Stephen+of+Blois

The least dedicated Crusader? This page should be used to create a biography of the life of Stephen. This should include details about his life prior to going on the Crusade, his involvement in the journey, including his early departure and also his later fate. This should include quotes where possible.

PLAN Stephen's life prior to the crusade including his links with the Norman monarchy ruling in England. Stephens motivations for participating in the crusade, was it self gain was it for pure religous reasons? Stephens early arrival at Constantinople and his relationship and opinion of the Emperor Alexius. Involvement throughout the crossing of Asia Minor and his desertion at the seige of Antioch. The relationship between him and his wife to which he wrote to many a time whilst on crusade and an account of his return to the holy land and his death at the battle of Ramla.

Stephen of Blois was born in the Blois region south of Pais, Stephen was the count of Both Chatres and Blois and he had gathered a rich wealth from the bountiful farmland in his rule. He was son of Theobald III and Garsinde du Maine, he also married William the conqueror's sister Adela of Normandy. Pre crusade Stephen was an inimportant figure and remained a minor player in the affairs of the crusade but he always maintained his thoughts that he was a key player, especially in regards to descion taken between the crusaders and the Emperor. Due to the large amount of wealth Stephen had and with two tiltles been both the count of Chatres and Blois he sought tot ake part in the crusade to better himself by performing the the will of god and taking up the cross, Stephen set an objective of vowing to reach Jerusalem. We are unsure as to the motivation of Stephen although we already know that when departing for the holy land he had a rich wealth. Therefore, as a man motivated by wealth he may have wanted to go on the crusade in order to enhance his riches. However, because of his wealth, he may not have not needed extra riches and may have actually been motivated by religious reasons.

Stephen journeyed through Asia Minor alongside both Robert of Flanders and Robert of Normandy, his brother in law; two powerful and influential figure over the course of the Crusades. Having said this, Stephen of Blois was considered ‘something of a reluctant Crusader’ and thus we can argue that his involvement in the campaigns was somewhat limited, but he may have had some sway on the decisions of the Roberts’. Further, we could suggest that the biggest impact he had upon the Crusade came from his involvement in the Battle of Antioch. This particular siege lasted 10 months: starvation and suffering from various maladies was commonplace and so is frequently described as the ‘defining moment, a point at which the success, or indeed survival, of the entire expedition seems to be in terrible doubt.’ We can argue that Stephen of Blois ‘openly showed [his] fear’ and brought about a possible end. Despite being appointed commander in chief upon arrival at Antioch, Stephen believed that prospects of surviving the harsh battle were bleak and so on the 2nd of June he announced he was ill; leaving along with many of his fellow Crusaders from Blois. Losing a figurehead obviously lowered moral significantly and made people question the Crusades. However, Stephen was the cause of more difficulties, as ‘he did not wait to face the enemy’ but fled with the coming of Kerbogha and informed Alexius (who had come with a supporting army) that the Crusading forces had been defeated; information that proved to be premature and incorrect. In this sense, we can attribute his desertion to being a factor in the rifts that later appeared between Alexius and the Crusading Princes. [AJ]

The battle took place in 1102. Due to poor intelligence the commander of the force, Baldwin, along with Stephen, hugely underestimated the size of the Egyptian force and rode with only 500 troops to attack the Egyptians. Seeing the size of the Egyptian force, Baldwin saw that he was too late to flee and the Egyptians had cut off their escape. Many of the knights charged into the Egyptian lines and were slaughtered. However, Baldwin and the remaining soldiers were able to barricade themselves in Ramla's single tower. Baldwin escaped under the cover of night traveling to Arsuf where he convinced an English ship captain to break through the Egyptian blockade of Jaffa, which was being besieged by the Fatimids. With the arrival of a fleet of French and German Crusaders, Baldwin was able to assemble an army of 8,000 men. In the Battle of Jaffa, he led a cavalry charge that once again broke the Egyptian lines and forced the Fatimid forces to flee to Ascalon. The crusaders mounted one final charge from Ramlas Tower, in which Stephen of Blois was killed. (MB)