Blois

/blwann/, n.

a city in and the capital of Loire-et-Cher, in central France, on the Loire River: historic castle. 51,950.

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▪ France

      city, capital of Loir-et-Cher département, Centre région, central France, on the Loire River, northeast of Tours. First mentioned in the 6th century by Gregory of Tours, it was by the early Middle Ages seat of the powerful counts of Blois, from whom descended the Capetian kings of France. At the end of the 14th century, Blois was acquired by Louis de France, duc d'Orléans. Joan of Arc set out from Blois in 1429 to raise the siege of Orléans. In 1498 the son of Duke Charles and grandson of Duke Louis succeeded to the French throne as Louis XII. He had been born in the château, and from his coronation until the end of the 16th century, Blois was almost a second capital of France. Under Henry III, the States-General twice met there. At the second of the two meetings most of the deputies supported the Catholic League and its leader, Henri de Guise, who had been plotting with Spain to take the throne. Henry III, fearing deposition, had Guise murdered on the second floor of the château, Dec. 23, 1588. The queen mother, Catherine de Médicis, died a few days later in a room just below. Marie De Médicis was imprisoned there by her son, Louis XIII, but escaped after two years of luxurious confinement. In 1626 the same Louis sent his brother, Gaston de France, duc d'Orléans, to Blois, inviting him to redesign the château. The classical wing designed by François Mansart was the result.

      The château, begun as a feudal castle, displays splendid work of all the architectural periods from the 13th to the 17th century. The main hall, where the States-General met, is 13th century; the Charles d'Orléans Gallery is mid-15th, while the Chapelle Saint-Calais and the Louis XII Wing (1498–1503) mark the transition between Gothic and Renaissance. The Francis I facade (1515–24) is pure Renaissance, and its extraordinary staircase spirals five stories upward in a sculptured octagonal case.

      Many of the ancient buildings between the château and the river were destroyed in World War II; some have since been rebuilt. The town has some picturesque streets and many Gothic and Renaissance buildings. It is a major tourist centre of the Loire Valley and an important market for the corn (maize), asparagus, and wine produced in the surrounding countryside. Chocolate and footwear are also made. The policy of decentralizing industry in the Paris region has promoted recent growth in Blois and other cities of the Loire Valley. Pop. (1999) 49,171; (2005 est.) 48,200.

▪ countship, France

      feudal countship that rose to great importance in medieval France as its holders came to possess not only the city of Blois itself and its immediate vicinity, the Blésois, but also other domains.

      Under Robert the Strong (d. 866), duke of the entire region between the Seine and Loire rivers and ancestor of the French royal house of Capet, Blois was an appointive viscounty. About 940 the title of count was assumed by Thibaut I the Old, or the Cheat (d. c. 977), who founded the hereditary house of Blois. He enlarged his domain until it extended from the Indre River to the Eure.

      From 987, when the accession of the Capetians (Capetian dynasty) to the French throne was firmly established, the counts of Blois were the king's immediate vassals; but they were also his most dangerous rivals. The immediate successors of Thibaut I continued to enlarge their domain, sometimes at the expense of the Capetians. When Eudes II (d. 1037) acquired Champagne (c. 1023), the Capetian domain was threatened both west and east by Blois–Champagne power. After the death of Eudes, however, his territories were gradually divided among his descendants, until Thibaut IV the Great (died 1152) reunited Champagne (as Thibaut II) with Blois in 1125.

      Thibaut (whose brothers Henry and Stephen became, respectively, the bishop of Winchester and the king of England) was considered the second most powerful person in France; he was alternately the ally and the enemy of Louis VI and Louis VII. The countship was then at the zenith of its power. When Blois and Champagne were finally divided between Thibaut's sons in 1152, the countship began to decline. In 1230 it passed to the House of Châtillon and was further divided.

      In the late 14th century Blois was sold to Louis de France, duc d'Orléans. In 1498 his grandson became king of France as Louis XII, and Blois passed to the crown. Gaston de France (Orléans, Gaston, duc d', duc d'Anjou), duc d'Orléans, held Blois as an appanage from 1626 to 1660. Subsequently, Louis XIV gave it to his brother Philippe I, duc d'Orléans, with whose descendants it remained until the French Revolution.

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