Theobald I

Timeline

1. 1201–1234Troyes · ChampagneBorn in Troyes in 1201, he inherited the County of Champagne in 1216. In the 1220s he patronized literature at the Champagne court and, as a troubadour, composed a large body of French lyric and narrative verse, earning renown as one of the most outstanding poet-monarchs of the Middle Ages. In 1226 he accompanied Louis VIII in the later stages of the Albigensian Crusade.
2. 1234–1253Pamplona · PamplonaHe became King of Navarre in 1234 through matrilineal succession, uniting the two great domains of Champagne and Navarre. He took part in the Seventh Crusade in 1239–1240 and mediated a conflict between France and England in 1248. Throughout his reign he continued composing poetry, promoting court culture and a balance in Iberian politics, and died in Pamplona on 8 July 1253.