ADELE OF BLOIS
A short three act play by John Simmonds
Jean De Halliday Welcome, Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jean De Halliday, and I am a wandering troubador.
I have written many songs, and sung them too – although some may tell you ‘tis more a shout I do.
My songs tell of lives of the grand dames of France – I hope they will please you, and inform perchance.
Together with you all, I will take you on a journey that I have carried in my heart for many years: a trip in search of les Grand Dames de France, celebrating the women who helped shape the destiny of our fine country. Some ruled from thrones, some from battlefields, some from salons. Some found glory, whilst others had glory placed in their hands; some were great thinkers, and some even discovered magic — but know this, all of them left a mark that time could not erase. We begin our journey arcross the second millenium with Adele of Blois, born in the year of our lord 1066, a date no doubt familiar for the English in our audience!
From Adele’s steady hand the nation learned to stand,
her wisdom guiding fragile courts across a troubled land.
To Aquitaine, where Eleanor
united countries and so much more.
We will meet the maid, who sword in hand,
drove the English from her land.
And Marie Antoinette, in Versailles where she played,
her life cut short by the sharpened blade
Ten women’s tales this night I share
Who built this France with fire and faith, beyond compare.
Their echoes still sound in our mind’s expanse,
The living heartbeat of the soul we call France.
Before France was the land that we know now— before the Renaissance gilded its courts, before the Revolution shook its bones— there was a nation still shaping itself.
Together, we will start by stepping back to an age of iron and parchment, of shifting borders and fragile thrones. The great houses of Europe are restless, their alliances sealed not by treaties, but by marriages, oaths, and the uncertain weight of family blood.
A world where kings ride to war as easily as they ride to prayer, and where the Church and the sword vies for the soul of every kingdom. Normandy rises like a storm at this time - a duchy of ambition, its dukes sometime dreaming of crowns across the sea.
And, in the midst of this turbulent age, stands a great woman,Adele of Normandy—daughter of William the Conqueror, sister to kings, mother to a future monarch.
In this time where the plight of womankind is to obey and endure, Adele of Normandy outshines the men surrounding her. While crusades rage in the East and rival lords tear at the fabric of Europe, she will hold France steadfast, with a feminine hand, and with a vision and an influence that reaches beyond her own lifetime.
History often only remembers the warriors— the ones who charged to battle, who carved their names into stone with steel. But Adele shapes our future in a gentler way - through counsel, through patience, through the careful weaving of stability in an age that rarely knows peace.
SCENE 1 CRUSADE
So let us begin. The year is 1101. France is a land caught between old feudal loyalties and the rising ambitions of powerful noble houses. Kings rule in name, but real authority lies in the hands of counts and dukes whose fortresses line the Loire and the Seine. It is a world of shifting borders, uneasy alliances, and a Church whose influence reaches into every hall and hearth.
Six years ago, Pope Urban II had addressed the Council of Clermont. He made an impassioned plea- the continued occupation of Jerusalem by the infidel was an affront to chistendom. It was the duty of all good Christians to take up arms against those who had desecrated the ground upon which Jesus Christ had walked, and so recover them for the followers of the true faith. He called upon the great Counts of France, Raymond of Toulouse, Hugh of Vermandois, Robert of Flanders, Robert of Normandy, Godfrey of Bouillon and Stephen of Blois, to embark on a crusade.
Here, the House of Blois stood among the greatest. Its lands were rich, its armies respected, its alliances woven through marriage and blood, and Stephan had responded. Yes, he would join this just cause.
And now the house is troubled. Stephen of Blois has returned home from the First Crusade in disgrace—having abandoned the siege of Antioch before fulfilling his vow. His reputation in tatters, his honour questioned, whispers following him through every hall.
His wife, Adele of Normandy has governed well in his absence - -holding courts, negotiating with bishops and lords, keeping their territories secure. Now the castle at Blois—its stone walls rising above the Loire, its halls echoing with the murmurs of those who walk within them—becomes the stage for a reckoning. Behind closed doors, in a chamber lit by a single wavering candle, Adele confronts her husband. She will speak not only as a wife, but also as a ruler defending the honour of her house. Stephen, weary from travel and burdened by shame, faces his wife.
Adele Husband, you returned sooner than expected.
Stephen It was not my wish. I would rather have returned in glory, but it was not God’s will, so now I am home.
Adele You are at home, while the men who followed you lie in foreign earth, the vow you swore before God as broken as their fallen bodies. I have ruled well in your absence. I have held these lands together even as rumours of your retreat washed over our realm like a plague. Do you know what they call you, Stephen?
Stephen What do they call me?
Adele They call you the count who fled.
Stephen I persevered, Adele, but, in the end, I succumbed to fear for my life.
Adele But fear is not an excuse for a broken oath. You must return to Jerusalem. Not for glory. Not for the Pope. But because your honour demands it. Because my honour demands it .Because Blois and France demands it.”
Stephen If I go… I may not return.
Adele Then go with the courage you lacked before. And if you fall, let it be as a man who redeemed himself. You will leave within the fortnight. I will prepare your letters. And may God grant you the strength you failed to find the first time.
Stephen I will go, Adele. This time my courage will not fail.
Adele Then France will remember you with honour, and the kingdom of heaven will welcome you, be it now or later.
Jean De Halliday The door closes behind Stephen. The candle flickers. Adele stands alone in the wavering light, her breath steady, her gaze fixed on the empty space he has left. We leave her now to her own thoughts.
Adele So it must fall to me again… to send him where honour calls. God knows I did not choose this burden, yet here I stand while the world beyond these walls burns with holy fire. I remember the letters that reached me from Antioch. The stories of hunger, and sickness, and our brave soldiers lying dead in those far-away fields. Stephen — my Stephen — turned from that suffering and fled its shadow.
But I cannot let his fear become the story of our house. Not while our sons Theobold and Stephen grow to men beneath these roofs, not while our vassals look to me for strength, not while the name of Blois must stand unbroken in the eyes of France.
If my husband must return to Jerusalem to reclaim the honour that he lost, then so be it. I will bear the weight of this realm until he finds the courage he left behind there. And if he falls… then let history say he fell as a man who rose once more to meet his vow. For I am Adele — daughter of a conqueror, keeper of these lands, and guardian of a legacy that will not be tarnished by fear, nor failure, nor the whisper of retreat. God speed and God protect you, Stephen.
SCENE 2 THEOBOLD
Jean De Halliday And so Stephen rode from Blois to reclaim the honour he had lost. In the times that followed, Adele ruled with a clarity and firmness that France had rarely seen. The year is now 1102 and news has come from the Holy Land: Stephen of Blois has fallen at Ramla. Within the halls of her chateau, Adele turns her gaze back to her lands. Under her guidance, Blois has become a signal of order in a fractured realm. And now, with her husband gone and the future of her house resting on her shoulders, Adele thoughts turn to her eldest son. Today, she will see Theobald step into the mantle of power— a moment that marks not an ending, but the beginning of a legacy she has shaped with her own hands.
We are standing in a grand hall. Morning light spears through into the room. A cleric stands with a parchment, whilst Adele stands beside a long table. The assembled great and good wait patiently. Theobald enters, composed but nervous.
Cleric (Reading from the parchment) “In accordance with the rights of inheritance and the assent of the noble houses, let it be known that Theobald, son of Stephen and Adele, is granted authority over the lands and titles of Champagne.”
Theobald I accept this charge with humility and I pray I may be equal to it.
Adele Theobold, know that everyone who carries this burden of responsability feels its weight. You are the first born son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and I see the resolve that courses through your veins to carry this weight with honour and distinction.
Theobald I have watched you govern in Father’s absence, mother. I have seen how men bow to your just and righteous judgement. I pray that I may be cut from the same cloth as you.
Adele You will be this and more. But your path is not mine, Theobald. It is broader, and it will carry you and this realm further than you yet imagine. Champagne is a land of promise— rich fields, loyal vassals, and a place at the crossroads of France. Rule it with fairness. Rule it with strength. And above all, rule it with honour. For honour is the one thing a ruler must never lose, as your father knew too well.
Theobald I will not fail you, I will not fail the house of Blois.
Adele Neither will you fail France, Theobald.
Cleric Rise, Theobald—Count of Champagne.”
Adele The future of the house of Blois is secure. God bless and keep safe my son,Theobald.
SCENE 3 STEPHEN
Jean De Halliday Let us travel forwards more than thirty years. It is January 1336. Much has come to pass since Theobald first took up the mantle of Champagne. With Adele’s guidance, his rule was firm and fair. The lands of Blois and Champagne prospered, their courts alive with scholars, clerics, and envoys. France itself was changing — the Capetian kings slowly tightening their grip, the great lords carving out spheres of influence, and the Church pressing ever deeper into the affairs of princes.
Through it all, Adele remained a force at the centre of power. She acted wisely, corresponding with bishops and kings, and shaping her sons into men who would stand tall in a restless realm.
But history has a way of turning suddenly. Across the Channel, the English throne stands empty — King Henry dead, his daughter’s claim contested, the land trembling on the edge of civil war.
And in this moment of uncertainty, Adele’s younger son, Stephen, makes a bold and perilous choice. Today, news arrives in Blois that will shake even Adele’s steady hand.
We see Adele siting at a writing table, sealing a letter. A servant enters hurriedly, bowing low.
Servant My lady… a messenger from England. He insists the news cannot wait.
Adele Then let him speak. England seldom brings tidings that wait upon ceremony.
Messenger Lady Adele… I bring word from London. King Henry is dead — and your son, Stephen, has crossed the Channel. He has taken the crown.
Adele My Stephen sits upon the throne of England?
Messenger Aye, my lady. The barons have sworn to him. The Church has blessed him. He is proclaimed king.
Adele He moved swiftly, then. Henry’s daughter was meant to inherit, and yet my Stephen seized the moment. Boldness was always in him, even as a child.
Theobald (Entering, having overheard) Mother… is it true?
Adele It seems your brother has gambled for a crown and won it.
Theobald England is no easy prize. The nobles there are restless. The succession uncertain. This could plunge that land into chaos.
Adele Power rarely comes without chaos, Theobald. Your brother has indeed stepped into a storm. But he has done so with courage, and with the blood of kings in his veins.
Adele turns to the messenger.
Adele Tell Stephen this: He has my blessing… and my warning. A crown taken swiftly must be held firmly. He must rule with justice, with strength, and with the wisdom he once lacked. England will test him — and I expect him to prevail.
Messenger I will carry your words, my lady.
The messenger bows and exits. A quiet settles.
Theobald Mother… are you proud?
Adele I am many things, Theobald. Proud, yes. Concerned as well? Yes. But above all, I am reminded that the world is shaped not only by kings and armies, but by the choices of those who dare to grasp their fate in both hands.
She looks toward the window, the winter light catching her face.
Adele Two sons — one ruling Champagne, the other England. Let history say what it will. I have done my part.
Jean De Halliday
Adele’s tale is now past, her sons enthroned, her labours crowned at last.
Through years of storm she steered her people with skill, and France grew richer and more powerful still.
The lords of Blois and Champagne shaped the land, but behind their success we see Adele’s hand.
From the north we now travel, south to Aquitaine, where we will find another of France’s grand dames.
There, fate prepared a new and dazzling line: a duchess young, whose blood and will would bind the fates of France and England to her name. Her father dead, her lands now hers to claim.
So turn we now to fair Eleanor of Aquitaine, and both kingdoms of England and France will know her name.
End of act 1