of Navarre then besieged in April 1216 . That same month Erard accepted a truce and submitted the matter to the king of France for arbitration . In July 1216 , King Philip II finally heard Erard ' s suit at Melun , but ruled in Blanche ' s favor due to the overwhelming evidence she provided : the barons of the realm had sworn to support Theobald III should Henry II not return from the Holy Land , Theobald III had done homage to the king in 1198 , Blanche had done homage to the king in 1201 , and Theobald IV himself had made an innovative " anticipatory homage " in 1214 . Blanche even provided numerous letters patent , bearing the seals of the barons who had sworn homage . Philip II ordained that the barons await the majority of Theobald IV and his assumption of his rights as Count ( when he turned 21 years old in May 1222 ) . Philip II ordered Erard and the barons to seal their own letters patent confirming the court ' s decision and promising to observe a truce . Open Rebellion ( 1217 ) . No sooner had Erard returned to his holdings in Champagne than he and his rebel supporters quickly broke the truce and took up arms against Blanche . In spring 1217 war began in earnest and the local barons of Champagne , all more or less supporting Philippa , abandoned Blanche to rally to Erard . Theobald I , Duke of Lorraine took on Erard ' s cause , as did his brother - in - law Miles , Seigneur de Noyers , and his nephew André de Pougy , Seigneur de Marolles - sur - Seine and de Saint Valérien . The support of the Duke of Lorraine added a substantial amount of strength to the rebel forces . Most of the fighting was concentrated in southeastern Champagne , as Blanche ' s forces pushed east from her capital at Troyes on the Seine river , to rebel fortresses on the Aube river ( Erard ' s holding at Ramerupt north of Troyes ) and further east on the Marne river ( Joinville and Langres ) . Two of Blanche ' s most dangerous enemies were the brothers William and Simon de Joinville , both of whom broke peace treaties they had made with Blanche in 1214 to switch to Erard ' s side . Simon de Joinville was Blanche ' s own seneschal ( though he had obtained the office through hereditary right , not appointment by Blanche ) . William was the bishop of Langres to the southeast , who also held overlordship of the county of Bar - sur - Aube . Apart from various sieges , during the early part of the conflict Erard and his rebel barons attacked merchant caravans traveling to the Champagne fairs at Troyes and Bar - sur - Aube . However , each side soon realized that they did not want to disrupt this vital source of monetary income . During the later years of the war , therefore , Erard would agree to truces with Blanche that would last weeks or months at a time , in order for the trade fairs to occur unmolested . In return , Blanche would pay off Erard with a large fraction of the revenue from the comital taxes exacted from the trade fairs . Foreign Intervention and Climax ( 1218 ) . The rebellion remained a localized affair , largely driven by the self - interest of the local barons , though by spring 1218 it attracted the intervention of Blanche ' s liege - lords King Philip II of France and Odo III , Duke of Burgundy , as well as Frederick II , Holy Roman Emperor . Duke Theobald I of Lorraine had sided with rival Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV against Frederick II during the recent round of civil wars in Germany , thus their entry on opposite sides of the conflict was an extension of Hohenstaufen - Welf antagonisms . Emperor Frederick II , the suzerain of Lorraine , considered it a felony for Duke Theobald I of Lorraine to support a candidate he opposed , so he occupied the city of Rosheim , which he had given to Theobald I ' s father . Theobald I responded in 1218 , retaking Rosheim and then ravaging Alsace , particularly Frederick II ' s vineyards . Nonetheless Theobald I lost Rosheim again when a pro - Frederick II uprising in the city killed the Lorraine garrison ( massacring them in their cellars after inviting them down to sample their wines ) . After two years , the papal excommunications and interdicts had also taken their toll , isolating the rebel barons . The Church ' s prelates in Champagne aided Blanche at the order of Pope Innocent III , with the notable exception of William , bishop of Langres , who ignored papal orders to excommunicate his own brother Simon . Blanche ' s forces ravaged the lands of her traitorous seneschal Simon de Joinville , and she imposed a humiliating surrender agreement : Simon ' s fortresses were seized , his eldest son Geoffroy was taken hostage , and Simon was forced to transfer his ancestral castle at Joinville to his brother Bishop William as security for his good conduct . The entry of Burgundy and Bar into the war began to turn the tide against the rebels . With the aid of Odo III of Burgundy and Count Henry II of Bar , Countess - Regent Blanche rode with her army to Lorraine ' s capital of Nancy in 1218 and burned the town . Blanche then joined with Emperor Frederick II to besiege the castle of Amance . The Duke Theobald I of Lorraine surrendered Amance by the end of May 1218 , and officially renewed his fidelity to Blanche on June 1 , at which point the rebellion largely collapsed and rebel barons started making their own separate peaces . Securing the Peace ( 1218 - 1222 ) . Theobald I of Lorraine died in May 1220 under mysterious circumstances , and to seal the peace the 19 year old Theobald IV of Champagne married Lorraine ' s 16 year old widow , Gertrude of Dagsburg . Duke Theobald I ' s brother Matthew II , who succeeded in Lorraine , made peace and swore fealty to Blanche . Bishop William of Langres was elected archbishop of Reims in 1219 , resulting in his fortuitous departure from the conflict . Erard renounced any claim on Champagne on 2 November 1221 and Philippa in April 1222 . In return for renouncing his claims , Erard received a substantial cash settlement . The last rebel baron , Erard II of Chacernay , swore his renewed loyalty to Theobald IV in March 1222 . Two months later in May 1222 , Theobald IV reached the age of maturity and began his reign as count , and the triumphant Countess - Regent Blanche withdrew to the Cistercian convent of Argensolles for her retirement . Aftermath . Blanche and Theobald IV had centralized comital authority within Champagne , reining in the rebellious local barons and ending any pretensions of collegiate rule in the county . Theobald IV promptly divorced Gertrude as soon as he came of age and peace was secured , terminating their brief two - year - long and childless marriage , in order to marry Agnes of Beaujeu . Unfortunately , Theobald IV ' s rule was initially marked by a series of misfortunes : he was accused of abandoning King Louis VIII at the siege of Avignon ( 1226 ) , costing him the royal alliance he had relied on to secure his inheritance . Moreover , strong rumors began to spread that Theobald IV was having an affair with Louis VIII ' s widow , the Queen Regent Blanche of Castile ( ruled 1226 - 1234 ) , for whom he composed a poetic homage ( Blanche of Castile and Theobald IV ' s father Theobald III were both grandchildren of Eleanor of Aquitaine ) . Theobald IV was becoming increasingly influential at court , and the other great counts of France were becoming resentful ( it is entirely possible that the rumors of an affair with the queen regent were indeed unfounded , and merely fabricated by other barons jealous of his position at court ) . In general , the other barons were jealous of the strengthened County of Champagne which had emerged from the Succession War , and now presented a major rival to surrounding areas . Whatever the case , the resentful other barons invaded Champagne from 1229 - 1230 . Ironically , the alliances in the invasion were reversed from the arrangement they had been in during the Succession War : Count Henry II of Bar attacked Champagne from the east , prompting Theobald IV to ally with Lorraine to attack the County of Bar . Simon of Joinville , who had fought for the rebel faction during the Succession War , now allied with Theobald IV against the external threat , and aided him in ravaging Bar , which was on the northern border of Joinville ' s own lands . Unfortunately , the conflict with the County of Bar prompted the more powerful Duchy of Burgundy to invade Champagne from the south , led by Duke Hugh IV ( his father Odo III , Blanche of Navarre ' s staunch ally , had died in 1218 ) . This provoked Queen - Regent Blanche of Castile to intervene , in order to stop the spread of the conflict . Theobald IV was able to repulse the attackers , but at great cost . Champagne ' s economy was so depleted by these two major wars , as well as the crusading debts of Theobald IV ' s father and uncle , that Theobald IV had to sell off his overlordship of the counties west of Paris that his ancestors held before expanding east to Champagne : Blois , Sancerre , and Chateaudun . Another major blow to morale came near the start of the invasion of 1229 , when Blanche of Navarre died ( of natural causes ) while in retirement at Argensolles convent . Moreover , Theobald IV ' s second wife Agnes of Beaujeu suddenly died in 1231 , leaving Theobald IV with only their five - year - old daughter , Blanche . This left Champagne in need of a male heir , prompting Theobald IV to remarry in 1232 to Margaret of Bourbon . The situation reached its nadir in 1233 , when Henry II ' s elder daughter Queen Alice of Cyprus threatened to reprise the succession war of Theobald IV ' s minority yet again . Alice had become queen of Cyprus by marrying her stepbrother Hugh I of Cyprus in 1210 . However , the fortunes of Theobald IV and Champagne dramatically shifted soon afterward , when in 1234 he became King of Navarre on the death of his uncle ( after successfully outmaneuvering James I of Aragon ' s attempt to succeed in Navarre ) . Suddenly , Theobald IV became too wealthy and powerful for neighboring counts to risk fighting . This also ended Alice of Cyprus ' s attempt to renew the succession war , and she was paid off with a substantial cash settlement . Alice was at this time engaged in the War of the Lombards against Blanche ' s old ally Emperor Frederick II , so it is possible that Alice did not want to fight two wars at once , and wanted to concentrate on the direct threat to Cyprus itself . This war was based on Emperor Frederick II ' s attempt to claim the throne of Jerusalem and Cyprus , based on his marriage to Isabella II of Jerusalem , the young half - niece of Alice and Philippa ( Isabella II ' s mother Maria was the daughter of Isabella I of Jerusalem by her previous husband Conrad , while Alice and Philippa were the daughters of her subsequent husband Henry II of Champagne ) . Maria died giving birth to Isabella II in 1212 , and Isabella II died in 1228 giving birth to Frederick II ' s son Conrad IV , sparking the war against Frederick II over control of his son ' s regency . Theobald IV spent most of his subsequent time and attention in Navarre , but the removal of external threats ensured an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity for Champagne that would last for the next five decades . Margaret of Bourbon and Theobald IV ultimately had four surviving children together , including Theobald IV ' s successor Theobald II of Navarre ( Theobald V of Champagne ) , who would rule from his father ' s death in 1253 to 1270 . Theobald IV and Margaret ' s two daughters Margaret and Beatrix were married to the dukes of Lorraine and Burgundy respectively , to cement peaceful relations through marriage - alliance . After Theobald II / V died childless while on the Eighth Crusade , his younger brother Henry I of Navarre ( Henry III of Champagne ) succeeded him for a brief but talented reign which ended when he also died in 1274 , leaving only his one year old daughter ( Theobald IV ' s granddaughter ) Joan I of Navarre as his heir . Henry ' s wife Blanche of Artois would rule Champagne as regent for Joan until 1284 , when Joan ( at 11 years old , still under the regency of her mother ) was married to King Philip IV the Fair of France ( who was himself 16 years old ) . With this marriage alliance to the Kings of France , Champagne was absorbed into the royal holdings . Philip IV and Joan had three sons who each ruled as king of France in turn , because each was unable to produce a male heir . When their last son Charles IV of France died without a male heir in 1328 the Capetian Dynasty ended , resulting in Philip of House Valois ( Philip IV ' s nephew ) and King Edward III of England ( son of Isabella , Philip IV and Joan ' s daughter , great - granddaughter of Theobald IV ) entering into conflict over the succession , which began the Hundred Years ' War .