According to medieval Jewish sources, in 1171 Theobald was responsible for orchestrating the first blood libel in continental Europe. His alleged Jewish mistress Pulcelina of Blois unsuccessfully attempted to prevent him.[4] As a result of a church-sponsored trial, 30 or 31 members of the Jewish community were burned at the stake.[5]
Theobald lived primarily in Chartres and had its city walls renovated. After joining his brother Henry and a number of other nobles in opposing the young king Philip II, he reconciled with the king and supported him on the Third Crusade. He arrived in the summer of 1190 in the Holy Land and died on 20 January 1191, during the Siege of Acre.[6]