BLOIS, LOUIS DE (1506–1566), Flemish mystical writer, generally known under the name of Blosius, was born in October 1506 at the château of Donstienne, near Liége, of an illustrious family to which several crowned heads were allied. He was educated at the court of the Netherlands with the future emperor Charles V. of Germany, who remained to the last his staunch friend. At the age of fourteen he received the Benedictine habit in the monastery of Liessics in Hainaut, of which he became abbot in 1530. Charles V. pressed in vain upon him the archbishopric of Cambrai, but Blosius studiously exerted himself in the reform of his monastery and in the composition of devotional works. He died at his monastery on the 7th of January 1566.
Blosius’s works, which were written in Latin, have been translated into almost every European language, and have appealed not only to Roman Catholics, but to many English laymen of note, such as W. E. Gladstone and Lord Coleridge. The best editions of his collected works are the first edition by J. Frojus (Louvain, 1568), and the Cologne reprints (1572, 1587). His best-known works are:—the Institutio Spiritualis (Eng. trans., A Book of Spiritual Instruction, London, 1900); Consolatio Pusillanimium (Eng. trans., Comfort for the Faint-Hearted, London, 1903); Sacellum Animae Fidelis (Eng. trans., The Sanctuary of the Faithful Soul, London, 1905); all these three works were translated and edited by Father Bertrand Wilberforce, O.P., and have been reprinted several times; and especially Speculum Monachorum (French trans. by Félicité de Lamennais, Paris, 1809; Eng. trans., Paris, 1676; re-edited by Lord Coleridge, London, 1871, 1872, and inserted in “Paternoster” series, 1901).
See Georges de Blois, Louis de Blois, un Bénédictin au XVI ème siècle (Paris, 1875), Eng. trans. by Lady Lovat (London, 1878, &c.).
BLOIS, a town of central France, capital of the department of Loir-et-Cher, 35 m. S.W. of Orleans, on the Orleans railway
between that city and Tours. Pop. (1906) 18,457. Situated
in a thickly-wooded district on the right bank of the Loire, it
covers the summits and slopes of two eminences between which
runs the principal thoroughfare of the town named after the
philosopher Denis Papin. A bridge of the 18th century from
which it presents the appearance of an amphitheatre, unites
Blois with the suburb of Vienne on the left bank of the river.
The streets of the higher and older part of the town are narrow
and tortuous, and in places so steep that means of ascent is
provided by flights of steps. The famous château of the family
of Orleans (see Architecture: Renaissance Architecture in
France), a fine example of Renaissance architecture, stands on
the more westerly of the two hills. It consists of three main
wings, and a fourth and smaller wing, and is built round a courtyard.
The most interesting portion is the north-west wing,
which was erected by Francis I., and contains the room where
Henry, duke of Guise, was assassinated by order of Henry III.
The striking feature of the interior façade is the celebrated spiral
staircase tower, the bays of which, with their beautifully sculptured
balustrades, project into the courtyard (see Architecture,
Plate VIII. fig. 84). The north-east wing, in which is the entrance
to the castle, was built by Louis XII. and is called after him;
it contains picture-galleries and a museum. Opposite is the
Gaston wing, erected by Gaston, duke of Orleans, brother of
Louis XIII., which contains a majestic domed staircase. In the
north corner of the courtyard is the Salle des États, which,
together with the donjon in the west corner, survives from the
13th century. Of the churches of Blois, the cathedral of St Louis,
a building of the end of the 17th century, but in Gothic style,
is surpassed in interest by St Nicolas, once the church of the
abbey of St Laumer, and dating from the 12th and 13th centuries.
The picturesqueness of the town is enhanced by many old
mansions, the chief of which is the Renaissance Hôtel d’Alluye,
and by numerous fountains, among which that named after
Louis XII. is of very graceful design. The prefecture, the law
court, the corn-market and the fine stud-buildings are among
the chief modern buildings.
Blois is the seat of a bishop, a prefect, and a court of assizes. It has a tribunal of first instance, a tribunal of commerce, a board of trade arbitration, a branch of the Bank of France, a communal college and training-colleges. The town is a market for the agricultural and pastoral regions of Beauce and Sologne, and has a considerable trade in grain, the wines of the Loire valley, and in horses and other live-stock. It manufactures boots and shoes, biscuits, chocolate, upholstering materials, furniture, machinery and earthenware, and has vinegar-works, breweries, leather-works and foundries.
Though of ancient origin, Blois is first distinctly mentioned by Gregory of Tours in the 6th century, and was not of any importance till the 9th century, when it became the seat of a powerful countship (see below). In 1196 Count Louis granted privileges to the townsmen; the commune, which survived throughout the middle ages, probably dated from this time. The counts of the Châtillon line resided at Blois more often than their predecessors, and the oldest parts of the château (13th century) were built by them. In 1429 Joan of Arc made Blois her base of operations for the relief of Orleans. After his captivity in England, Charles of Orleans in 1440 took up his residence in the château, where in 1462 his son, afterwards Louis XII., was born. In the 16th century Blois was often the resort of the French court. Its inhabitants included many Calvinists, and it was in 1562 and 1567 the scene of struggles between them and the supporters of the Roman church. In 1576 and 1588 Henry III., king of France, chose Blois as the meeting-place of the states-general, and in the latter year he brought about the murders of Henry, duke of Guise, and his brother, Louis, archbishop of Reims and cardinal, in the château, where their deaths were shortly followed by that of the queen-mother, Catherine de’ Medici. From 1617 to 1619 Marie de’ Medici, wife of King Henry IV., exiled from the court, lived at the château, which was soon afterwards given by Louis XIII. to his brother Gaston, duke of Orleans, who lived there till his death in 1660. The bishopric dates from the end of the 17th century. In 1814 Blois was for a short time the seat of the regency of Marie Louise, wife of Napoleon I.
See L. de la Saussaye, Blois et ses environs (1873); Histoire du château de Blois (1873); L. Bergevin et A. Dupré, Histoire de Blois (1847).
BLOIS, Countship of. From 865 to about 940 the countship of Blois was one of those which were held in fee by the margrave of Neustria, Robert the Strong, and by his successors, the abbot Hugh, Odo (or Eudes), Robert II. and Hugh the Great. It then
passed, about 940 and for nearly three centuries, to a new family
of counts, whose chiefs, at first vassals of the dukes of France,
Hugh the Great and Hugh Capet, became in 987, by the accession
of the Capetian dynasty to the throne of France, the direct
vassals of the crown. These new counts were originally very
powerful. With the countship of Blois they united, from 940 to
1044, that of Touraine, and from about 950 to 1218, and afterwards
from 1269 to 1286, the countship of Chartres remained in
their possession.
The counts of Blois of the house of the Theobalds (Thibauds) began with Theobald I., the Cheat, who became count about 940. He was succeeded by his son, Odo (Eudes) I., about 975. Theobald II., eldest son of Odo I., became count in 996, and was succeeded by Odo II., younger son of Odo I., about 1005. Odo II. was one of the most warlike barons of his time. With the already considerable domains which he held from his ancestors, he united the heritage of his kinsman, Stephen I., count of Troyes. In 1033 he disputed the crown of Burgundy with the emperor, Conrad the Salic, and perished in 1037 while fighting in Lorraine. He was succeeded in 1037 by his eldest son, Theobald III., who was defeated by the Angevins in 1044, and was forced to give up the town of Tours and its dependencies to the count of Anjou. In 1089 Stephen Henry, eldest son of Theobald III., became count. He took part in the first crusade, fell into the hands of the Saracens, and died in captivity; he married Adela, daughter of William I., king of England. In 1102 Stephen Henry was succeeded by his son, Theobald IV. the Great, who united the countship of Troyes with his domains
