Châtillon

The House of Châtillon was one of the great noble houses of medieval France, taking its name from Châtillon-sur-Marne in Champagne, where its ancestors held a castle of the counts of Champagne from the ninth century. Odo of Châtillon became Pope Urban II and preached the First Crusade at Clermont in 1095; Raynald of Châtillon, prince of Antioch, was executed by Saladin after the battle of Hattin in 1187.

Gaucher V of the house became constable of France under Philip the Fair and count of Porcien. Younger branches ruled Saint-Pol, Blois and Penthièvre: Charles of Blois-Châtillon claimed the duchy of Brittany jure uxoris and kindled the Breton War of Succession, falling at Auray in 1364.

The Saint-Pol branch ended in 1360, the Blois branch in 1397 and the Penthièvre branch in 1457; the county of Porcien was sold to the duke of Orléans in 1400.