Theobald I, Count of Blois

Theobald I (before 913 – 16 January 975, 976 or 977),[1] called the Trickster (known as le Tricheur – meaning “cheater”– in French), was Count of Blois, Tours, Chartres and Châteaudun, as well as Lord of Vierzon and Provins.

[6] For Hugh the Great, the preeminent role of Theobald in Neustria must counterbalance that of the Norman count William Longsword who rules a March that extends from the Somme river to Brittany.

[8] However, the death of Alan II left a void in Brittany, making it vulnerable to encroachment by either the Normans or the Angevins.

[9] Theobald and Fulk II of Anjou, the two vassals of Hugh the Great agreed on their areas of regency in Brittany, based respectively on Rennes and Nantes.

On Easter 945, Louis IV was captured by a Norman faction and given over to Hugh the Great, who placed the king in Theobald's custody.

[15] However Laon was lost again in 949 when Louis IV supported by Otto the Great's army waged war against Theobald.

His son Hugh Capet was called to succeed him but, as a minor, King Lothaire did not invest him with the title of Duke of the Franks.