About 1081 he married Adela of Normandy, the formidable daughter of William The Conqueror, and by her fathered seven children. When Stephen's father died in 1090 he became Count of Blois and Chartres.In 1095 Adela became Regent when her husband took part in the first crusade. He had no enthusiasm for this duty but Adela considered that he ought to go, so he went. There was never any nonsense in their household about who made the decisions---she did. Stephen de Blois went together with Adela's brother, Robert, Duke of Normandy.

Having marched south through Italy, Stephen and his brother-in-law decided to spend the winter comfortably in southern Italy before continuing on their way. When at last these two leaders decided to embark their men at Brindisi, disaster struck them. It was a very mediaeval kind of disaster: the first ship to leave port capsized and sank with the loss of all hands together with many pack-animals, stores, and chests of money. Most of their armies allowed themselves to be shipped and, after a rough and unpleasant crossing, they reached Constantinople in May 1096. Stephen de Blois was impressed by the city but reserved his greatest admiration for the Emperor Alexius. "Your father, my beloved," he wrote to Adela, "made many gifts, but he was almost nothing compared with this man". One cannot help but wonder how the formidable Adela reacted to this remark about her father, William the Conqueror; however, since her husband was the better part of two thousand miles away, perhaps for once he himself did not much mind how she reacted.

Godfrey of Bouillon had attacked the city of Nicaea and was joined, in early June 1096, by Stephen de Blois, Robert of Normandy and Raymond of Toulouse. They celebrated their assault by cutting off the heads of as many Turks as they could find and catapulting them over the city walls into the streets. Others were set up on spikes in front of the gates in full view of the depressed defenders. A Byzantine force took control of the city and deprived the crusaders of another massacre by allowing the Turks to escape.

Stephen wrote to his wife in high spirits: "In five weeks' time we shall be in Jerusalem, unless we are held up at Antioch". After the joint crusader-force defeated another Turkish army, the retreating Turks laid waste to the country, burning the crops and destroying or befouling the wells. The weather was still painfully hot and it was not long before hunger and thirst began to take their toll. Stephen wrote to Adela to say that it was a great mistake to imagine that the sun always shone in Syria, for "throughout this winter we have endured intense cold and incessant rain".

Later Stephen marched his men to Alexandretta as he saw no point in having them massacred by the Atabeg of Mosul. Afterwards he was to be rebuked bitterly for this 'cowardice' by the formidable Adela. He returned to France in 1099 but was forced by the inexorable Adela to return to the East, there to redeem his tarnished reputation which he did by being killed in the Battle of Ramleh.

Source: Leo van de Pas