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Counts of Blois
| Count of Blois | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Arms of the House of Blois | |
| Creation date | 832 |
| Created by | Louis the Pious |
| Peerage | Nobility of France |
| First holder | William, Count of Blois |
| Last holder | Gaston, Duke of Orléans |
| Subsidiary titles |
|
| Status | Dissolved |
| Extinction date | 1660 |
| Seat(s) | Château of Blois |
During the Middle Ages, the counts of Blois were among the most powerful vassals of the King of France.
This title of nobility seems to have been created in 832 by Emperor Louis the Pious for William, the youngest son of Adrian, Count of Orléans. Over a few decades, the county was gathered to the royal lands of France until the end of the 9th century, before being relegated to the status of viscount.
From its autonomy around 940 to the definitive integration to the Duchy of Orleans in 1397, the county was directed by the son of the last viscount's descendants, Theobald I. His descendants, called House of Blois ended up related to a large number of European noble families.
In 1397, the title was ceded by Count Guy II in the favor of Duke Louis I of Orléans, who was the second son of King Charles V. The very last hereditary count of Blois was his grandson, Duke Louis II, who annexed the county to the Crown lands of France when he was crowned King of France in 1498 under the name of Louis XII.
The title reappeared in 1626 when Duke Gaston of Orléans was offered a newly independent County of Blois from Orléans, but King Louis XIV refused this favor to his brother, Duke Philippe, when he received the traditional apanage in 1660.
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