Henry the Liberal, Count of Champagne, 1127–1181 by Theodore Evergates (review)

et “esclavage” (258) comprend six parties qui occupent plus d’une trentaine de pages. Seules six femmes—“Charlotte Corday” (201), Olympe de Gouges (383), “Jeanne d’Arc” (461), “Rosa Luxembourg” (610), “Louise Michel” (643) et “Simone Weil” (904)—échappent aux oubliettes où sont tombées leurs consœurs. Il est étonnant que, contrairement aux entreprises de ce genre où les articles sont généralement signés, ici il est quasiment impossible de savoir à qui on les doit. Ce n’est qu’à la fin du volume qu’apparaissent sous les noms des quarante collaborateurs les sujets qu’ils ont rédigés. Vu l’envergure du projet et l’ampleur de la tâche, on ne peut que féliciter Bischoff et Bourguinat qui ont rédigé à eux seuls plus de la moitié des textes et qui ont mené à bon port un ouvrage de qualité. Auburn University (AL) Samia I. Spencer Evergates,Theodore.Henry the Liberal,Count of Champagne,1127–1181.Philadelphia: UP of Pennsylvania, 2016. ISBN 978-0-8122-4790-9. Pp. 307. $75. Evergates’s book will appeal primarily to historians. He presents a chronicle of the life and career of Henry of Blois, who from 1152 to 1181 consolidated territories he had inherited in different parts of northern France into the compact realm of Champagne. He made Troyes his capital and built there a palace and adjoining chapel that were a wonder of Gothic architecture until their destruction during the French Revolution. He also had made in his own honor a bronze tomb with his effigy upon it that was so famous it inspired passages in Chrétien de Troyes’s romances. Henry himself occupied a central position in the political life of his era. He was connected to everyone at the summit of contemporary society. King Stephen of England was his father’s brother. His wife Marie was the daughter of King Louis VII of France by his first wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. His sister Adèle was the third wife of Louis and mother of the future Philippe II. Besides these relations, Henry was closely associated with other celebrities of the time. In part because of his participation in the Second Crusade in the early 1150s, he got to know its sponsor, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Later he had the opportunity to know Pope Alexander III, who was living in France because his election had been contested by anti-popes in Rome. Another famous exile in Henry’s circle was Thomas Beckett, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had quarreled with King Henry II in England over the church’s prerogatives. Beckett’s passion for collecting manuscripts of classic works helped inspire a similar interest in Count Henry, who accumulated a library almost as legendary as his chapel. Henry’s court is also associated with the literary career of Chrétien de Troyes, but Evergates finds little evidence of Henry acting as the poet’s patron. The main source of a link between Chrétien and the court at Troyes is the poet’s mention of Countess Marie having proposed the matière and sens of his romance Lancelot, he himself providing the 276 FRENCH REVIEW 90.3 Reviews 277 conjointure. Count Henry was praised throughout his life, and after his death for his generosity and largesse. He displayed these qualities repeatedly in his dealings with the knights who served him, but especially in regard to religious organizations like monasteries and canonical chapters. It is curious to note how institutions devoted to prayer and piety were so eager to protect their material interests. Henry could afford to earn his title of liberal because of the financial success he enjoyed through the commercial fairs that took place annually in Troyes, Provins, and other towns of his realm. He increased the number and frequency of these events. Given Champagne’s geographical position at the crossroads of the north-south and east-west trading routes, these fairs were the occasion of a highly significant coming together of international social and political as well as economic forces. By his promotion of these gatherings, Henry was a major contributor to the development of modern capitalism. University of Denver James P. Gilroy...