Conrad of Montferrat (
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
: ''Corrado del Monferrato'';
Piedmontese
Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regard ...
: ''Conrà ëd Monfrà'') (died 28 April 1192) was a nobleman, one of the major participants in the
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
. He was the ''de facto''
King of Jerusalem
The King of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader states, Crusader state founded in Jerusalem by the Latin Church, Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade, when the city was Siege of Jerusalem (1099), conqu ...
(as Conrad I) by virtue of his marriage to
Isabella I of Jerusalem
Isabella I (1172 – 5 April 1205) was reigning Queen of Jerusalem from 1190 to her death. She was the daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his second wife Maria Comnena, a Byzantine princess. Her half-brother, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, engag ...
from 24 November 1190, but officially elected only in 1192, days before his death. He was also the eighth
Marquess of Montferrat
The Marquises and Dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po and east of Turin called Montferrat. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the no ...
from 1191.
Early life
Conrad was the second son of
Marquess
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
William V of Montferrat
William V of Montferrat (occ./piem. ''Guilhem'', it. ''Guglielmo'') ( 1115 – 1191) also known regnally as William III of Montferrat while also referred to as William the Old or William the Elder, in order to distinguish him from his eldest s ...
, "the Elder", and his wife
Judith of Babenberg
Judith (or Jutta, sometimes called ''Julitta'' or ''Ita'' in Latin sources; c. 1115/1120 – after 1168), a member of the House of Babenberg, was Marchioness of Montferrat from 1135 until her death, by her marriage with Marquess William V.
...
. He was a first cousin of
Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...
, as well as
Louis VII of France
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
and
Leopold V of Austria.
Conrad was born in
Montferrat
Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mo ...
, which is now a region of
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
, in northwest Italy. The exact place and year are unknown. He is first mentioned in a charter in 1160, when serving at the court of his maternal uncle,
Conrad
Conrad may refer to:
People
* Conrad (name)
Places
United States
* Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Conrad, Iowa, a city
* Conrad, Montana, a city
* Conrad Glacier, Washington ...
,
Bishop of Passau
The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.[Archbishop of Salzburg
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg ( la, Archidioecesis Salisburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, serving alongside the Archdiocese of ...]
. (He may have been named after him, or after his mother's half-brother,
Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...
.)
A handsome man, with great personal courage and intelligence, he was described in the ''Brevis Historia Occupationis et Amissionis Terræ Sanctæ'' ("A Short History of the Occupation and Loss of the Holy Land"):
(The last sentence refers to his third marriage to
Isabella of Jerusalem
Isabella I (1172 – 5 April 1205) was reigning Queen of Jerusalem from 1190 to her death. She was the daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his second wife Maria Comnena, a Byzantine princess. Her half-brother, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, engag ...
in 1190, for which see below.)
He was active in diplomacy from his twenties, and became an effective military commander, campaigning alongside other members of his family in the struggles with the
Lombard League. He first married an unidentified lady before 1179, but she was dead by the end of 1186, without leaving any surviving issue.
Byzantine Empire
In 1179, following the family's alliance with
Manuel I Comnenos
Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor ...
, Conrad led an army against Frederick Barbarossa's forces, then commanded by the imperial Chancellor,
Archbishop Christian of Mainz. He defeated them at
Camerino
Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona.
Camerino is home to the University of Cam ...
in September, taking the Chancellor hostage. (He had previously been a hostage of the Chancellor.) He left the captive in his brother Boniface's care and went to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
to be rewarded by the Emperor, returning to Italy shortly after Manuel's death in 1180. Now in his mid-thirties, his personality and good looks made a striking impression at the Byzantine court:
Niketas Choniates
Niketas or Nicetas Choniates ( el, Νικήτας Χωνιάτης; c. 1155 – 1217), whose actual surname was Akominatos (Ἀκομινάτος), was a Byzantine Greek government official and historian – like his brother Michael Akominatos, wh ...
describes him as "of beautiful appearance, comely in life's springtime, exceptional and peerless in manly courage and intelligence, and in the flower of his body's strength".
In the winter of 1186–1187,
Isaac II Angelus
Isaac II Angelos or Angelus ( grc-gre, Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, ; September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204.
His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a ...
offered his sister Theodora, as a bride to Conrad's younger brother
Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
, to renew the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
alliance with Montferrat, but Boniface was married. Conrad, recently widowed, had taken the cross, intending to join his father in the
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establishe ...
; instead, he accepted Isaac's offer and returned to Constantinople in spring 1187. On his marriage, he was awarded the rank of
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...
. However, almost immediately, he had to help the Emperor defend his throne against a revolt, led by General
Alexios Branas
Alexios (or Alexius) Branas or Vranas ( el, ) (died 1187) was a Byzantine nobleman, attempted usurper, and the last Byzantine military leader of the 12th century to gain a notable success against a foreign enemy.
Background
Alexios Branas was a ...
. According to Choniates, Conrad inspired the weak Emperor to take the initiative. He fought heroically, without shield or helmet and wearing a linen cuirass instead of mail, in the battle in which Branas was killed. He was slightly wounded in the shoulder, but unhorsed Branas, who was then killed and beheaded by his bodyguards.
However, feeling that his service had been insufficiently rewarded, wary of Byzantine anti-Latin sentiment (his youngest brother
Renier had been murdered in 1182) and of possible vengeance-seeking by Branas's family, Conrad set off for the Kingdom of Jerusalem in July 1187 aboard a
Genoese merchant vessel. Some popular modern histories have claimed that he was fleeing vengeance after committing a private murder: this is due to a failure to recognise Branas's name, garbled into "Lyvernas" in the Old French ''Continuation of
William of Tyre
William of Tyre ( la, Willelmus Tyrensis; 113029 September 1186) was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I, the Englishman, a former ...
'' (sometimes known as ''The Chronicle of
Ernoul Ernoul was a squire of Balian of Ibelin who wrote an eyewitness account of the fall of Jerusalem in 1187. This was later incorporated into an Old French history of Crusader Palestine now known as the ''Chronicle of Ernoul and Bernard the Treasurer ...
''), and
Roger of Howden
Roger of Howden or Hoveden (died 1202) was a 12th-century English chronicler, diplomat and head of the minster of Howden in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Roger and Howden minster
Roger was born to a clerical family linked to the ancient minste ...
's abridgement of his own ''Gesta regis Henrici Secundi'' (formerly attributed to
Benedict of Peterborough Benedict, sometimes known as Benedictus Abbas (Latin for "Benedict the Abbot"; died 29 September 1193), was abbot of Peterborough. His name was formerly erroneously associated with the ''Gesta Henrici Regis Secundi'' and ''Gesta Regis Ricardi'', Eng ...
). Roger had initially referred to Conrad "having slain a prominent nobleman in a rebellion"—meaning Branas; in his ''Chronica'', he condensed this to "having committed homicide", omitting the context.
Defense of Tyre
Conrad evidently intended to join his father, who held the castle of St Elias. He arrived first off
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
, which had recently fallen to
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
(Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb), and so sailed north to
Tyre, where he found the remnants of the Crusader army. After his victory at the
Battle of Hattin
The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of t ...
over the army of Jerusalem, Saladin was on the march north, and had already captured
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
,
Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
, and
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
.
Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III (1140 – September/October 1187) was County of Tripoli, count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187. He was a minor when Order of Assassins, Assassins murdered his father, Raymond II of Tripoli. Baldwin III of Jerusalem, who was staying in Tri ...
and his stepsons,
Reginald of Sidon
Reginald Grenier (1130s – 1202; also Reynald or Renaud) was Count of Sidon and an important noble in the late-12th century Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Rise to fame
Reginald was the son of Gerard of Sidon and Agnes of Bures, and a grandson of Eust ...
and several other leading nobles who had escaped the battle had fled to Tyre, but most were anxious to return to their own territories to defend them. Raymond of Tripoli was in failing health, and died soon after he went home.
According to the Old French ''Continuation of William of Tyre'', Reginald of Sidon had taken charge in Tyre and was in the process of negotiating its surrender with Saladin. Conrad allegedly threw Saladin's banners into the ditch, and made the Tyrians swear total loyalty to him. His rise to power seems to have been less dramatic in reality. Reginald went to refortify his own castle of
Belfort
Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Territo ...
on the
Litani River
The Litani River ( ar, نهر الليطاني, Nahr al-Līṭānī), the classical Leontes ( grc-gre, Λέοντες, Léontes, lions), is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley, west of B ...
. With the support of the established Italian merchant communities in the city, Conrad re-organised the defence of Tyre, setting up a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
, similar to those he had so often fought against in Italy.
When Saladin's army arrived they found the city well-defended and defiant. As the chronicler
Ibn al-Athir
Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, better known as ʿAlī ʿIzz ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī ( ar, علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) lived 1160–1233) was an Arab or Kurdish historian a ...
wrote of the man the Arabs came to respect and fear as ''al-Markis'': "He was a devil incarnate in his ability to govern and defend a town, and a man of extraordinary courage". Tyre successfully withstood the siege, and desiring more profitable conquest, Saladin's army moved on south to
Caesarea
Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...
,
Arsuf, and
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
. Meanwhile, Conrad sent
Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre Joscius (also Josce or Josias) (died 1202) was Archbishop of Tyre in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century.
Background
He was a canon and subdeacon of the church of Acre, and became Bishop of Acre on November 23, 1172. He was ...
, to the West in a black-sailed ship, bearing appeals for aid. Arabic writers claimed that he also carried propaganda pictures to use in his preaching, including one of the horses of Saladin's army stabled (and urinating) in the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
, and another of a Saracen slapping Christ's face.
In November 1187, Saladin returned for a second
siege of Tyre. Conrad was still in command of the city, which was now heavily fortified and filled with Christian refugees from across the north of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This time Saladin opted for a combined ground and naval assault, setting up a blockade of the harbour. In an incident described by the ''Itinerarium Peregrinorum'' (which is generally hostile to Conrad), the Old French ''Continuation'' and
Sicardus of Cremona's second chronicle (now known through quotations by
Salimbene di Adam
Salimbene di Adam, O.F.M., (or Salimbene of Parma) (9 October 1221 – 1290) was an Italian Franciscan friar, theologian, and chronicler who is a source for Italian history of the 13th century.
Life
He was born in Parma, the son of Guido di A ...
and
Alberto Millioli), Saladin presented Conrad's aged father,
William V of Montferrat
William V of Montferrat (occ./piem. ''Guilhem'', it. ''Guglielmo'') ( 1115 – 1191) also known regnally as William III of Montferrat while also referred to as William the Old or William the Elder, in order to distinguish him from his eldest s ...
, who had been captured at Hattin, before the walls of the city. He offered to release William and bestow great gifts upon Conrad if he surrendered Tyre. The old man told his son to stand firm, even when the Egyptians threatened to kill him. Conrad declared that William had lived a long life already, and aimed at him with a crossbow himself. Saladin allegedly said, "''This man is an unbeliever and very cruel''". But he had succeeded in calling Saladin's bluff: the old Marquis William was released, unharmed, at
Tortosa
Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain.
Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buin ...
in 1188, and returned to his son.
On 30 December, Conrad's forces launched a dawn raid on the weary Egyptian sailors, capturing many of their galleys. The remaining Egyptian ships tried to escape to Beirut, but the Tyrian ships gave chase, and the Egyptians were forced to beach their ships and flee. Saladin then launched an assault on the landward walls, thinking that the defenders were still distracted by the sea battle. However, Conrad led his men in a charge out of the gates and broke the enemy:
Hugh of Tiberias distinguished himself in the battle. Saladin was forced to pull back yet again, burning his siege engines and ships to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.
Struggle for the crown
In summer 1188, Saladin released king
Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150 – 18 July 1194) was a French Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of Lusignan and as such born of the House of Lusignan. He was king of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and King o ...
, the husband of
Queen Sibylla, from captivity. A year later, in 1189, Guy, accompanied by his brother
Geoffrey, appeared at Tyre and demanded that Conrad hand over the keys to the city to him. Conrad refused this demand, and declared that Guy had forfeited his rights to be king of Jerusalem at the
Battle of Hattin
The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of t ...
in 1187. He said that he was holding the city until the arrival of the kings from Europe. By this, he was invoking the terms of Baldwin IV's will, terms already broken by Guy and Sibylla: in the event of the death of his nephew
Baldwin V of Jerusalem
Baldwin V (1177 or 1178August 1186) was King of Jerusalem who reigned together with his uncle Baldwin IV from 1183 to 1185 and, after his uncle's death, as the sole king from 1185 to his death. Baldwin IV's leprosy meant that he could not have ...
it had been Baldwin's will that Baldwin V's "''most rightful heirs''" were to hold the regency until the succession could be settled by
Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
,
Philip II of France
Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...
, and the Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I, Count of Zoller ...
. Conrad would not allow Guy and Sibylla to enter the city, but did allow them to camp outside Tyre's walls with their retainers.
Conrad was persuaded by his cousin once-removed,
Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia
Louis III, nicknamed ''Louis the Pious'' or ''Louis the Mild'' (1151/52 – 16 October 1190) was a member of the Ludowingians dynasty who ruled as Landgrave of Thuringia from 1172 until his death.
Life
He was the eldest son of Landgrave Louis ...
, to join Guy in the
Siege of Acre Siege of Acre may refer to:
* Siege of Acre (1104), following the First Crusade
*Siege of Acre (1189–1191), during the Third Crusade
* Siege of Acre (1263), Baibars laid siege to the Crusader city, but abandoned it to attack Nazareth.
*Siege of A ...
in 1189. The siege lasted for over two years. In summer 1190, Conrad travelled north to
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
to lead another young kinsman,
Frederick of Swabia, safely back to Acre with the remnants of his cousin Frederick Barbarossa's imperial army.
When Queen Sibylla and their daughters died of disease later that year, King Guy no longer had a legal claim to the throne—but refused to step aside. The heiress of Jerusalem was Queen Sibylla's half-sister
Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
, who was married to
Humphrey IV of Toron
Humphrey IV of Toron ( 1166 – 1198) was a leading baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He inherited the Lordship of Toron from his grandfather, Humphrey II, in 1179. He was also heir to the Lordship of Oultrejourdan through his mother, Step ...
, of whom she was fond. However, Conrad had the support of her mother
Maria Comnena and stepfather
Balian of Ibelin Balian or Balyan may refer to:
People
*Balian of Ibelin (disambiguation), a name shared by several members of the Ibelin family from the crusader kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus
*Balian Buschbaum (born 1980), German pole vaulter
*Roger Balian, 20t ...
, as well as
Reginald of Sidon
Reginald Grenier (1130s – 1202; also Reynald or Renaud) was Count of Sidon and an important noble in the late-12th century Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Rise to fame
Reginald was the son of Gerard of Sidon and Agnes of Bures, and a grandson of Eust ...
and other major nobles of Outremer. They obtained an annulment on the grounds that Isabella had been under-age at the time of the marriage and had not been able to give consent. Conrad then married Isabella himself, despite rumours of bigamy because of his marriage to Theodora, who was still alive. However, Choniates, who usually expresses strong disapproval of marital/sexual irregularities, makes no mention of this. This may imply that a divorce had been effected from the Byzantine side before 1190, by which time it was obvious that Conrad would not be returning. There were also objections on grounds of
canonical
The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...
incest, since Conrad's brother had previously been married to Isabella's half-sister, and Church law regarded this kind of affinity as equal to a blood-relationship. However, the
papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
Ubaldo Lanfranchi Ubaldo Lanfranchi (died 19 June 1207) was an Italian Catholic archbishop.
A member of the noble Lanfranchi family, he was consecrated archbishop of Pisa on 11 April 1176. The primacy of the Pisan church extended to the ecclesiastical provinces of T ...
,
Archbishop of Pisa
The Archdiocese of Pisa ( la, Archidioecesis Pisana) is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy.717,_Pisan.html" ;"title="708, Pisan); on 30–31 July 1716 [1717, Pisan">708, Pisan); on 30–31 July 1716 [1717, Pisan and on 31 J ...
, gave his approval. Opponents claimed he had been bribed. The marriage, on 24 November 1190, was conducted by Philip of Dreux, Bishop of Beauvais-Noyons-Senlis#Bishops of Beauvais, Bishop of Beauvais—son of Conrad's cousin Robert I of Dreux. Conrad was now ''de jure''
King of Jerusalem
The King of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader states, Crusader state founded in Jerusalem by the Latin Church, Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade, when the city was Siege of Jerusalem (1099), conqu ...
. However, he had been wounded in battle only nine days previously, and returned with his bride to Tyre to recover. He came back to the siege in spring, making an unsuccessful sea-attack against the Tower of Flies at the harbour entrance.
As Guy was a vassal of
Richard I, King of England for his lands in
Poitou
Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
, Richard supported him in this political struggle, while Conrad was supported by his cousin
Leopold V of Austria and cousin once-removed
Philip II, King of France
Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...
. Conrad acted as chief negotiator in the surrender of Acre, and raised the kings' banners in the city. Afterwards, the parties attempted to come to an agreement. Guy was confirmed as king of Jerusalem, and Conrad was made his heir. Conrad would retain the cities of
Tyre,
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, and
Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
, and his heirs would inherit Jerusalem on Guy's death. In July 1191 Conrad's kinsman, King Philip, decided to return to France, but before he left he turned over half the treasure plundered from Acre to Conrad, along with all his prominent Muslim hostages. King Richard asked Conrad to hand over the hostages, but Conrad refused as long as he could. After he finally relented (since Richard was now leader of the Crusade), Richard had all the hostages killed. Conrad did not join Richard on campaign to the south, preferring to remain with his wife Isabella in Tyre—believing his life to be in danger. It was probably around this time that Conrad's father died.
During that winter, Conrad opened direct negotiations with Saladin, suspecting that Richard's next move would be to attempt to wrest Tyre from him and restore it to the royal domain for Guy. His primary aim was to be recognised as ruler in the north, while Saladin (who was simultaneously negotiating with Richard for a possible marriage between his brother
Al-Adil
Al-Adil I ( ar, العادل, in full al-Malik al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Abu-Bakr Ahmed ibn Najm ad-Din Ayyub, ar, الملك العادل سيف الدين أبو بكر بن أيوب, "Ahmed, son of Najm ad-Din Ayyub, father of Bakr, the Just K ...
and Richard's widowed sister
Joan, Dowager Queen of Sicily) hoped to separate him from the Crusaders. The situation took a farcical turn when Richard's envoy, Isabella's ex-husband Humphrey of Toron, spotted Conrad's envoy, Reginald of Sidon, out hawking with Al-Adil. There seems to have been no conclusive agreement with Conrad, and Joan refused marriage to a Muslim.
Assassination
In April 1192, the kingship was put to the vote. To Richard's consternation, the barons of the Kingdom of Jerusalem unanimously elected Conrad as King. Richard sold Guy the lordship of
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, where he continued to use a king's title, to compensate him and to deter him from returning to Poitou, where his family had long had a reputation for rebelliousness. Richard's nephew
Henry II of Champagne
Henry II of Champagne (or Henry I of Jerusalem) (29 July 1166 – 10 September 1197) was count of Champagne from 1181 to 1197, and king of Jerusalem from 1192 to 1197 by virtue of his marriage to Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem.
Early life
Henry ...
brought the news of the election result to Tyre on 24 April and returned to Acre.
However, Conrad was never crowned. Around late morning or noon on 28 April, Isabella, who was pregnant, was late in returning from the
hammam
A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited f ...
to dine with him and so he went to eat at the house of his kinsman and friend, Philip, Bishop of Beauvais. The bishop had already eaten, so Conrad returned home. On his way, he was attacked by two
Assassins
An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder.
Assassin may also refer to:
Origin of term
* Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins
Animals and insects
* Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviida ...
, who stabbed him at least twice in the side and back. His guards killed one of his attackers and captured the other. It is not certain how long Conrad survived. Some sources claimed he died at the scene of the attack or in a nearby church, within a very short time. Richard's chroniclers claimed that he was taken home, received the last rites, and urged Isabella to give the city over only to Richard or his representative, but that deathbed scene is open to doubt. He was buried in Tyre, in the Church of the Hospitallers. "
e Frankish marquis, the ruler of Tyre, and the greatest devil of all the Franks, Conrad of Montferrat—God damn him!—was killed," wrote Ibn al-Athir. Certainly, the loss of a potentially formidable king was a blow to the kingdom.
The murder remains unsolved. Under torture, the surviving Assassin claimed that Richard was behind the killing, but that is impossible to prove. A less likely suspect was
Humphrey IV of Toron
Humphrey IV of Toron ( 1166 – 1198) was a leading baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He inherited the Lordship of Toron from his grandfather, Humphrey II, in 1179. He was also heir to the Lordship of Oultrejourdan through his mother, Step ...
, Isabella's first husband. Saladin's involvement has also been alleged, as Conrad was in the middle of negotiations with him, but this also seems unlikely as Saladin himself apparently had no love for the Hashshashin. In 1970, Patrick A. Williams argued a plausible case for
Henry of Champagne's guilt, but if so, it is difficult to imagine him taking such a bold step without his uncle Richard's approval.
Later, while returning from the crusade in disguise, King Richard was first recognized by
Meinhard II of Görz and then imprisoned by Conrad's cousin,
Leopold V of Austria. Conrad's murder was one of the charges against him. Richard requested for the Assassins to vindicate him, and in a letter, allegedly from their leader,
Rashid al-Din Sinan, they appeared to do so. The letter claimed that in 1191, Conrad had captured an Assassin ship that had sought refuge in Tyre during a storm. He killed the captain, imprisoned the crew, and stripped the ship of its treasure. When Rashid al-Din Sinan requested for the ship's crew and treasure to be returned, he was rebuffed and so a death sentence was issued for Conrad of Montferrat. However, the letter is believed to have been forged.
Sinan was already dead, and apart from that letter and the chronicle entries based upon it, there is no other evidence for the Assassins being involved in shipping. The timing of the murder and its consequences (the pregnant Isabella was married off to Henry of Champagne only seven days later, much to the disgust of Muslim commentators) suggest that the chief motive may be sought in Frankish politics.
Family
Conrad's brother
Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
was the leader of the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
and a notable patron of
troubadours
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
, as was their sister
Azalaïs, Marchioness of Saluzzo. Their youngest brother
Renier was a son-in-law of Byzantine emperor
Manuel I Comnenus
Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine empero ...
, and the eldest,
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, had been the first husband of Sibylla and father of
Baldwin V of Jerusalem
Baldwin V (1177 or 1178August 1186) was King of Jerusalem who reigned together with his uncle Baldwin IV from 1183 to 1185 and, after his uncle's death, as the sole king from 1185 to his death. Baldwin IV's leprosy meant that he could not have ...
. Conrad was also briefly Marquis of
Montferrat
Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mo ...
, following his father's death in 1191. In Montferrat he was succeeded by Boniface, but his own heiress was born posthumously: a daughter
Maria of Montferrat
Maria of Montferrat (1192–1212) was the queen of Jerusalem from 1205 until her death. Her parents were Isabella I and her second husband, Conrad of Montferrat. Maria succeeded her mother under the regency of her half-uncle John of Ibelin. After ...
, 'La Marquise', who in 1205 became Queen of Jerusalem on Isabella's death, but died young in childbirth. Conrad's ex-wife, Theodora, was still living in the mid-late 1190s, when she was having the monastery of Dalmatios converted into a convent, possibly for her own residence.
Role in fiction, film and art
The Monferrine court was
Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language
Occitan (; o ...
in its literary culture, and provided patronage to numerous troubadours.
Bertran de Born
Bertran de Born (; 1140s – by 1215) was a baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan troubadours of the 12th-13th century. He composed love songs (cansos) but was better known for his political songs (sirventes). He wa ...
and
Peirol
Peirol or PeiròlIn Occitan, ''peir'' (French "pierre") means "stone" and ''-ol'' is a diminutive suffix, the name Peirol being understood as the equivalent of "Little Stone" but also "Petit Pierre" (Lil' Peter) or "Pierrot" (Pete or Petey); howev ...
mention Conrad in songs composed at the time of the
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
(see external links below). He was seen as a heroic figure, the noble defender of Tyre—the "''Marqués valens e pros''" ("the valiant and worthy Marquis") as Peirol called him. In ''
Carmina Burana
''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent ...
'' 50: ''Heu, voce flebili cogor enarrare'', he is described as "''marchio clarissimus, vere palatinus''" ("the most famous Marquis, truly a paladin"). However, subsequently, the long-term prejudice of popular English-language writing towards Richard I and his "Lionheart" myth has adversely affected portrayals of Conrad in English-language fiction and film. Because Richard (and his chroniclers) opposed his claim to the throne, he is generally depicted negatively, even when Richard himself is treated with some scepticism. A rare exception to this is the epic poem ''Cœur de Lion'' (1822), by
Eleanor Anne Porden
Eleanor Anne Porden (14 July 1795 – 22 February 1825) was a British Romantic poet. She was the first wife of the explorer John Franklin.
Early years and education
Eleanor Anne Porden was born in London, 14 July 1795. She was the younger surv ...
, in which he is depicted as a tragic
Byronic hero
The Byronic hero is a variant of the Romantic hero as a type of character, named after the English Romantic poet Lord Byron. Both Byron's own persona as well as characters from his writings are considered to provide defining features to the char ...
.
An entirely fictionalised, unambiguously wicked version of Conrad appears in
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
's ''
The Talisman
A talisman is an object which is purported to possess certain magical properties.
Talisman may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Fictional characters
* Talisman (comics), a superhero from Marvel Comics who was a member of Alpha Flight
* Tali ...
'', misspelled as 'Conrade of Montserrat' (the novelist apparently misreading 'f' as a long 's' in his sources) and described as a "marmoset" and "popinjay". He is also a villain in
Maurice Hewlett
Maurice Henry Hewlett (1861 – 15 June 1923) was an English historical novelist, poet and essayist.
Biography
He was born at Weybridge, the eldest son of Henry Gay Hewlett, of Shaw Hall, Addington, Kent. He was educated at the London Internati ...
's fanciful ''The Life and Death of Richard Yea-and-Nay'' (1900). He appears briefly, again in a negative light, in
Ronald Welch
Ronald Welch (14 December 1909 – 5 February 1982) was the pseudonym of Welsh writer Ronald Oliver Felton TD, who wrote in English. He is best known for children's historical fiction. He won the 1956 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association ...
's ''
Knight Crusader
''Knight Crusader'', "the story of Philip d'Aubigny", is a children's historical novel by Ronald Welch (Ronald Oliver Fenton), first published by Oxford in 1954 with illustrations by William Stobbs. It is set primarily in the Crusader states of O ...
'' (1954): the description owes much to his portrayal in Cecil B. de Mille's ''The Crusades'', mentioned below. The nadir of his fictional appearances is in
Graham Shelby Graham Shelby (18 September 1939 – 20 December 2016) was a British historical novelist. He worked as a copywriter and book-reviewer before embarking on a series of historical novels, several of which are set in the twelfth century.
List of works ...
's
1970 novel ''The Kings of Vain Intent''. In this, he is thoroughly demonised—depicted as a sinister figure, physically resembling a vampire; in a chapter added by the author to the U.S. edition, he beats and rapes Isabella. These works reflect the later
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
and
Gothic novel
Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...
cultural/
ethnic stereotype
An ethnic stereotype, racial stereotype or cultural stereotype involves part of a system of beliefs about typical characteristics of members of a given ethnic group, their status, societal and cultural norms. A national stereotype, or nationa ...
of the '
Machiavellian' Italian: corrupt, scheming, dandified, not averse to poisoning, even (as in Shelby's novel) sexually sadistic. In contrast, the Russian-born French novelist
Zoé Oldenbourg
Zoé Oldenbourg (russian: link=no, Зоя Серге́евна Ольденбург) (31 March 1916 – 8 November 2002) was a Russian-born French popular historian and novelist who specialized in medieval French history, in particular the Crus ...
gives him a more positive but fleeting cameo-role— proud, strong, and as handsome as Choniates described him—in her 1946 novel ''Argile et Cendres'' (''Clay and Ashes'', published in English as ''The World Is Not Enough'' in 1948). He is the hero of
Luigi Gabotto's 1968 novel ''Corrado di Monferrato'', which covers his whole career. Another sympathetic portrayal is in
Alan Gordon's mystery novel, ''The Widow of Jerusalem'' (2003), which investigates his murder.
In film, he has been consistently depicted as a villain, and with scant regard for accuracy. In
Cecil B. de Mille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
's
1935 film ''
The Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
'', he is played by
Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for h ...
as a scheming traitor, plotting King Richard's death with
Prince John in England at a time when he was actually already defending Tyre. The
1954 film ''
King Richard and the Crusaders
''King Richard and the Crusaders'' is a 1954 American historical drama film made by Warner Bros. The film stars Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders and Laurence Harvey, with Robert Douglas, Michael Pate and Paula Raymond. It was direct ...
'', loosely based on ''The Talisman'', similarly depicts him as a villain, played by
Michael Pate
Michael Pate OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s.
Biography Early life
Pate was born in Drum ...
.
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian director
Youssef Chahine
Youssef Chahine ( ar, يوسف شاهين, Yūsuf Shāhīn ; 25 January 1926 – 27 July 2008) was an Egyptians, Egyptian film director. He was active in the Cinema of Egypt, Egyptian film industry from 1950 until his death. He directed twel ...
's
1963 film ''Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din'' also shows Scott's influence in its hostility towards Conrad (played by Mahmoud El-Meliguy) and Philip, while depicting Richard more favourably.
On television, he was played by Michael Peake in the 1962 British television series ''Richard the Lionheart'', which derived some of its plotlines loosely from Scott's ''The Talisman''. In the more faithful 1980–1981
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
serialisation of ''The Talisman'', he was played by
Richard Morant
Richard Morant (30 October 1945 – 9 November 2011) was an English actor.
Biography
Morant was born in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. His father was the Shakespearean actor Philip Morant (1909–1993). His sister is the actress Angela M ...
.
In painting and drawing, Conrad figures in a small contemporary manuscript sketch of his ship sailing to Tyre in the ''Annals of Genoa'', and various illustrations to Scott's ''The Talisman''. There is an imaginary portrait of him, c. 1843, by
François-Édouard Picot
François-Édouard Picot (; 10 October 1786 in Paris – 15 March 1868 in Paris) was a French painter during the July Monarchy, painting mythological, religious and historical subjects.
Life
Born in Paris, Picot won the Prix de Rome paintin ...
for the
Salles des Croisades
The ''Salles des Croisades'' ("Hall of Crusades") is a set of rooms located in the north wing of the Palace of Versailles.
The rooms were created in the mid-19th century by king Louis-Philippe for his museum of French history, and opened in 1843 ...
at
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
: it depicts him as a handsome, rather pensive man in his forties, wearing a coronet and fanciful pseudo-medieval costume. He is shown with dark hair and beard; it is more likely that, like his father and at least two of his brothers, he was blond.
In the game
Assassin's Creed
''Assassin's Creed'' is an open-world, action-adventure, and stealth game franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. Created by Patrice D ...
, set in 1191 during the height of the Crusades, William V of Montferrat, father of Conrad of Montferrat, is one of nine
Templars
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
the main character must assassinate. This is based on the real life death of Conrad, who was assassinated by the real life Hashashin.
Sources
*
*''Brevis Historia Occupationis et Amissionis Terræ Sanctæ,'' in ''Die Chronik des Propstes Burchard von Ursberg'', ed. Oswald Holder-Egger & Bernhard von Simson, ''Monumenta Germaniæ Historica: Scriptores in Usum Scholarum'', (Hannover & Leipzig, 1916), pp. 59–64
*
Choniates, Niketas, ''Historia'', ed. J.-L. Van Dieten, 2 vols., Berlin and New York, 1975; trans. as ''O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates'', by H.J. Magoulias, Detroit; Wayne State University Press, 1984,
*Edbury, Peter W. (ed.) ''The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade'', 1998,
*Gabrieli, Francesco. (ed.) ''Arab Historians of the Crusades'', English translation 1969,
*Gilchrist, M. M. "Character-assassination: Conrad de Montferrat in English-language fiction & popular histories"
''Bollettino del Marchesato''. Circolo Culturale ''I Marchesi del Monferrato'', Alessandria, no. 6 (Nov. 2005), pp. 5–13.(external link)
*Gilchrist, M. M. "Getting Away With Murder: Runciman and Conrad of Montferrat’s Career in Constantinople", ''The Mediæval Journal''. St Andrews Institute of Mediæval Studies, vol 2, no. 1 (2012), pp. 15–36,
*Grylicki, Sascha. ''Conrad von Montferrat. Aufstieg und Fall eines Kreuzfahrerherrschers'', Heidelberg 2018 (https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/24398/)
(external link to downloadable text).
*
Ilgen, Theodor. ''Konrad, Markgraf von Montferrat'', 1880
*Nicholson, Helen J. (ed.) ''The Chronicle of the Third Crusade: The Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi'', 1997,
Riley-Smith, Jonathan. "Corrado di Monferrato", ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', vol. XXIX, Rome 1983, pp. 381–387(external link)
*
Runciman, Steven
Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman ( – ), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume ''A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54).
He was a strong admirer of the Byzantine Empire. His history's negative ...
. ''A History of the Crusades'', 1951–54, vols. 2–3.
*Usseglio, Leopoldo. ''I Marchesi di Monferrato in Italia ed in Oriente durante i secoli XII e XIII'', 1926.
William of Tyre, French continuation of. ''Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum''(external link to text in medieval French).
*Williams, Patrick A. "The Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat: Another Suspect?", ''Traditio'', vol. XXVI, 1970.
Notes
External links
* Bertran de Born (with translation by James H. Donalson)
* Bertran de Born (with translation by James H. Donalson)
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad Of Montferrat
1140s births
1192 deaths
12th-century kings of Jerusalem
12th-century murdered monarchs
Military personnel from Piedmont
Assassinated Italian people
Christians of the Third Crusade
Deaths by stabbing in Lebanon
Aleramici
Jure uxoris kings
Kings of Jerusalem
Marquesses of Montferrat
People murdered in Lebanon
Caesars (Byzantine nobles)
Victims of the Order of Assassins