Marie of Blois was the daughter of
Count Theobald of Champagne and
Matilda of Carinthia. She became
duchess of Burgundy by her marriage to
Odo II of Burgundy in 1145. After the death of her husband in 1162, she became the guardian and thus regent of her son,
Hugh, who became the duke of Burgundy when he was fourteen years old. She tried to marry her son to
Eleanor of Vermandois, the daughter of
Ralph I of Vermandois and
Petronilla of Aquitaine. The match fell through for unknown reasons even though Marie had the support of
Louis VII of France. As Hugh grew older and fell under the influence of the noblemen and Guy of Vergy, his relationship with his mother deteriorated and he wanted to free himself from her guardianship. In April 1165, Marie was driven from the court and deprived of her dowry. She was thus forced to ask for help from Louis VII of France, who summoned both Marie and Hugh to court, but Hugh ignored his summons. After several warnings that remained unanswered, the king began to make preparations for war. Hugh made an alliance with the
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who then sent
Henry I of Champagne to serve as a mediator between the king and the duke. Henry seems to have succeeded in restoring peace between Marie and Hugh without the need of armed battle between the King of France and the Holy Roman Emperor. Marie died in 1190; the list of abbesses inside of the abbey lists that she died in 1207 or 1208, but this is likely thanks to confusion with her sister Marguerite, who was also at the abbey. == Marriage and issue ==