Blois (/blwɑː/ BLWAH; French: [blwa] ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours.
With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the department, and the 4th of the region.
Charles of Orléans (24 November 1394 – 5 January 1465) was Duke of Orléans from 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis I, Duke of Orléans. He was also Duke of Valois, Count of Beaumont-sur-Oise and of Blois, Lord of Coucy, and the inheritor of Asti in Italy via his mother Valentina Visconti.
He is now remembered as an accomplished medieval poet, owing to the more than five hundred extant poems he produced, written in both French and English, during his 25 years spent as a prisoner of war and after his return to France.
Jack Mathieu Émile Lang (French pronunciation: [dʒak matjø emil lɑ̃ɡ]; born 2 September 1939) is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party, he served as Minister of Culture from 1981 to 1986 and again from 1988 to 1993, as well as Minister of National Education from 1992 to 1993 and 2000 to 2002.
He was also Mayor of Blois from 1989 until his resignation in 2000. Lang is best known for originating the Fête de la Musique in 1982 as Culture Minister, an all day public music festival which occurs yearly on 21 June in France and throughout the world. Since 2013 he has been president of the Arab World Institute in Paris.
Alix of France (July/August 1150 – 1197/1198) was countess consort of Blois by marriage to Theobald V, Count of Blois. She served as regent of Blois during Theobald's absence from in 1190–1191, and during the minority of their son Louis from 1191 until 1197. She was the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France.
Theuderic II (also spelled Theuderich, Theoderic or Theodoric; in French, Thierry) (c. 587–613), king of Burgundy (595–613) and Austrasia (612–613), was the second son of Childebert II. At his father's death in 595, he received Guntram's kingdom of Burgundy, with its capital at Orléans, while his elder brother, Theudebert II, received their father's kingdom of Austrasia, with its capital at Metz. He also received the lordship of the cities (civitates) of Toulouse, Agen, Nantes, Angers, Saintes, Angoulême, Périgueux, Blois, Chartres, and Le Mans. During his minority, and later, he reigned under the guidance of his grandmother Brunhilda, evicted from Austrasia by his brother Theudebert II.
In 596, Clotaire II, king of Neustria, and Fredegund, Clotaire's mother, took Paris, which was supposed to be held in common. Fredegund, then her son's regent, sent a force to Laffaux and the armies of Theudebert and Theuderic were defeated.
Loir-et-Cher (/ˌlwɑːr eɪ ˈʃɛər/; French: [lwaʁ e ʃɛʁ] ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. It is named after two rivers which run through it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher in its southern part. Its prefecture is Blois. The INSEE and La Poste gave it the number 41. It had a population of 329,470 in 2019.
Fulk III (c. 970 – 21 June 1040), known as Fulk the Black or Fulk Nerra Old French: Foulque Nerra), was an early count of Anjou , a ruthless man who was, however, celebrated as one of the first great builders of medieval castles. It is estimated Fulk constructed approximately 100 castles as well as abbeys throughout the Loire Valley. He fought successive wars with neighbors in Brittany, Blois, Poitou and Aquitaine and made four pilgrimages to Jerusalem during the course of his life. He had two wives and three children.
Fulk was a natural horseman and fearsome warrior with a keen sense of military strategy that bested most of his opponents. He was allied with the goals and aims of the Capetians against the dissipated Carolingians of his era. With his county seat at Angers, Fulk's bitter enemy was Odo II of Blois, his neighbor 128 km east along the Loire river, at Tours. The two men traded towns, followers and insults throughout their lives.
Theobald III of Blois (French: Thibaut; 1012–1089) was count of Blois, Meaux and Troyes. He was captured in 1044 by Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou, and exchanged the County of Touraine for his freedom. Theobald used his nephew's involvement with the Norman invasion of England to gain authority over the County of Champagne. He died in 1089.
Gervais de Château-du-Loir (1007–1067) was a French nobleman, bishop, and a powerful figure of his time in Northern France. He was Bishop of Le Mans from 1036 and Archbishop of Reims from 1055.
His father was Aimon de Château-du-Loir, whilst his mother was Hildeburge de Bellême, daughter of Yves de Bellême. His maternal uncle, Avesgaud de Bellême, Bishop of Le Mans, raised Gervais and groomed him to succeed to the Bishopric of Le Mans. He was a strong supporter of the family of Blois, and opposed to the Angevins. At one point, he had to seek refuge at the court of William, Duke of Normandy. Henry I appointed him Archbishop of Reims in 1055. As Archbishop, he crowned Philip I of France in 1059. Philip's father, Henry I of France, was then alive but died in 1060. Gervais was then regent with Baldwin V, Count of Flanders until 1066. Gervais died in 1067 and was buried in Reims Cathedral.
