Emma of Blois was Duchess consort of Aquitaine by marriage. She also ruled Aquitaine as regent for her son William V.

She is my 26 x great-grandmother.

Emma was born in France sometime in the 950s, daughter of Theobald I of Blois and Luitgarde of Vermandois¹.

Titles

When she married her husband William IV, Duke of Aquitaine, she would have become the Duchess consort of Aquitaine. I have not found any evidence she formally held this title, or used it in any way.

Before her husband died, her underage son William inherited the title of Duke of Aquitaine. Emma ruled as a regent until William V took the reins of power.

Family

In 968, Emma married William IV, Duke of Aquitaine. Together they had at least four children¹:

• A son in 969, also called William, who became William V of Aquitaine.
• Ebles of Aquitaine.
• Other children who are referred to but not named in the sources I’ve found so far.

Notable events

After marrying, Emma of Blois grew tired of her philandering husband’s antics. She knew he had a soft spot for Aldéarde of Thouars, wife of Herbert I. Because of this she had Aldéarde beaten up and brutally raped. Emma lived to regret this course of action.

In 990 she founded the abbey of St Peter in Bourgueil^{2 3} to atone for the attack on Aldéarde.

Death

She died possibly on 01 August 1003. We do not know how she died, or where she is buried⁴.

Lineage

She is my 26 x great-grandmother.

References

1. fmg.ac. (n.d.). AQUITAINE DUKES. [online] Available at: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/AQUITAINE.htm[↩][↩]
2. Saint-Pierre Abbey (Bourgueil, Indre-et-Loire); Catalogue General de la France; 2006-08-30[↩]
3. Dictionnaire géographique, historique et biographique d’Indre-et-Loire et de l’ancienne province de Touraine : par J.-X. Carré de Busserolle,…. Tome I; Carré de Busserolle, Jacques-Xavier; 1878-1884; p358[↩]
4. Central France, Bois, Tours; Charles Crawley; Medieval Lands; (Retrieved 2018-12-10) [↩]