Marie of Champagne

Marie, the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine, was educated at the abbey of Avenay. In 1164, she married Henry I, count of Champagne, and when he left on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land she ruled as regent in his name, a title she again claimed after his death in 1181. She served as regent for a third time when her son, Henry II, who had assumed the role of count when he came of age, left on a crusade. She died in 1198 and was remembered not only for her role in politics but as a patron of literature, above all, the courtly poetry of the troubadours.