Henry of Antioch (french: Henri; 1217-27 June 1276) was a nobleman from the
Latin East who governed 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 ...
from 1263 until 1264. He was made
bailli by his wife,
Isabella of Cyprus
Isabella of Cyprus (died in 1264) was a Cypriotic princess. She was the regent of Kingdom of Jerusalem on behalf of her nephew King Hugh II of Cyprus, Hugh II in 1263-1264.
Family
Isabella was the daughter of Hugh I of Cyprus, Hugh I, king of Cyp ...
, who exercised regency on behalf of their nephew King
Hugh II of Cyprus. He died in a shipwreck after their son,
Hugh III, became king of both Cyprus and Jerusalem.
Family
Henry was born in 1217. He was the youngest of the four sons of Prince
Bohemond IV of Antioch and his first wife,
Plaisance Embriaco. Bohemond IV had a tense relationship with the
House of Ibelin
The House of Ibelin was a noble family in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. They rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most important families in the kingdom, holding various high offices and with extensive holdin ...
, who opposed the idea that his son
Bohemond should govern the
Kingdom of Cyprus after marrying
Queen Alice
Alice of Champagne (french: Alix; 1193 – 1246) was the queen consort of Cyprus from 1210 to 1218, regent of Cyprus from 1218 to 1223, and of Jerusalem from 1243 to 1246. She was the eldest daughter of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem and Count Hen ...
, mother of King
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
. He reconciled with the Ibelins in order to resist the ambitions of
Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusa ...
, who attempted to assert his authority over the
Crusader states
The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political in ...
. The young Bohemond's marriage to Alice was
annulled, and the prince of Antioch instead readily consented to
John of Ibelin's suggestion that the former's younger son Henry should marry King Henry's 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 unincorpora ...
. They married 1233, and had two children,
Hugh
Hugh may refer to:
*Hugh (given name)
Noblemen and clergy French
* Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks
* Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II
* Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...
and
Margaret
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
.
Lieutenancy
King Henry died in 1253. His son, King
Hugh II of Cyprus, was regarded as the
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
of the absent King
Conrad III of Jerusalem and was thus recognized as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
by the
High Court of Jerusalem. But King Hugh was a minor, and so the regency was exercised on his behalf by his mother,
Queen Plaisance Plaisance of Antioch (1235/1236 or ca. 1235 – September 27/22, 1261) was Queen of Cyprus by marriage to King Henry I. She served as regent of the kingdoms of Cyprus and Jerusalem for their son, King Hugh II, in 1254–1261 and 1258–1261 r ...
. Plaisance died in 1261. Henry's wife Isabella, aunt and closest relative of King Hugh, waived her right to Cypriot regency in favour of their son, Hugh. But in 1263, Isabella claimed the right to exercise regency 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 ...
on Hugh's behalf. She and Henry arrived in
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 ...
, the capital of what had remained of the mainland kingdom, to assume the reins of government shortly after
Baibars
Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak ...
attacked.
Isabella deputised Henry to act as her
bailli. This appointment was resented, possibly because coming from the ruling family of Antioch made Henry appear as an outsider. The High Court refused them
fealty
An oath of fealty, from the Latin ''fidelitas'' (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another.
Definition
In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fea ...
and
homage
Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to:
History
*Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance
*Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts
*Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
, claiming that they should have brought King Hugh with them. The following year,
Pope Urban IV implored Henry,
John II of Beirut
John of Ibelin (died 1264), often called John II, was the Lord of Beirut from 1254, named after his grandfather John I, the famous "Old Lord of Beirut", and son of Balian of Ibelin, who surrendered Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187. His parents were Ba ...
,
Geoffrey of Sergines, and
John of Jaffa
John of Ibelin (, 1215 – December 1266), count of Jaffa and Ascalon, was a noted jurist and the author of the longest legal treatise from the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was the son of Philip of Ibelin, bailli of the Kingdom of Cyprus, and A ...
to settle their differences for the sake of the kingdom. Little is known about Henry's government. It was cut short by Isabella's death in 1264, as his lieutenancy then lapsed.
Aftermath
Henry and Isabella's son, Hugh, was selected to exercise regency in Jerusalem after Isabella's death. When the young kings of Cyprus and Jerusalem died in 1267 and 1268, respectively, Henry's son ascended both thrones. Henry died in a shipwreck on 27 June 1276 when the
taride
Horse transports in the Middle Ages were boats used for effective means of transporting horses over long distances, whether for war or general transport. They can be found from the Early Middle Ages, in Celtic, Germanic and Mediterranean tradition ...
carrying him from Acre to Cyprus hit a rock. He was buried in the church of the
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...
in
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
, Cyprus.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book , last=Burgtorf, first=Jochen, title=The Central Convent of Hospitallers and Templars: History, Organization, and Personnel (1099/1120-1310), publisher=Brill, year=2008, isbn=9004166602
1217 births
1276 deaths
Deaths by drowning
Principality of Antioch
13th-century people of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
House of Poitiers